Elizabeth's Eggs

Materials

nest (real or pretend)5 plastic eggs

Instructions

1. Ask the children to count the eggs in the nest.

2. Practice subtraction by removing some eggs from the nest each time and asking how many are left.

3. Invite the children to take turns making up a subtraction equation of their choice. For example, "I'm taking three eggs out of the nest. Three eggs taken away from five eggs is two eggs. There are two eggs left in the nest."4. Explain to the children what a riddle is. Recite the following riddle, "Elizabeth." Elizabeth, Elspeth, Betsy, and Bess, They all went together to seek a bird'snest; They found a bird's nest with five eggs in, They all took one, and left four in.

5. See if the children can figure out the riddle. Give them clues, if needed. If there are any children who use both their real name and a shortened form or nickname, use their names saying, forexample, "Are John Smith, and Johnny Smith two people or one? Are Robert Jones, Bob Jones, and Bobby Jones three people, two people, or one person?"6. Talk about words, other than names, that are all different ways of describing the same thing such as dog, pup, mutt, man's best friend, and doggy.