There’ s a Bear on My Chair
By Ross Collins. 2022. Candlewick Press.
“ Introduce vocabulary... identify rhyming words and have students give a thumbs-up when they hear a rhyming word; have children draw a picture of a bear and a mouse.”— Erica Estrada, Illinois
There’ s a Bear on My Chair tells the story of a tiny mouse whose favorite chair has been overtaken by a big polar bear. The characters explore positional words( on, in, under, behind) as they rhyme their way through the story. Educators can use the book to help children begin to investigate and develop spatial awareness.
Try this! Invite children to draw a picture of the bear and the mouse, then cut the pictures out and tape them to a stick. Ask the children to retell the story by acting it out and using math vocabulary to describe the characters’ positions.
Yellow, Red, Green— Go!
By Ellen Mayer. Illus. by Ying-Hwa Hu. 2024. Star Bright Books.
“ This book highlights that math is a part of everyday life and early math talk is fun!”— Ashli-Ann Douglas, Ohio
We experience math every day. In this board book, a mother and child go on a bike ride to Grandma’ s house and discover how traffic lights make a pattern— yellow, red, green— again and again. The child then identifies more visual and sound patterns( bow-wow-woof, bow-wowwoof) as they continue their ride. This book illustrates the early math skill of patterning: Identifying or recognizing repeating units and extending or continuing them. It also comes in a Spanish version, ¡ Amarillo, rojo, verde... pasen!
Try this! Use this book’ s suggested activities to support children’ s developing understanding of patterns. For example, organize a pattern scavenger hunt inside or outside, and ask children to find and describe the patterns they see on clothing, rugs, and items in nature.
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