THE QUALITY OF NUMBERS – ALBUM & SONGBOOK
Discover the wonder and beauty hidden within the world of numbers!
Every number has its own character, a story to tell and a world of relationships waiting to be discovered.
One brings us into the mystery of unity. Two introduces us to the world of opposites. Three brings movement and transformation. Four reveals structure and form. And as we journey through the numbers to twelve, an extraordinary world of patterns, rhythms and relationships begins to unfold.
Through memorable melodies, delightful images and meaningful stories, children encounter the qualities of numbers in a way that speaks to their hearts and minds. They can sing, move, imagine and discover mathematics in the world around them.
Twelve stories and twelve songs for numbers 1–12, with the complete album, songbook, stories and lyrics.
US$19.99 · Digital download
Included at no additional cost: Mat and the Peach Pit – Up and Down plus its Educator Guide.
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The Quality of Numbers Album & Songbook
Each song and story offers an opportunity to explore the unique character of a number, awakening curiosity and laying a rich foundation for mathematical understanding.
Created with a deep love of mathematics, music and education, this collection is a wonderful resource for parents, homeschoolers and primary school teachers who want to bring warmth, creativity and meaning into the teaching of numbers. Over the years the songs and stories have found their way into the hearts of many families around the world.
Whether enjoyed together at home or brought into the classroom, these songs offer opportunities for joyful participation, discovery and shared musical experiences.
Open the door to a world where mathematics comes alive through music, imagination and discovery.
Let the journey begin!
Verses and stories from the well-loved educational resource, Putting the Heart Back into Teaching by Stan Maher and Yvonne Bleach.
What you receive
The complete album
Twelve original songs and stories for numbers 1–12, supplied in MP3 and high-quality WAV formats.
The expanded songbook
A print-ready edition and a screen-friendly digital edition, with the stories, verses, lyrics and background material for teaching.
Mat and the Peach Pit
The illustrated digital story Mat and the Peach Pit – Up and Down and its Educator Guide are included with the Album & Songbook.
MAT AND THE PEACH PIT – A STORY ABOUT UP AND DOWN
Help children discover what up and down really mean.
Mat and the Peach Pit – A Story About Up and Down
Meet Mat, a curious little mouse who lives beneath the earth and loves discovering the wonders of the world around him.
One morning, while pondering the mysteries of up and down, Mat stumbles upon a little peach pit. He decides to plant it, imagining how wonderful it would be to have a peach tree growing right outside his door.
With great care and patience, Mat waters his little pit every day. But the weeks pass, winter comes and goes, and still nothing happens. Just as Mat begins to lose hope, Pat the Wise Parrot shares a wonderful secret: deep beneath the earth, the little pit is preparing to grow. Its roots must reach down before its branches can reach up towards the sun.
And so begins Mat’s delightful discovery of growth, direction and the wonderful relationships hidden in nature.
Through Mat’s adventures, children discover the meaning of up and down, higher and lower, and the changing relationships between things. They encounter the beginnings of measurement, comparison and even the way numbers can increase and decrease.
Beautifully illustrated and filled with warmth, wonder and discovery, Mat and the Peach Pit invites children to explore the world with curiosity and imagination.
A delightful introduction to spatial awareness and the mathematical relationships that children will encounter as their understanding develops.
Fully illustrated A4 digital storybook + Educator Guide with activities and games.
Suitable for children approximately 5–9.
US$4.99 · Digital PDF
Already buying The Quality of Numbers? Mat and the Peach Pit and its Educator Guide are included with that collection.
Why does up and down belong to mathematics?
Long before children meet coordinates or diagrams, they are learning to understand where things are in relation to one another. Above and below. Higher and lower. Near and far. Inside and outside. These spatial relationships become part of the language and reasoning of mathematics.
Later, children will meet vertical position in measurement, graphs, geometry, diagrams and coordinate systems. The early work is much simpler: helping them notice direction, position and relationship clearly in the world they already inhabit.
Mat and the Peach Pit turns that noticing into a story children can return to, talk about and carry into movement and play.
Two ways into meaningful early mathematics
The Quality of Numbers opens the door to the wonderful world of mathematics through stories, songs, rhythm and pattern. Children discover the meaning behind numbers through experiences that awaken their imagination, curiosity and delight in learning.
Mat and the Peach Pit invites children to explore the world of direction and spatial relationships, helping them become more aware of where they are and how things relate to one another in space.
Together, these resources bring mathematical ideas within reach of the child’s imagination and experience, building a rich and meaningful foundation for the mathematical language and abstract concepts that will follow.