Seaweed Soup: Math Start - 1

Funny story - great for teaching small children to have. Go and try new foods.

Lovely book. My kids really enjoyed it.

We have most of the MathStart books. They are simply fantastic! Mr. Murphy has a knack for simplifying the concept for little kids and the illustrations are very striking. We read a new one every week and read it once a day (an idea borrowed from a friend).The books also have some activities that go with the concept.

Here is the story in a nut shell: Turtle invites his friends to lunch. All of them agree only because they don't want to hurt tutrle's feelings.... but NONE of them want to eat that green, slimy, and smelly seaweed soup. Eventually they all try the soup and LOVE it. So, this book was good for reading to picky eaters who refuse to try their green leafy veggies.Math wise, it is a story that contains sets but there is no teaching of what sets are etc. If you want to use this book to learn about sets, then you have to put in the effort. Read the for parents/teachers section in the back so you know what questions to ask the child while reading the book. But honestly, I think the key learning will take place away from the book by explaining what a set is and making sets to set up a table for a tea party etc.Overall good story, but not math education unless you put a lot of extra effort into it. I give it a 4/5 because some kids don't learn math unless it is presented in a story and practiced in a tactile way - this book would meet both of those needs by providing a story framework they can relate to.

My three year old loves this book. We read it at least once a day and then she will set the table for our own seaweed supper. Along with the math lessons, this story encourages kids to not be hung up on having a "perfect" set (something adults might need help with too). My daughter broke one of the plates from her tea set, and she announced that it's ruined and she can't use the set at all. After reading Seaweed Soup a few times, I caught her telling her dolls that she could use a shoe as a plate instead.