Dear Family,

Today in class we read Ten Timid Ghosts, by Jennifer O'Connell. While reading this short book, the class counted together the number of ghosts that were in the story. At the beginning of the story, there were 10 ghosts. As the story progressed, the number of ghosts decreased until there was only 1 ghost left. After reading the story, the students separated into small groups and they each were given 10 ghosts to color. While they were coloring the ghosts, I asked the students to count the number of ghosts that they had.

I was looking to see if the students, when counting objects, said the number names in the standard order, pairing each object with one and only one number name and each number name with one and only one object. This one-to-one correspondence shows the student's understanding of counting. This skill is essential to children's development because it gives them the understanding to later perform higher level math, such as addition and subtraction. Ask your child about the activity that we did in class and have them practice counting different objects to practice this skill!

Sincerely, Emily Reverman Alma College Placement Student