Small Friends Pond — Lesson 31: Small friends: all the adding
Small friends: minus 4 →Lesson 31: Abacus small friends addition practice
Level 3, Small Friends Pond. Fill the bead jar. Every right answer drops in a bead.
What your child does, card by card
Small friends: all the adding. Practice day! PlayBuddy opens the lesson: “Practice time. Let's get quicker and better.”
All four small friends: the top bead comes down every time. The abacus makes 4, then clears. Here the hands lead: they show 4, 9, 5, 4, 9, 6, 4, 9, 7, 4, 9 and 8, and a moment later the beads copy each one. “+1: 4 back”, “+2: 3 back”, “+3: 2 back” and “+4: 1 back” glow on the card in step with the beads. The card ends on a touch: “The more you add, the fewer beads go back.”
Try it: your child works out 2 + 4 and 4 + 1, with a green ring on the next bead to move.
Ten beads to go: a mission of 10 tasks with a bead jar that fills with every right answer. Your child must work out 1 + 4, 3 + 2, 4 + 3, 2 + 3, 4 + 1, 3 + 4, 4 + 2, 2 + 4, 3 + 3 and 4 + 4.
In Copy me the drawn hand holds up 9, 6 and 8 in turn, and your child copies each one in beads.
In your head: the abacus is covered and your child works out 1 + 4, 4 + 2 and 3 + 3, showing each answer on the drawn fingers.
Jar full! You can add 1 to 4 with the small friends.
What this lesson trains
About five minutes and 18 answers. Altogether the child makes 30 bead moves (15 with the top bead, 15 with bottom beads). The work stays at 9 or below, on one rod. Then 3 quick looks in your head. 12 of the 12 sums need a small friend (“+4 = +5 −1”, “+1 = +5 −4”, “+2 = +5 −3” and “+3 = +5 −2”); the others use free beads.
The first thing your child does: work out 2 + 4 and 4 + 1.
Fingers and hands
Below the abacus the drawn hands show zero and 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 here, finger for bead.
+4 on the fingers: the thumb opens and one finger closes (+5 −1). +1 on the fingers: the thumb opens and 4 fingers close (+5 −4). +2 on the fingers: the thumb opens and 3 fingers close (+5 −3). +3 on the fingers: the thumb opens and 2 fingers close (+5 −2).
On “All four small friends” the hands move first and the beads follow, so your child sees that a finger and a bead move together: open a finger and a bead goes to the bar, close it and the bead goes back.
Copy me turns it round: 9, 6 and 8 appear on the hand first.
What PlayBuddy and PlayType say
PlayBuddy: “Top bead down, small friend off.”
Stars
With 1 or fewer slips across the 18 answers your child earns three stars; 4 or fewer, two.