Activities! Mighty Maddie! Kites! Lemonade! Scrubba-dubbing! And a Very Special Letter!

Hello, Everybody!

I’d like you to meet my new friend, Bryan, who is in first grade at Highview Public School in Canada. Bryan wrote me a letter. Thank you, Bryan! I love getting letters! His teacher, Elizabeth Nylof Young, forward it to me by email and it made my day!

Bryan really likes my Mathstart book, Give Me Half! (understanding halves). It is one of my favorites, too, because it was inspired by own children. Just like Bryan, they liked pizza and juice. They still do!

Bryan asked if I have a favorite video game. I am not very good at video games, but I like to make art. I have a feeling Bryan is good at both!

He also asked if I have a machine to make books. I do not, but my publisher has several: A printer for printing. Another machine to cut printed sheets of paper. Another machine to bind the pages together. And another machine that puts finished books into boxes for shipping.

Maddie’s birthday party and the house is a mess! Toys are everywhere, even in the bathroom. Dad helps carry heavy things up to her room, while Maddie gathers the rest. But it’s up to Maddie to put everything away. As Jumbo the cat and Teenie the dog watch, she turns into “Mighty Maddie,” a caped super-hero able to sort toys in a flash by how much they weigh. The fire truck is heavy, but the ballerina tutu is light, and the feather tiara is even lighter. Sometimes things that are big, such as pillows, are lighter than things that are small, such as books. Will Maddie manage to get everything stashed away neatly in time for the party?

Understanding that the weight of an object is not always dependent on size—mass—is an important measurement.

It’s a good thing that Hannah and Bob have such a nice, smart babysitter. When Laura suggests that they make a kite to fly at the beach, the kids immediately start arguing over whether it should be decorated with a lightning bolt or a whale. Laura draws a line down the length of the kite, so they each have exactly the same size and shape to draw on. Later, the children divide the back seat of the car, the beach blanket, and even their sandwiches into two equal parts.

Symmetry is a geometric property that helps children classify shapes.

When members of the Elm Street Kids’ Club decide to sell lemonade to raise money to fix up their clubhouse, they do it in style.

Dressed in special “lemon hats,” with Petey the Parrot, the club mascot squawking, “Lemonade for Sale!,” business booms at first. Sheri keeps track on a bar graph, plotting the number of cups sold against the days of the week. But sales drop quickly when Jed the Juggler comes to town.

What will the Elm Street kids do?

Gathering, charting and comparing data is an important skill for assessing progress and making predictions.

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Carlos gets mess when he draws with chalk, builds with clay, and plays in the mud. He doesn’t like to wash his hands. See how Carlos’ friends show him that washing up can be easy and fun!

It is especially important for children to wash their hands after coughing, sneezing and using the bathroom; and before and after eating, too.

Scrubba dub! Get those hands squeaky clean!