Kindergarten Math Book · Counting & Number Sense
Mouse Count
by Ellen Stoll Walsh
A sleepy snake counts mice into a jar, one, two, all the way to ten. Then the mice trick him and escape, uncounting themselves from ten back down to zero.
Why it's useful
A short, suspenseful story that makes counting forward and backward feel like a game.
- Counting on and counting back. Kids count up to 10, then back down to 0, which builds number order both ways.
- One more, one less. Every page adds or removes exactly one mouse.
- Small numbers you can see. The mice are easy to count and easy to act out.
Try it in class or at home
- Act it out. Ten children are mice and one is the snake. Count them into a hoop "jar", then count them back out.
- Jar counting. Drop counters into a cup while the class counts, then take them out counting backward.
- How many now? Pause on a page and ask "How many in the jar? How many still hiding?"