Have you ever heard the children’s song ‘Ten little monkeys’? Well even though this song involves numbers of course, did you realise there is more in depth mathematics involved other than just numbers? Well for instance, the song goes like this…

10 little monkeys jumping on the bed,
1 fell off and bumped his head,
mama called the doctor and the doctor says,
no more monkeys jumping on the bed.

9 little monkeys jumping on the bed……………….

8 little monkeys jumping on the bed……………….

Here we can see straight away that this song involves subtracting and the ability to be able to count backwards. Adults, like myself, know straight away that 9 comes after 10 when we are counting backwards. We do not need to think about it. However, children do. Therefore, to keep the children engaged and to help them understand that little bit better, you can get them involved in this song. For example, have 10 children stand up and act out the song, and have 1 child pretend to fall off each time by sitting down. The children can also pretend to use the phone when “Mama calls the doctor.” When children do practical activities, they tend to remember more than they do when the teacher is just explaining it. This helps them see more clearly that you are subtracting a monkey each time.

Extend the children’s vocabulary and the underlying mathematical operation that is being used by reinforcing the subtraction involved.  When singing the song, after the children complete a verse, restate the verse in numerical terms.  “8 monkeys were jumping on the bed, one fell off.  8 take away 1 equals 7.” Repetition is key in children’s learning.