Falling Leaves
Here's What To Do
1
Invite your child to gather 10 leaves and a long twig and make a tree out of it. If you don’t have real leaves, leaves that you’ve cut out of paper are fine!
2
Ask, “The wind blew two leaves off of our tree.” Blow and have your child remove two leaves. “How many leaves do we have left?”
3
Ask your child to check their answers. Help them count if needed.
4
Repeat and invite your child to choose how many leaves will fall off the tree.
Put PEER Into Action
P
Pause:
- Put the devices away and take two deep breaths.
E
Engage:
- “How many leaves will be left if the wind blows all of them off?”
- “If you take the leaves from just the right side, how many will be left?”
E
Encourage:
- If your child guesses the number of leaves, it’s okay if they get the wrong answer. Ask them to count the leaves to check their work.
- Keep wrong answers low pressure. Try saying, "Hmmm… That's not ___- let's try again!"
R
Reflect:
- What did you feel was the hardest part?
Not quite ready?
Solve subtraction problems with 5 leaves instead of 10.
Ready for more?
Solve subtraction problems with up to 15 leaves or more.
As your child masters this skill...
They will be able to solve subtraction problems that start with a quantity of 10 or fewer.