Double The Ducks

Sometimes the best way to teach a math concept is through a story, sometimes it's through a connection to everyday life. Double the Ducks by Stuart J. Murphy is a fantastic book for introducing the concept of doubles in a very simple and fun way. In the story, a cowboy has 5 ducks. The ducks are a lot of work. They require three bags of seed and four bundles of hay. When the 5 little ducks each bring home a friend, the boy has double the ducks and double the work! The boy wishes he had double the hands to take care of his ducks. (I wished the same thing when I doubled the number of kids I had!) For the lucky duck in this story, a friend joins in to help, providing double the hands.

What is the Early Math Concept of Doubles?

Doubles is an early math skill that will help your child with mental math in the future. "Doubles" means that both of the addends are the same (2+2, 5+5, etc). When a child can relate the concept of doubles to something in real life, they will more easily have a quick and automatic response when doing doubles.

Doubles Book

After reading Double the Ducks, we followed a tip in the back of the book to create a doubles book. On the first page I wrote, "Double 1". We drew a face with two eyes. On the second page, I wrote "Double 2". We drew a car with 2 sets of 2 wheels. I brainstormed most of the ideas in advance because my son is young. Here's what I came up with.

1+1 eyes
2+2 car wheels
3+3 insect
4+4 dominoes
5+5 fingers
6+6 egg carton
7+7
8+8 Rows of crayons in a 16 count carton
9+9  Starting Line ups of two baseball teams

How Do you Know if Your Child is Ready?

Can your child count by rote?
Can your child count on? For instance, can your child begin at 5 and count on... 6, 7, 8, 9...?
These are some of the skills that show your child may be ready for the concept of doubles. Even if your child doesn't grasp doubles, you can still read your homemade books as a introductory activity.

What's the Next Step?

Double + 1: When your child gets very quick with doubles, throw in a +1 like 5+6. Show your child how to add the doubles 5+5 and add +1. 5+5+1. Quick and easy peasy!

See More Mathematically Speaking Monday Posts. Each post focuses on a different area of early math.


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The Sunday Showcase, The Learning Laboratory, Made by Little Hands Monday, Montessori Mondays,  Book Sharing Monday, Hey Mom! Look What I Did, Kids Get Crafty, It's Playtime, stART, Thrifty Thursday,  Kids Co-op, What My Child is Reading,