Routine Math / Math Routines
Episode # 105. Windows
In a thin square box, the children give the Storypeople a magical floating window. Who will be there when Sister opens the curtains? How do you know? Are they nearby or far away? We start with one window. Then how many are added? How many windows are there altogether? How many Storypeople are there altogether? Are there enough windows for all the Storypeople?

Directions
In the program, the children add windows to Storyworld. Look for opportunities to play with addition and subtraction in your daily routine. For example, if you are at the grocery store and buying apples, you might pick up one apple. With three and four year olds, you can simply use numbers to describe what you are doing: "Look, I have one apple. If I pick up two more apples, then I will have three apples, because 1+2=3." Let your child hold the apples and place them in your cart as you count.

With five and six year olds, you can pose things as questions: "I have one apple. If you pick up one apple, how many apples will we have? If I pick up two more apples, how many will we have? Let's count them. One-two-three-four."

Or, while you are doing laundry, count with your child how many of her shirts you are putting into the washing machine. If your child can easily count forward, you might start with the total and count backwards as you put each shirt into the washing machine. You can repeat the game as you pull things out of the machine and as you place things in or remove them from the dryer.

With an older child, as you pull the shirts out of the dryer, you could remind him of the total you started with. Then have him find one shirt and, as he hands it to you to fold, ask, "How many of your shirts are left to find?" Repeat the game until he has found all the shirts.

Talk About It
While viewing the Windows episode, you might start a conversation by asking your child: If you were in Storyworld, what or who would appear in your window when you opened the curtains?

As you talk about the things on screen, you can help expand your child's vocabulary by alternating the words you use with their synonyms. In the Window episode, you might describe the Boohbah movements as a spin or a twirl. As you talk about the Storypeople segment, you might introduce names for various things that people use to cover or decorate windows (e.g., curtains, shades, blinds, or drapes), noting the differences between them.