These considerations led to the conceptual structure of LUMI, vividly designed as a small archipelago of seven islands, each of which represents an area of development. The islands are all connected to one another in that growth is a comprehensive process that involves a variety of cognitive, emotional, and social dominions, all of which are interconnected.
The products of the LUMI line belong to seven distinct areas, but all of them are interconnected to stimulate integral, comprehensive learning. The contents of the activity books and board games are built according to the specific goals we have indicated and can be summarized in seven major categories, represented by the seven islands of the archipelago, that transverse the age groups.
FEELING
… ITS INHABITANTS
There are also animals that live on these islands. Each one acts as a little companion whose job it is to guide the explorers, according to their age group.
years
years
Logi Uniq
The little hermit crab is a sweet animal that gets its courage from its shell, where it goes to hide from predators when it needs to. It accompanies the youngest of adventurers, those who need to carry out a gradual, protected exploration and who will abandon their shell to discover new horizons and new abilities only once they have completed their growth process.
Another character who lives on the islands of the LUMI archipelago is a sea turtle.
As soon as as it hatches, this creature heads bravely toward the sea, never looking back. That is why it was chosen to accompany brave explorers that are young but daring, who set out with enthusiasm to discover basic knowledge, encouraged by their achievements in physical, linguistic, and social skills.
Mega Ido
The third character/guide is a whale. In our collective imagination, the whale has always been a fascinating creature, a symbol of humanity itself and of the search for knowledge. The adventurers that Mega accompanies are strong and determined, ready to leave port to navigate the seas and dive into the abysses of knowledge to discover their own individuality.
And finally, in the LUMI archipelago is the friend we all know and cannot do without, the seagull. Free, independent, determined, curious, and loyal to its flock, the seagull accompanies the more mature adventurers who are ready to leave the safe waters and make a complex exploration into the world of awareness and one day become young soldiers of knowledge.
THE SUBJECTS IN THIS BOOK
The subjects chosen for this book have been inspired by the studies of Alan J. Bishop. Working in ethnomathematics, this mathematician analyzed the ways in which his discipline breaks down in the various countries and cultures of the world—from the United Kingdom to Papua New Guinea. According to Bishop, there are six universal activities that characterize math:
MEASURING COUNTING LOCATING
BISHOP’S SIX UNIVERSAL ACTIVITIES DESIGNING
Each of these covers a number of typical activities used in math education, from kindergarten to college, and you will find some of them in the pages of this book.
WHAT YOU WILL FIND IN THIS BOOK AND INSTRUCTIONS FOR USE
This book is aimed at children ages 5 to 7, and it has been designed according to the cognitive development of this age group. There are five chapters, each based on a different setting that is part of children’s everyday life: the park, the kitchen, the gym, a birthday party, and the bedroom.
Each setting is dedicated to one of Bishop’s universal activities. More specifically:
- locating things in the park
- playing and explaining activities in the gym
- numbers and sums at a birthday party
- designing in the bedroom, learning to recognize shapes and geometric figures
- learning measurements in the kitchen
In each chapter, the level of difficulty of the activities increases to ensure that all children will eventually be able to do all the activities in the book.
This book aims to stimulate children’s (and their parents’) curiosity in mathematics and to make them want to do more.
HI, I’M BRUCE!
CIRCLE 2 animals ABOVE BRUCE
CIRCLE 2 animals UNDERNEATH BRUCE
UNDERLINE 2 animals to the LEFT of BRUCE
UNDERLINE 2 animals to the RIGHT of BRUCE
OBSERVE: BRUCE’S left sleeve is yellow.
COLOR IN 3 birds ABOVE the PURPLE BIRD
CIRCLE in RED at least 2 birds to the LEFT of BRUCE
CIRCLE in BLUE at least 2 birds to the RIGHT of BRUCE
EXPLAINING LOCATING
The kids in the park have a mole as their mascot. Her name is FIONA, and her favorite activity is walking on paving stones. Unfortunately, she has very bad eyesight, so the kids have learned how to help Fiona find her way when she comes out of her den. In the example, JASMINE has managed to guide FIONA with just 3 INSTRUCTIONS: GO STRAIGHT: TURN RIGHT: TURN
By following Jasmine’s instructions, FIONA has moved forward 3 paving stones!
Now, BRUCE is going to play with FIONA . He has to help her get back to her den. READ the directions and then DRAW the ARROWS like JASMINE did.
START!
TURN LEFT.
MOVE FORWARD 2 PAVING STONES.
MOVE FORWARD 3 PAVING STONES. YOU DID IT!
REPEAT the MOVES FIONA made to get home, using just the ARROWS .
EXPLAINING
DESIGNING
A Messy Gym
The gymʼs a mess. Help BRUCE clean it up. Draw lines to CONNECT the sports equipment to the correct bins and shelves.
BALLS
BLUE OBJECTS SHOES
YELLOW OBJECTS RED OBJECTS
Let’s Pack the Bags
Practice is over and it’s time for the kids to pack their bags and go home. CHOOSE what to put in the bags, and then DRAW the objects inside them.
This bag’s for everything that’s THE COLOR ... You decide!
This bag’s for everything NEEDED FOR ... You decide!
This bag’s for everything YOU WEAR ... You decide!
And what goes in this bag? You decide!
It’s MIRAN S birthday, and all his friends are here to celebrate with him. Nothing is missing: there are balloons, banners, gifts, and treats.
Look for the numbers 6 and 8 . They can be numerals or they can be objects to count. FIND THEM ALL!
A B C
THE ANCIENT ROMANS FAIRY TALES
JASMINE was born on 12/03/2014
Dates of Birth
All the guests decide to write down the day they were born so everyone will know each other’s BIRTHDAY!
BRUCE was born on 08/14/2014
WRITE the date of birth of three people you know below. Then DRAW their faces. NAME:
When were you born? WRITE the month and year you were born on the calendar, and then mark the date with an X.
YEAR: MONTH:
YEAR: MONTH:
WRITE DOWN the biggest number you know!
And your best friend? WRITE the month and year they were born on the calendar, and then mark the date with an X .
“ THE YEAR NUMBER IS REALLY BIG!”
What happens if you add 1 to the number you’ve written? TELL someone what happens.
ASK a person who’s older than you to tell you the biggest number they can think of, and then write it down.
Write your favorite number below and the reason why you like it.
Colored Marbles
It’s time to play with the colored marbles! Before rolling them, MIRAN suggests that they all play a game.
GO to page 63, CUT OUT the marbles, and PUT THEM on the plate below.
A) How many marbles have you cut out?
B) How many YELLOW marbles are there?
C) How many BLUE marbles are there?
FIND all the possible combinations to create 5 different groups of 6 MARBLES.
COLOR all the possibilities below: 1) 2) 3) 4) 5)
Each row of bags must contain a total of 10 MARBLES. PUT the correct NUMBER of marbles in each bag.
Now, YOU TRY! CREATE other ways to divide the 10 MARBLES between the bags, and WRITE the number of marbles in each bag on the labels. 5 0 1 5 4 5
MEASURING COUNTING
The Weight of a Cookie
The cookies are ready. Now all you have to do is weigh them and put them in the bags.
GET a cookie from your pantry and WEIGH it on your scale. WRITE how much it weighs on the screen.
Can you FIND anything in your kitchen that weighs the same as 10 COOKIES ? Weigh some different objects on your scale, and when you find something that weighs the same as 10 cookies, draw it here.
How much do 10 cookies weigh? DRAW your cookie on the bag, and WRITE the WEIGHT OF 10 COOKIES on the label.
OMAR’S grandfather has come to visit, and he suggests they play a game. He lays out a few kitchen utensils and some food items on the table and asks OMAR to find those that have a similar weight. You can TRY , too. LOOK for some of these objects and food items in your kitchen, and then WEIGH them. Which of them have a SIMILAR WEIGHT ?
PASTA
ACTIVITIES, TEXT, AND STORYTELLING
Agnese del Zozzo and Marzia Garzetti both have a mathematics degree, and after years of self-employment in the world of education, they began researching the teaching and communication of mathematics. They are currently PhD students, at the Universities of Trento and Bolzano, respectively.
Tecnoscienza is a group of authors and educators who for more than 15 years have been involved in the dissemination of science, technology, mathematics, and information on the environment for numerous institutions, such as museums and businesses. Their books have been published in more than 20 countries and are designed to stimulate thoughts, actions, and emotions.
ILLUSTRATIONS
Camilla Garofano was born in Empoli, Italy. After years of designing theatrical costumes, Camilla decided to dedicate herself to designing imaginary worlds and creatures, which led to her career in digital media and, in particular, illustrations for children’s books. She is a member of Fuffa, an illustration studio based in Tuscany that was created by a team of four friends passionate about illustration and books. Together they make picture, activity, and interactive books, as well as puzzles and toys. Between them, they have years of experience in the editorial field, and they share the same goal: to create something beautiful.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form or by any means without written permission from the publisher.
First printing, May 2022
ISBN 978-88-544-1900-1
1 2 3 4 5 6 26 25 24 23 22
Printed and manufactured in China by Allied Fortune Times Limited (AF printing)
