Focus on basic math. Explore counting, number recognition, addition, subtraction, and place value. Learn with some of Hooper's favorite programs and characters or some of your own.

View On-Air

• Dragon Tales - "Play It and Say It"
  Ord has trouble remembering how to count in Spanish. His friends help him learn by playing the Spanish version of hopscotch, called Rayuela, with the big dragon. It's a good idea, until Norm the Number Gnome steals the numbers off the ground. While they search for the missing numbers, Ord starts to learn how to count from uno to ocho.
• Curious George - "Zeros to Donuts"
  When George learns about the meaning and power of zero, he is ready to test out his knowledge. The perfect opportunity arises when he's sent to the donut shop for one dozen donuts. But when he adds a couple of zeros, he's surprised to find out he gets one hundred dozen. Now he has to figure out what to do with all those extra donuts before The Man with the Yellow Hat notices.
• Reading Rainbow - "How Much is a Million"
  Illustrations and text from this feature book help readers visualize how much a million, a billion and a trillion really are. LeVar explores ways of counting large numbers as he talks to people who share grouping and estimating techniques. In a visit to the Crayola Crayon Factory, workers show how crayons are made and talk about the large number of crayons they handle in their jobs. Then on to Giants Stadium where vendors and stadium employees use estimation to prepare for game day.

Do in Class

• Arthur: Count - Count with a book and then make your own class counting book.
• Arthur: Counting Votes - Explore one-to-one counting and the concept of votes by taking a survey of favorite vegetables.
• Barney: One Nose, Two Eyes... - Practice counting and number recognition skills through practical games and exercises.
• Boohbah: Drawing Numbers - Pick a number of Boohbahs and see if your child can draw them in at least four different configurations.
• Boohbah: Routine Math/Math Routines - Explore concepts of addition and subtraction. Look for opportunities to play with addition and subtraction in your daily routine.
• Dragon Tales: Play It and Say It: Counting in Spanish -Count ingredients in Spanish while cooking.
• PBS Parents Guide to Early Math: Let's Keep Track - Use tally marks or other tracking methods to keep count of how many of an item you see while traveling.
• PBS Parents Guide to Early Math: Finger Puppets You Can Count On! - Try this playful way to help children learn to count from 1-10.
• Reading Rainbow: Math Cure - Make and use a counting game with an egg carton and dried beans.
• Zoboomafoo: More or Less? - Learn about more and less with this printable offline activity.

Play and Watch Online

• Curious George: Count Your Chickens - Practice counting, number recognition, and more or less with this 3 tiered self-leveling game.
• Curious George: Glass Palace - Use "counting on" skills to determine the correct numbered window that George needs to clean.
• Cyberchase: Number Machine - Use 3 numbers to create a number that is larger than the one Hacker makes.
• Cyberchase: Stop that Creature - Learn about mathematical equations. Figure out what equation is being used to stop the machine in this online game.
• Dragon Tales: Connect the Dots - Connect the numbered dots with Cassie to create animated pictures.
• Jay Jay The Jet Plane: Tracy's Nature Shapes - Count and search for shapes from nature in an online game.
• PBS Parents Guide to Early Math: Animal Lost and Found - Count eyes and ears to help people find their lost pets.
• PBS Parents Guide to Early Math: Tickets Please - Using basic mathematics, practice counting and put the correct number of passengers onto an amusement park ride in this online activity.
• Reading Rainbow: Hidden Picture Game - Answer basic addition and subtraction facts to reveal pieces of a hidden picture.
• Reading Rainbow: Make a Really Big Number - Click the spin button and drag the number that appears to the place value that will help you make the biggest number possible.
• Teletubbies: Counting Game - Count along with the Teletubbies.

Read

• The Aunts Go Marching
  By Maurie J. Manning
  Published April 2003 by Boyds Mills Press
  This variation on a familiar song lets children count umbrella-toting aunts in ranks of one to ten as they slosh through the rain to the beat of a drummer girl. When thunder booms, they all race home. Manning's illustrations include interesting details, diversity of characters, and humor.
• Barn Cat: A Counting Book
  By Carol P. Saul
  Published September 1998 by Little, Brown & Company
  Saul helps very young readers learn to count with this fun barnyard tale. The barn cat is joined by different farm animals in a counting story richly illustrated with woodcuts.
• How High Can a Dinosaur Count?: ...and Other Math Mysteries
  By Valorie Fisher
  Published February 2006 by Random House Children's Books
  Solve a variety of multi-step math problems. Fisher has created fanciful scenes with mixed media and photography. The author provides four additional problems in an appendix for each of the fifteen scenes and challenges her readers to make up their own. Solutions are grouped at the end.

*As most PBS children's programs offer one year extended taping rights for teachers, please feel free to tape them now and save them for use in your classroom during the school year.