Time Machine
5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Intro Video to Math Concepts for kids--math circus, December 28, 2004
Unlike the previous reviewers I thought this video was great. Though it could be longer, it gives kids (mine are 4.5 and 2.5) a good introduction to basic math concepts: association, addition and subtraction.

One of the problems small children have is that they memorize numbers and can "count" but they don't associate the numbers with an actual quantity. This video uses small white mobile cubes called "quidgets" to teach them that numbers `correspond' to a certain number of objects.

My kids are pretty engrossed by this video and I am overjoyed that I can now give my four-year-old simple hand problems and she can solve them.

Video Outline:

--Numbers are produced: "0 to 10".

--Numbers are associated with corresponding numbers of quidgets, coins, fingers, etc.

For example, no quidgets, then one quidget. The white box gets a number 1 which jumps onto it and stays.

Two quidgets stack vertically... the number one jumps off and the 2 jumps on and so forth.

--A song with 1 quidget, then 1 coin, then 1 finger and a 1 "digit" color worm... and so on until there are 10 quidgets, 10 coins, 10 fingers and a 10 segmented worm. The quidgets are piled vertically, and the worm grows horizontally until it is 10 units long: all numbers are shown in their worm segment.

--Then to the circus.

--Review of counting with quidgets stacking vertically.

--Using a high wire act with two swings, the quidget's do addition and then subtraction.

Two quidgets, for example, swing across and are joined by another quidget from the other swing. The numbers 2 and 1 drop off and the number 3 sticks itself to the stack of three quidgets. The reverse is done for subtraction.

--At the end, stacks of ten quidgets are flung into the ring until their are ten stacks of them demonstrating how we can go from 10 to 100 by ten's. ( )