MAGIC MATHEMATICS: BOOK 2

ADDITION AND SUBTRACTION
IN
STORIES, POEMS AND GAMES

The entertaining math stories, nursery rhymes, funny games and creative tasks
make this journey imaginative and fun. 
The book for children Magic Mathematics II aimed at 7-9 year old children.

Nursery Rhymes
from 'Magic Mathematics' book II

MATH NURSERY RHYME
How many stories did mummy read? 2+1=

‘Mummy, read us a story,
To help our sleepy eyes close.'
‘All right, but only one,
It's getting late you know.'

But our sleepy eyes remained open,
One story just wouldn't do.
So to make sure we fell fast asleep,
Mum read us another two.

MATHS NURSERY RHYMES
Count the flower's petals 3+1=

‘Why are you sad, little flower?'
‘I lost a petal just now.
There was a huge gust of wind,
And it flew behind a cloud.'

I'll make sure I don't let the wind
Take away the remaining three.
Look how pretty they are,
Just bend down and you'll see.'

MATH NURSERY RHYMES
The Elephant's Reward 4+1=

An elephant in the circus
Performed tricks and stunts and dares.
In return he received a banana
And four ripe, juicy pears.

But instead of eating the fruit
He rolled it around the floor,
So the audience clapped and cheered
And excitedly asked for more!

Animation-fragment 'Elephant in the circus' click here >>

MATHEMATICS NURSERY RHYMES
How the beaver built a fence 5+1=

‘What are you building, beaver?'
‘A fence, it's a difficult chore!
I've laid out 5 planks of wood,
And now I'm filing one more.

I'll spend the whole day building,
And end up with a beautiful dam!'
How many planks do I have?
Please tell me if you can,

Animation-fragment 'Beaver-builder' click here >>

MATH POETRY
The Octopus and his Missing Leg 7+1=

An octopus woke up one day,
And noticed something straight away.
One leg had vanished, out of sight,
It must have disappeared last night!

The octopus was in distress,
‘Without eight legs my life's a mess!
Walking's going to be so tough,
Seven legs is NOT ENOUGH!'

So he phoned up Number Eight,
And told his problem to his mate.
He knew his friend would help him out,
That's what friends do, he had no doubt.

Three minutes later, Eight was there,
Holding something with great care.
He gave a smile and softly said,
‘Dear Octopus, I found your leg.'

MATHS POEM
The Bear Cub's Paws 2+2=

Clumsy bear cub, tell me please
How many paws you have - let's see.
One, two, and then two more,
Altogether that makes four!

Birds have two wings to help them fly,
Up into the beautiful, deep-blue sky.
And how many wings are on two birds?
The answer's _____, that's what I've heard!

Animation-fragment 'Clumsy Bear' click here >>

A Tasty Lunch for the Fishes 2+3=

‘Hello Mr Fisherman,
Is there anything exciting?'
‘Well, my worms must be tasty,
Because the fish are all biting!

They've gobbled two worms,
And are munching three more.
But the bucket's still empty,
These fish can't be caught!'

MATHS NURSERY RHYMES
Why Did the Flies Fly Away 5+2=

A spider crawled into our loft
And spun a web up high.
He made sure it was big enough,
To catch a lot of flies.

Soon five flies were in the web,
And then another two,
But all the others flew away,
I think I know why, do you?...