The Grapes Of Math

This simple book of rhymes and pictures encourages kids to count without counting, which in my school days, was frowned upon. Whereas we were taught to simply memorize our facts and simple algorithms (joyless math), current practice holds with children actually becoming numerate. Problem solving skills and subitizing are emphasized, and kids learn that there may be any number of ways to solve a simple arithmetic puzzle. This book offers just the right number and simplicity of hints so that kids can figure out the puzzles on their own without counting.A typical puzzle presents an array or grid of items (bugs, fruit, eggs, etc) and a catchy little rhyme that asks for the answer to a "how many" question but specifically notes that the point is not COUNTING the seeds on the strawberries, but using other methods (grouping, adding to subtract, repetitive adding or "counting by x 's", etc) to solve. My homeschooled seven-year-old pronounced it "FUN!", although we did the book together on the first go, and she admittedly needed help with interpreting the clues and performing some operations (ex: 12+12+12=?).This is a great book for anyone 3+ who enjoys numbers but obviously at lower levels the kids will just be using it to learn to count. The main audience would be your advanced first grader or your second grader, possibly even a third grader who is starting to move into multiplication but has not necessarily memorized time tables yet. I LOVED the book...it's not all that often that books like this are actually BOTH educational AND entertaining, but this worked for us. As a homeschooler, I can see myself doing lots of activities based on this book, and I would buy others by this author. Highly recommended.

My second graders loved this book!!

My 7 year old granddaughter is enjoying the book. Practical suggestions for using math using tips for quick calculations. Well illustrated and easy to read. Very useful.

Can be used for centers, individual, or small group activities!

This book was a hit with my "real life math" students. The pictures and riddles are very simple, once you get them. A lot of good math skills are involved, like finding shortcuts and estimating. We are going to use the book to help teach a 5th grade math class estimating. Great color and graphics make the book fun to use.

The Grapes Of Math by Greg Tang is a book that encourages groupings of numbers in order to assist in quick addition. It shows a different way of looking at a group of objects - snails, grapes, fish etc. and looking for ways to group them into smaller numbers that are quicker to add together instead of just counting them by ones. A great sequel to Tang's book Math Fables, and perfect for when your child is progressing to more advanced work with numbers such as counting by 2, 5, etc. as a precurser to multiplying numbers. It will become easier for a child to grasp that 5 each in 4 rows becomes 5, 4 times becomes 5 x 4. This is the place in math that this book fills.

My son loves math, and I don't think he's getting the enrichment he needs at school. I ordered this book, and he loved it. It's not just about solving math problems; it challenges children to discover patterns and new ways of thinking to solve a problem. That is a skill that is valuable anywhere! We are going to order some more of these books!

I like this book a lot, my son is 3 and he enjoys it. It's pretty much little rhyming stories that give you hints on how to come up with the answer they ask. I don't know how better to describe it- it's a cute little book though. When I was in fourth grade my teacher made up little rhymes to teach us multiplication that I still remember today & I'm 32 lol so I hope this book will have the same effect on my kids one day.

Great for kids to learn some math/patterns recognition while reading as well

The concept of this book looked a little too simple from the pictures (why wouldn't kids just count everything?), but I found that my kids (age 9 and 6) LOVED it and immediately got the idea of looking for combinations, patterns, and shortcuts, things that are at the heart of math thinking.

I love this book. So much discussion and learning to be had and in a way that enthuses. I only wish there were more pages!

interesting book

小学校で、算数ができる子とできない子との大きな差は「数」を「量」として把握できているか否かによるという。例えば、２＋３という足し算をするときに、２と３とをそれぞれ「量」として認識して、頭の中で、合わせて５だ、と瞬時に理解できる子に対し、２から指を折りながら、３、４、５と数え上げなければならない子とでは、より難しい計算になったときに、雲泥の差がでる。１５＋２４という計算をするのに、１５＋２４＝（１０＋５）＋（２０＋４）＝（１０＋２０）＋（５＋４）＝３０＋９＝３９と瞬時に理解できる子と、１５から２４だけ数え上げようとする子とでは、勝負にならない。この絵本は、子供にものを数えるときに、単に順番に数え上げるのではなく、先ず数えなければならないものの集合全体を見回して、うまくグループ分けすると、あっとゆう間に答えがわかる、ということを教えるための教材である。例えば、３粒のぶどうからなる房と、７粒のぶどうからなる房が、５房ずつあるとする。全部でぶどうは何粒か知りたいとすると、順番に数え上げるよりも、３粒と７粒のぶどうの房を組にして１０粒、それが５組あるから５０粒、というように、手際よく数えた方がよい。大人にとってはあたりまえのことだが、子供にとってはそうではない。こういった練習問題につかえる絵が、多くつまった本である。それぞれの絵には、英語で「何々はいくつ？」と問う詩がついているが、「いくつ？」と訊いているだけなので、理解できる必要なない。（数え方のヒントも与えているが、大人が見れば一目瞭然なので、不要。）子供が小学校に上がってから苦労しないように、幼稚園児のうちに、この本で勉強させておくことをお勧めする。