Chapter 1: Finding the Furry Cat!

A tiny furry cat is hiding somewhere in the garden. To find her, we will use our eyes, our fingers and lots of fun ideas! Let's begin.

What we'll do in this chapter

• Look around and sort things , what goes with what?
• Find pairs that match , like two slippers!
• Say which group has more and which has less.
• Talk about things that are inside or outside, near or far, above or below.

The big idea

Before we learn numbers like 1, 2, 3, we first learn to look carefully. Maths begins with our eyes! When you see a basket of fruits, you can tell which are mangoes and which are bananas. That is sorting.

When you put on your shoes, your left shoe needs the left foot and the right shoe needs the right foot. That is matching.

When your friend has 5 chocolates and you have 2, you can say your friend has more. That is comparing. We do all this without even saying any number!

The whole chapter is one big game of hide and seek. The furry cat keeps hiding behind trees, under tables, inside baskets. As we look for her, we learn the words inside, outside, above, below, near, far, in front of, behind.

Let's play!

🧦 Sock Sorting

Empty a basket of clean socks on the floor. Find pairs that match. Hold each pair up high and shout, "Match!" Are there any odd socks left without a partner?

🐱 Where is the Cat?

Hide your toy cat or a small ball. Ask someone to find it. Give clues using words like under the chair, behind the cushion, near the door. Now you hide and they seek!

🍎 More or Less?

Take some grapes in one hand and just two grapes in the other. Which hand has more? Which has less? Try with pencils, buttons, or peanuts too.

🌳 Inside, Outside

Draw a big circle on paper. Put a button inside the circle. Put another button outside the circle. Now put one on the line! Which one is the trickiest to place?

A small story

Meenu went to her grandmother's house. Grandmother had a big basket of toys. There were red blocks, blue blocks, dolls and cars. Meenu sorted all the blocks into two piles , red and blue. Then she lined up the cars from the smallest to the biggest. Grandmother smiled and said, "You are a little maths queen!"

Quick check

1. Look at your shoes. Are they a matching pair?
2. Point to something that is above your head right now.
3. Your plate has 4 rotis. Your brother's plate has 2 rotis. Who has more?
4. Name 3 things that are round.
5. Is the cat inside the house or outside the house in your home?

What did we learn?

• We can sort things by colour, shape or size.
• We can match things that go together.
• We can say more, less, inside, outside, above, below , all without using numbers!