Activities! Number Order, Calendars, Time and a Tour of Percy’s Neighborhood, too!
Every other Wednesday, we post selections from our vast and wonderful archive of Early Math & Early Childhood Ed activities.
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Hello!
Great galloping gillywoppers! Have you ever taken a family picture or a class photo where everybody lines up by height? I am pretty tall, so I usually end up in the back. Where do you usually end up in the order? When the Lumpkin cousins—all eight of them, plus Bonzo the puppy—line up first by age, then alphabetically by name, then by height, it takes a lot of coordination! For great photos, it helps to understand number order, an important mathematical concept!
Our three featured MathStart books are:
One, Two, Three…Sassafras! (number order)
Pepper’s Journal: A Kitten’s First Year (calendars)
Game Time! (time)
Our featured I See I Learn book features the one and only Percy, who takes on a tour of See-and-Learn City. Helping his Dad pass out “Fun Run” posters, he visits all kind of community helpers, including Firefighter Bates, who lets him try on his hat. Who ar the community helpers in your neighborhood? Are you a community helper, too?
Percy’s Neighborhood (knowing your community)
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I just received a fan letter—my favorite!
Thank you so much for your books! Our personal favorite is Fair Bear Share. I love how creative the stories are while incorporating math concepts. We are excited to read more of your stories as we teach our kids how they see math in everyday life!
— Kristen V.
Thank you, Kristen. YES! Let’s teach kids to see math in everyday life!
Now, let’s get to all those activities!
Your friend,
Stuart
Mathstart is a series of 63 storybooks organized into three levels for Pre-K through Grade 4. Each story teaches a different mathematical skill.
Here is list of where to buy MathStart books!
• Level 1, Pre-K/ Kindergarten
One…Two…Three…Sassafras! (number order)
It's picture-taking at the Lumpkin family reunion and Uncle Howie wants all the cousins to line up by age—from one-year-old Jacob to 15 year-old Tanya. "Say Sassafras!" But when Uncle Howie clicks the shutter, something always seems to go wrong. "Great galloping gillywhoppers!"
Learning to arrange numbers in order helps develop counting skills and prepares children to understand our number system.
• Level 2, Kindergarten / Grade 1:
Pepper’s Journal: A Kitten’s First Year (calendars)
Grandma's cat Snowy is about to have kittens, and Lisa and her little brother Joey will get to keep one. Little Pepper, whose white fur is dotted with black spots, has a very busy first year. Lisa keeps track of the highlights using a calendar. Her journal is also filled with lots of nifty information about cats.
Events in people's lives are measured by time, so it is important that children understand the relationships between days, weeks, months, and years.
• Level 3, Grades 2 - 4:
Game Time! (time)
Last year, the Falcons were the soccer league champs. Can the Huskies beat them this year? The big game is only seven days away—just one week. Then it's only one day away—24 hours. Then it's only an hour away—60 minutes. At first the Falcons come on strong, scoring during the first 15-minute quarter. Will the Huskies catch up by the half, 30 minutes into the game? It's a nail-biter, right down to the last second!
The relationships between the various units of time—seconds, minutes, hours, days, and weeks—and how clocks and calendars represent these units are important concepts for children to understand.
I See I Learn is a series of 16 stories that follow the adventures of the children in Miss Cathy’s class at Ready, Set Pre-K in See-and-Learn City. Each story focuses on a different social, emotional, health & safety and cognitive skill important for success in school and in life. For Pre-K / Kindergarten.
Here is list of where to buy I See I Learn books!
20% Discount for Sets of 16 books at the I See I Learn Store!
Percy’s Neighborhood (knowing your community)
Percy and his daddy are walking to the park. On the way, they have a few stops to make. See what Percy learns when he visits community helpers in his neighborhood!
As children learn more about their neighborhood, they will better understand how a society functions. Encourage your children to think about ways they might help in their own community.
Pitch in!
Do you have a story or a question? Please send me an email!