We have been turning into wonderful storytellers this week, but with a mathematical twist! The children have been busy creating and acting out "Maths Stories" to bring addition and subtraction to life. We’ve been using our imaginations to describe scenarios like "First there were three birds were on a branch, then two more flew in," to show addition in action. We then shifted our focus to subtraction, exploring the concept that taking items away from a group makes the total smaller. By using physical objects and drawings to represent these stories, the children are developing a deep understanding of how numbers change when we add to them or take them away.

Try This at Home: "The Cookie Jar" Maths Story

You can practice "Maths Stories" at any point during the day to help your child see maths in the real world!

• Create the Setup: Place a small group of items (like 8 crackers or 8 toy cars) on a plate.

• The Subtraction Story: Say, "There were 8 crackers on the plate. A hungry giant came along and ate 3 of them!" (Have your child physically move 3 crackers away).

• The Big Question: Ask, "Does our group look bigger or smaller now? How many are left?" * The Challenge: Ask your child to tell you an addition story. For example: "There were 5 cars in the garage, then 2 more parked next to them. Now there are 7!"