Jack and The Beanstalk Tall and Short Stories

The munching crunching cushion chomped all day and night … it chomped the curtains and chomped the lights. The munching crunching cushion must have had fangs, because it chomped telephone until it no longer rang. One day, the munching crunching cushion was so hungry that it started with the mat for the first course, and for dessert ended up eating the cat. The munching crunching cushion gobbled up the knives, forks and spoons on the table … it was still munching breakfast until way after Noon, as much as a cushion was able. Its belly rumbled for more apple crumble. The munching cushion ate sponge and custard for dessert until his belly hurt. It really was no match for a munching cushion with a huge appetite – when it saw the strawberry gateau, it chomped an enormous bite. It ate so much for breakfast, dinner and tea, that it’s buttons popped off because it’s zip was too tight. By the time that three o’ clock came, the munching cushion had eaten the kitchen sink … it had even eaten the dirty dishes as well as the taps … because the sink wasn’t very tasty, and needed a drink, I think. Soon, the munching cushion had gobbled up the washing machine, now there was nothing to keep the clothes clean. Then the munching cushion ate the fridge and the food on the shelves, too – it even ate up a whole plate of yesterday’s potato stew. The munching crunching cushion stomped and stomped through the house – in the kitchen it chomped and chomped. After a while, there was a hole in the rug … and no handles left on any of the mugs. In the garden, the munching cushion was worse than any of the slugs … after eating a whole cabbage, it munched through three cauliflowers, a pound of carrots and then three dozen bugs. Before long, four apples were missing from the orchard and all the leaves were gone … but the munching cushion didn’t stop there … it continued chomping until it had eaten each one. And even when dinner was done, it gobbled up the table until it was all gone. © Jacqueline Richards 2007

Even when the water was cold, because he didn’t have any cash, Duane the bathroom duck, loved a really good splash. It didn’t matter if he wasn’t dirty, he took a dive every night, at seven thirty. Soon, he was sliding towards the plughole … slipping down the drain faster than a Dover sole. Duane, the bathroom duck, never once got stuck ! In fact, once in the bath, he caught a fish with a fishing hook ! whilst he was removing all his muck. Duane asked the spider who had travelled up the drain, too, to scrub his black back, which was mucky, it’s true. When Duane looked again, it was dirty again ! Soon, sloppy webbed footprints walked along the bathroom floor towards the door … Duane’s friend, Ruby, was another rubber duck who also forgot to duck ! Before she knew it, she was hit on the head, by a rather soggy flannel, thrown at Duane instead.

The Pair Of Bathroom Squeagies

1. If one bathroom squeagy can hold 150 mls of water, how many squeezes of water does a one litre bucket contain ?

2. Imagine a 3 litre puddle on the bathroom floor, how many times does Duane have to squeeze the squeagy to clear the mess up ?

The Shampoo Championship

Add the letters S - H -A to complete the words.

Answers1000 / 150 = 6.6 r

No wonder the caterpillar had belly ache … He was chomping on cabbage leaves and got hit by a rake ! He swallowed more fertiliser than a slug … And just wanted to sleep in the hole the gardener had dug (as snug as a bug in a rug) ! The magic greenhouse was a very nice home, There were even nice friends to talk to … a cheeky garden gnome. Although he usually chatted only about fishing, He liked to chomp on the pond’s lillypads and was kept busy by wishing. The caterpillar had just one wish … for a fish the size of a shark (though it probably wouldn’t fit his dish !). All the caterpillar wanted to do, Was to scale the magic greenhouse, where gigantic tomatoes grew. Perhaps he could even try bunjee - jumping, Though to dodge the plump tomatoes would be hard without bumping ! The tomatoes were an enormous size … Which (even without binoculars) seemed to magnify ! The caterpillar, of course, had toe xercise a lot … He first practised crawling on the flowerpot, To be fit enough to climb to the top of the creepers without a single stop. The caterpillar was hardly as light as a fairy … so he only just made it to the first branch, barely. Very soon, he was chomping away in delight … On so many tasty cucumbers, his trousers were soon too tight ! But he quickly realised, he’d bitten off more than he could chew … As he put on 3 pounds and two ounces in weight … and to the ground he flew. A splash of water from the watering can, was enough to revive the tomato plant fan. (It also left the greenhouse shining, spick and span !). As the caterpillar looked up, before his very eyes, Surprisingly, the tomato plant had incredibly magnified. From the tiny seed, that only months ago had been sown, Now there was a tremendous tomato plant, completely overgrown !

1. Work out the volume of the magic maths greenhouse if it measured 5 m long x 4 m wide x 4 m high.

2. There were 8 shelves inside the magic maths greenhouse … 5 m long. Each box of vegetables was 50 cm wide. How many boxes fit along these shelves ?

3. Inside each box were 50 tomatoes. How many tomatoes is this ?

4. The magic maths tomato plant grew 6 tomaotes on each branch. If there were 16 branches on one plant - how many tomatoes grew ?

5. The magic maths tomato plant grew at a rate of 3 cm per week - how long did it take to be 1.25 metres ?

6. The magic maths tomato plant was watered with 2.3 litres of water twice a day … how much water was used watering the plants in the greenhouse in one month ?

7. The gardener added 3 shovelfuls of fertiliser to every tomato plant - if there were 20 tomato plants and one shovelful contained 75 grams - how many 50 kg bags of fertiliser were needed ?

8. The magic maths tomato plant had 150 leaves, but 20% of them fell off … how many were left ?

9. In the magic greenhouse, there were 55 tomato plants, 75 cucumber and 105 pumpkin plants …

a) Express this as a ratio

b) What fraction of the total number of plants were tomato ?

c) What decimal of the total number of plants were cucumber ?

d) What percentage of the total number of plants were pumpkin ?

10. Work out the volume of a tomato that measured 6 cm diameter.

Up The Garden Path

Circle the word “PATH” inside these words.

pathology

pathological

pathetic

empathy

sympahty

psychopath

patch

pathos

despatch

© Jacqueline Richards 2007

Answers :

1. 5 x 4 x 4 = 80 cubic m;

2. 8 x 500 / 50 = 80 boxes;

3. 80 x 50 = 4 000;

4. 16 x 6 = 96;

5. 125 / 3 = 41.66 weeks;

6. 2.3 x 2 x 31 = 142.6 litres;

7. 3 x 20 x 75 / 50 = 90;

8. 150 - (150 / 100 x 20 = 30) = 120;

9. a) 55 : 75 : 105 = 11: 15 : 21 b) 55 / 185 = 11 / 37 c) 75 / 185 = 0.4054 d) 105 / 185 = = 0.5675 = 56%;

10. 3 ii r therefore 3 x 3.14 x 3 = 28.26 cubic cm

1/ The not very good juggler juggled four cups, 6 saucers, 3 plates, 2 forks and four knives. How many things did he juggle in total ? Show your working out.

2/ The not very well juggled jug could hold 3 litres of juice - but the not very good juggler spilled 30 % of it - how much was left ? Show your working out.

3/ The not very good juggler could juggle one - third of the time of the good juggler (120 minutes). How long is that ? Show your working out.

4/ The not very good juggler practised his juggling for fifteen minutes before each meal break - four times daily. In one month, how long did he practise ? Show your working out.

5/ The jug that he dropped smashed into 8 pieces. It took 2.5 mls of glue to stick one piece back together - so how much glue did it take to stick all eight ? Show your working out.

6/ The not very good juggler tried to juggle 200 tomatoes but he squashed 25 %. How many did he have left ? Show your working out.

7/ The not very good juggler tried to juggle 300 potatoes but 12% bounced away when he dropped them. How many is that exactly ? Show your working out.

8/ The not very good juggler tried to juggle 16 chairs, but one leg fell off each chair - how many legs were left in total ? Show your working out.

9/ The not very good juggler tried to juggle scissors but he cut the heads off the flowers in the flower vase ! There were 25 tulips, 18 daffodils and 32 roses. The scissors snipped one - fifteenth. How many is that and how many were left ? Show your working out.

10/ The not very good juggler tried to juggle all the shoes in the shoe cupboard. There were 560 shoes but the shoe laces came out of 55% of the shoes - how many shoes had shoe laces left inside them ? Show your working out.

11/ The not very well juggled jug flew across the room, 25 metres, bounced up 2 metres, rolled across the floor 6 metres and downstairs 8 metres. How far did it travel ?

12/ In the garden, the not very good juggler tried to juggle watering can - and ended up watering a quarter of the lawn (which was 35 m long and 40 m wide). How much of the lawn was wet and how much was dry ?

13/ In the garage, the not very good juggler tried to juggle all the hammers and spanners on the shelves. There were 8 hammers and 6 spanners - Express this as a ratio.
He dropped one seventh - how many is that ?

14/ The not very good juggler tried to juggle 55 tangerines, but he trod on 19%. How any did he destroy with his clumsy feet ?

15/ The not very good juggler tried to juggle 30 footballs, but 3 rolled away - express this as a fraction.

16/ The not very good juggler tried to juggle 15 bottles of milk - he juggled them so much that one in three bottles turned into sour cream. How many did he have left ?

17/ The not very good juggler tried to juggle 50 pens but 10 of them made 15 splashes each on the wall - how many splashes is that ?

18/ The not very good juggler tried to juggle 55 teabags - he juggled them so well that one - fifth fell into the hot teapot and made tea. How many did he have left ?

19/ The not very good juggler tried to juggle 3 bunches of six bananas, but three became peeled and landed in ice - cream sundae dishes. express this a) as a ratio b) as a fraction c) as a percentage.

20/ On the beach, the not very good juggler tried to juggle sea - shells but he 40 % dropped in the sea ! He had collected 360 seashells. How many a) did he drop b) did he have remaining ?

 The Ug Glug Ug In A Jug Game

Add “ug” to these words to complete the spellings.

b__ __
a squeeze and a h__ __
smashed j __ __
pl__ __ ged
shr__ __ged his shoulders
b__ __gy
t__ __ of war
sat on the r__ __
the train ch__ __ ged over the hill

© Jacqueline Richards 2007

Answers :
1/ 4 + 6 + 3 + 2 + 4 = 19
2/ 3 000 - (3 000 / 100 x 30) = 3 000 - 900 = 2 100
3/ 120 / 3 = 40 minutes
4/ 15 x 4 x 30 = 1, 800 mins / 60 = 30 hours
5/ 2.5 x 8 = 20 mls
6/ 200 - (200 / 4) = 150
7/ 36
8/ 16 x 3 = 48
9/ 75 / 15 = 5 (70 remaining)
10/ 560 - (560 / 100 x 55) = 560 - 308 = 252
11/ 25 + 2 + 6 + 8 = 41 metres
12/ 53 x 40 / 4 = 1 400 square metres / 4 = 350 square metres (wet) ; 350 x 3 = 1, 050 square metres (dry)
13/ 8 : 6 / 4 : 3 ; 14 / 7 = 2
14/ 55 / 100 x 19 = 10.45 = 11
15/ 3 / 30 = 1 / 3
16/ 15 / 3 = 5
17/ 10 x 15 = 150 splashes
18/ 55 - (55 / 5) = 55 - 11 = 44
19/ 3 x 6 = 18 a) 1 : 2 b) 3 / 6 = 1 / 2 c) 50%
20/ a) 360 / 100 x 40 = 144 b) 360 - (360 / 100 x 40) = 216

Answers : bug ; a squeeze and a hug ; smashed jug ; plugged ; shrugged his shoulders ; buggy ; tug of war ; sat on the rug ; the train chugged into the station

Answer : butter

Write a mathematical equation to show your working out to the following maths problems.

The gardener was hopeless at maths ! Can you help him out ? He really doesn’t know what all of these gardening sums are about !

1/ It took 2.8 minutes for the gardener to mow 2 square metres. Each 2 square metres produced 2.5 kg of cut grass. If his lawn was 100 m wide and 100 m long, a) Work out the surface area of the lawn b) Calculate how long it took the gardener to mow it. Give your answer in minutes and hours. c) Calculate how much cut grass the lawn produced in this time.

2/ The gardener’s shed was 3 / 5 ths of the way down the garden path. If the path was 500 m long, how far down was the garden shed ? Express this also as a fraction, decimal and percentage.

3/ The gardener planted 500 bulbs 1.3 metres apart - how far did they stretch ?

4/ The gardener painted the fence. Each 1 square metre required 2.5 litres of paint. How much paint did he need for a fence that was 750 m long ?

5/ The gardener had a washing line in his garden onto which he pegged 15 socks, 5 jumpers, 6 towels and 4 pairs of trousers. What fraction of the gnome’s washing were socks ? What decimal of the gnome’s washing were jumpers ? What percentage of the gnome’s washing were towels ? What decimal of the gnome’s washing were trousers ? If it took 2.5 mins to iron each item, how long did it take him to iron the whole pile ?

6/ The gnome planted a honeysuckle bush that grew at a rate of 18.9 cm every month. How long did it take the honeysuckle to reach 189 m high ?

7/ The gnome counted how many birds flew to the bird table … there were 45 blue tits, 25 sparrows, 75 blackbirds and 10 magpies. Express this as a ratio. What fraction of the birds who visited his bird table were magpies ? What decimal were sparrows ? Each day, one blue tit ate 3 peanuts, each sparrow ate 8 peanuts, the blackbids ate 3 peanuts each and each magpie ate 3 worms. How much was eaten in six weeks ?

8/ The gnome counted how many nests were in the garden hedge. There were 2 every 1.5 metres. How many birds’ nests did the 500 metre fence contain ?

9/ The gnome kept his Wellington boots by the side of the garden shed. After a month, there was 7 cm of rain water inside of them. On average, how much rain had fallen in one week ?

10/ The gnome saw that 45% of the flowers in his garden were blue, 35% red, 10% pink and 10 % yellow. If there were 1000 flowers in total, how many of each flower was there ?

11/ The gnome caught one fish from the fishing pond every 2.5 hours. If he fished for 7 hours each day … 4 days a week. How many fish did he catch in one month ?

12/ The biggest fish that the gnome caught was a trout - it was four times bigger the roach, which was 6 times bigger than the perch, which was 8 times bigger than the goldfish, which was 6.5 cm long. How long, therefore, was the trout ?

Garden Gnome Up The Garden Path Game

Add “garden” to complete the words and phrases.

___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ grass

___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ lawn

___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ shed

___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ gnome

___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ city

___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ path

___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ er

___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ house

___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ flowers

___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ing

___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ party

hanging ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___

market ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ er

Potty Flower Pots

Think of as many words that contain - “ower”, like a flower and “our”.

How many words, like the garden gnome’s garden shed have a S - H - E - D hidden  inside ? Here are some example to help get you started.

hushed

pushed

rushed

fished

bashed

clashed

crashed

flashed

mashed

mushed

washed

dashed

brushed

gashed

hashed

lashed

trashed

swooshed

© Jacqueline Richards 2007

Answers :
garden grass; garden lawn; garden shed ; garden gnome; garden city; garden path; gardener; garden house ; garden flowers; gardening; garden party; hanging garden; market gardener

Answers :
1/ a) 100 x 100 = 1000 square metres b) 1000 / 2 x 2.8 = 2800 minutes = 46.6 r hours c) 1000 / 2 x 2.5 = 1250 kg
2/ 500 / 5 x 3 = 300 m
3/ 500 x 1.3 = 650 m
4/ 750 x 2.5 = 1875 litres
1/ a) 100 x 100 = 1000 square metres b) 1000 / 2 x 2.8 = 2800 minutes = 46.6 r hours c) 1000 / 2 x 2.5 = 1250 kg
2/ 500 / 5 x 3 = 300 m
3/ 500 x 1.3 = 650 m
4/ 750 x 2.5 = 1875 litres
5/ a) 15 / 30 = 1/ 2 b) 5 / 30 = 1 / 6 th c) 6 / 30 = 1/ 5 th = 20 % d) 4 / 30 = 0.13 r e) 30 x 2.5 = 75 mins
6/ 189 / 18.9 = 10 months
7/ magpies : sparrows : blue tits : blackbirds = 10 : 25 : 45 : 75 = 2 : 5 : 9 : 15
8/ 500 / 1.5 x 2 = 666
9/ 7 / 4 = 1.75 cm
10/ blue 450; red 350; 100 pink; 100 yellow
11/ 7 x 4 x 4 / 2.5 = 44.8 fish
12/ 6.5 x 8 x 6 x 4 = 1248 cm

1/ The Cat’s mat was 2.5 metres long and 2 metres wide. Work out it’s area.

2/ The cat sat one fifth the way along the entire length. How far along the mat was that ? Write a mathematical equation to show your working out.

3/ The cat bought the mat 3 years ago for £2.99 - how much change did he receive from £5.00 ? Write a mathematical equation to show your working out.

4/ With inflation, the price increased by 3%. How much will it cost now ? Write a mathematical equation to show your working out.

5/ Every day, the cat slept for 2 hours in the morning, 1 and a half hours every afternoon and 5 hours at night. How much did he sleep in one month ? *

6/ The cat soon wore out his mat … he replaced it every 5 months. In 5 years how often did he change his mat ? Write a mathematical equation to show your working out.

7/ The cat’s mat was next to the fireplace. Every 2 hours, the cat - owner replaced the coal and woke the cat. If the cat slept for 10 hours, how often was get it woken ? Write a mathematical equation to show your working out.

8/ If the cat wagged it’s tail 16 times in 15 minutes, how often did it wag it’s tail in 4 hours ? Write a mathematical equation to show your working out.

9/ If the cat was 18 cm long when it was curled up, and it trebled when it stretched, how long did it become ? Write a mathematical equation to show your working out.

10/ The cat’s tail was 15% of it’s stretched out length. How long is that ? Write a mathematical equation to show your working out.

* work on the principle that that there are 7 days in each week and 4 weeks in every year (ie 28 days)

© Jacqueline Richards 2007

Answers :
1/ 2.5 x 2 = 5 square metres
2/ 250 / 5 = 50 cm along
3/ a) £5 - £2.99 = £2.01b) c)
4/ £2.99 + £2.99 / 100 x 3 = £3.08
5/ (2 + 1.5 + 5) x 7 x 4 = 238 hours
6/ 5 x 12 = 60 months / 5 month periods = 12 times
7/ 10 / 2 = 5 times
8/ 4 x 4 x 16 = 256 times
9/ 18 x 3 = 54 cm
10/ 54 / 100 x 15 = 8.1 cm

Mrs Mop liked her job at the Town Hall,
Though mostly she was late
And sometimes didn’t get there at all !
She thought her job was great.

Every morning, there was always a long list of jobs to do,
Cleaning, polishing and hoovering, too.
One day, as Mrs Mop was scrubbing the window sill,
Suddenly, there was a “CRASH !”, a “SPLASH !” and a terrible spill.

Her mop bucket fell upon the ground,
Soon, the people of the town, were merrily sloshing around.
Mrs Mop went quick to get her mop before anyone tripped …
Too late, the Mayor came along and slipped !

The Mayoress landed upon the floor …
And the Town Cryer skidded towards the door.
Soapy bubbles flew everywhere,
Mrs Mop aimed, but missed the chair !

The clerk was quickly sopping wet through,
The papers he was carrying were also soggy too.
Mrs Mop. of course, got the sack,
But it didn’t stop her mopping stacks.

 Mrs Mop’s Multiplying Soap Bubbles

Some of the letters in Mrs Mop’s words got so soapy that they slipped away in the soapy water ! Add “soap” or “soak” to these words and phrases to complete the spellings. Give an example in the space provided to show how this word can be used in a sentence.

____ ____ ____ ____box

____ ____ ____ ____iness

____ ____ ____ed wet through

____ ____ ____dish

____ ____ ____ age

____ ____ ____ bubble

____ ____ ____ away

____ ____ ____ in the bath

____ ____ ____ opera

____ ____ ____ away

____ ____ ____ ball

____ ____ ____ ____ suds

The Magic Mop

The magic mop was so magic that as soon as it was put in the bucket of soapy water, soapy bubbles frothed … and frothed … and frothed. A puddle of soapy water spilled onto the floor and provided a wishy - washy lake for the mop to swim in. The magic mop swished this way, then that … and suddenly everything in the kitchen went “SPLAT !”. The magic mop slid under the table and around the chairs - the magic mop swished here then there, leaving bubbles everywhere. Froth foamed and bubbles spat, the magic mop made everything in the kitchen go “SPLAT !”. The magic mop swished this way, then that, and left magic bubbles go this way, then that.

© Jacqueline Richards 2005

The Bucket of Soapy Water Mathematics Game

1/ If Mrs Mop could carry two 500 ml bucketfuls of water at once - how many trips did she have to make to carry 5000 litres ?

2/ Mrs Mop added two thirds a 1 kg packet of soap powder. How much in grams was left ?

3/ Mrs Mop filled her bucket with hot to cold water in a ratio of 2 : 3 parts. If the bucket was 750 ml - how much of each temperature was there ?

4/ POP ! Soap bubbles trebled every minute. Work out the cubic number of 5, 15, 45 and 75 bubbles.

5/ Splish ! Splosh ! The stream of soggy water travelled at a rate of 0.25 m per minute. How long did it take the water to travel 5 m ?

6/ Outside the Town Hall was bucketing down with rain at a rate of 3 cm per day. How many days had it rained if the rain was 33 cm deep ?

7/ The “CRASH !” of Mrs. Mop’s bucket could be heard half way across town. Town was 3.5 km wide. How far could Mrs Mop’s bucket be heard ?

8/ Mrs Mop lost the buckle on her coat. Looking for it, she travelled 2.3 km North to the cinema, 4.5 km West to the park, 6.7 km East, 1.2 km North - East and 9.2 km back to the Town Hall. How far did she travel in total ?

9/ Mrs Mop was late for work 4/5 ths of the days in the month. How many days was she on time ?

10/ Mrs Mop went to buy a new bucket which cost a buck ! If she took a loan agreement to pay back £0.50 per week, how long did it take her to pay back the £5.99 ?

 Slip Slop !

Some of the letters in Mrs Mop’s words got washed away in the soapy water ! Add either “slip” or “slop” to these words and phrases to complete the spellings. A clue has been provided to get you started. Give an example in the space provided to show how this word can be used in a sentence.
_________________________________________________________________________________
____ ____ ____ ____ ped = past tense
_________________________________________________________________________________
____ ____ ____ ____ pery = adjective describing a wet surface
_________________________________________________________________________________
____ ____ ____ ____ piness = noun describing something non - stick
_________________________________________________________________________________
____ ____ ____ ____ py = adjective describing a wet surface
_________________________________________________________________________________
____ ____ ____ ____ py = adjective describing something untidy
_________________________________________________________________________________
____ ____ ____ ____ up = a mistake
_________________________________________________________________________________
____ ____ ____ ____ per = footwear
_____________________________________________________________________________________ ____ ____ ____ stream = gust of air by aircraft propeller
_________________________________________________________________________________
____ ____ ____ ____ away = go quietly
_____________________________________________________________________________________ ____ ____ ____ knot = a knot that though tied can glide over
_________________________________________________________________________________
____ ____ ____ ____ ped disk = a spinal problem
_________________________________________________________________________________
____ ____ ____ ____ road = a by pass
_________________________________________________________________________________
give the ____ ____ ____ ____ = escape from
_________________________________________________________________________________
____ ____ ____ ____ off = smoothly remove
_________________________________________________________________________________
____ ____ ____ ____ on = smoothly put
_________________________________________________________________________________
____ ____ ____ ____ on the ice =
_________________________________________________________________________________
let ____ ____ ____ ____ = ignore
_____________________________________________________________________________________ ____ ____ ____ of paper = a scrap
_________________________________________________________________________________
____ ____ ____ ____ through his fingers = drop
_________________________________________________________________________________
____ ____ ____ ____ pery character = someone not to be trusted
_________________________________________________________________________________
____ ____ ____ ____ in the price of shares = deflation
_________________________________________________________________________________
____ ____ ____ ____ into = adorn
_________________________________________________________________________________
© Jacqueline Richards 2007

Answers : soap box ; soapiness ; soaked wet through ; soap dish ; soakage ; soap bubble ; soak away ; soak in the bath ; soap opera ; soak away ; soap ball ; soap suds

Answers
1/ 5000
2/ 1000 - (1000 / 3 x 2) = 1000 - 666.66 r = 333.34 mls
3/ One part = 750 / 5 = 150 therefore (2 x 150) : (3 x 150) = 300 : 450 mls hot : cold
4/ a ) 5 x 5 x 5 = 125 b) 15 x 15 x 15 = 3 , 375 c) 45 x 45 x 45 = 91, 125 d) 75 x 75 x 75 = 421 , 875
5/ 5 / 0.25 = 20 mins.
6/ 33 / 3 = 11 days
7/ 3.5 / 2 = 1.75 km
8/ 2.3 + 4.5 + 6.7 + 1.2 + 9.2 = 23.9 km
9/ 30 - (30 / 5 = 6 x 4 = 24) = 6 days
10/ £6 / £0.50 = 12 weeks

Answers : slipped ; slippery ; slippiness ; slippy ; sloppy ; slip up ; slipper ; slip stream ; slip away ; slip knot ; slipped disk ; slip road ; give the slip ; slip off ; slip on ; slip on the ice ; let slip ; a slip of paper ; slip through his fingers ; slippery character ; slip in price

Toothbrush was quite happily minding his own business one day standing up tall in the glass on the bathroom windowsill, browsing out of the window and chatting away with his old friend the toothpaste. They were discussing about the next time he would have the chance to go out brushing dentures when in walked a big old nasty toilet brush, with an accomplice - the scrubbing brush. He had been swimming in bleach for some time and had a taste for some dirty tricks - they were always up to mischief. Toothbrush was quite suspicious, the big, old, nasty toilet brush was wearing a mask and carrying a lethal weapon - a gruesome looking brillo pad, threatening to kidnap toothbrush. “Help !”, cried the toothbrush, calling for the shampoo police. Water splashed and bubbles flew everywhere. Even the bath mat got completely scruffed up in the scuffle. The toothbrush was thrown into a booty bag, flung into the boot and whisked off down the stairs into a get away car. The neighbours (Mr and Mrs Hairbrush) looked on helplessly as the wheels screeched and off sped toothbrush down the road. They tried to jot down the get - away vehicle … but the villain brushes were too quick.

After three days, no one had seen or heard from the kidnapped toothbrush until a ransom note was posted in the Daily Toothpaste newspaper requesting a cargo of luxuriously rich soap or the toothbrush would have all it’s bristles removed. The telephone lines buzzed with shouts of “Pay up or the toothbrush gets all his teeth knocked out !”. Pictures of the kidnapped toothbrush were plastered everywhere around the town, calling for his release. Inside his jail, locked away inside the bathroom cabinet, the captive toothbrush felt scared, lost and lonely. He longed to be back in his glass on the windowsill, which he could just baout peep througha crack in the bathroom cabinet doors, and get back to his daily brushing but life had changed so dramatically, things would never be the same again. No more showers or taking dips between the hot and cold water taps - no more bobsleighs nor slip sliding down plugholes.

Thankfully, help was at hand and it didn’t take long for the bottles of hair dye to mount an armed resistance. They bombarded the bathroom cabinet with squirts and squishes … as the big old nasty toilet brush and his accomplice - the scrubbing brush coughed and choked, the flannel rushed in, rubbing his way along the mirror and covering the kidnapped towel with a towel. The kidnapped toothbrush made a quick getaway, to cheers from the loofa perched on the bath rack. No ransom was paid. The sponge was called upon to act as judge … the big old nasty toilet brush and his accomplice - the scrubbing brush got three years in jail for their part in the kidnap - there was going to be no more swilling mouthwash and swimming in antiseptic lotion in the bathroom for them for a while !

 False Teeth Maths Quiz

1. If brushing teeth required 50 mls f water - how much water is used every week brushing teeth ?

2. If 2.5 mls of toothpaste is used every time teeth are brushed, how long does a 250 mls tube of toothpaste last ?

 3. If I bought a new toothbrush for 99 pence, how much change d I receive from £5.00 ?

Answers : 

1. 50 x 7 = 350 mls

2. 250/ 2.5 = 100

3. £4.01

recipe
Sweet Toothbrushes
Ingredients
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup water
1 cup white sugar
6 cups popped butter flavor popcorn
White Marzipan

Line two baking sheets with waxed paper. In a large pot or Dutch oven, combine butter, water and sugar. Bring to a boil. Boil 4 minutes; remove from heat. Introduce popcorn and stir to coat evenly. Pour onto prepared baking sheets and let cool before serving piled on top of marzipan toothbrushes.

© Jacqueline Richards 2005

The Vacuum Cleaner That Sucked Everything Up

Variola the Shrinking Violet was busy doing her housework one day. She polished the windows till they gleamed, dusted the shelves and scrubbed the pot and pans. When she realised what a lot of mess was on the floor - she pulled out the vacuum cleaner from the pantry underneath the stairs and plugged it in. The vacuum cleaner burst into action - whizzing and whirring - the motor almost ran out of electricity - but then soon picked up steam. Suddenly, Variola the Shrinking Violet heard a clunk as the cushion was sucked up into the hose. From inside the vacuum cleaner, there was a ringing sound - it was the alarm clock (also swallowed up recently), quickly followed by a flower from the vase and two mats off the table. One by one, the various ornaments disappeared, a light bulb, four or five books and a map of the town. The vacuum cleaner must have been feeling quite hungry because a whole television, a video recorder and three compact discs also vanished in minutes into the vacuum cleaner’s mouth. A pair of slippers, a scarf and a hat from the coat rack sped into thin air. The vacuum cleaner tube was like a hungry cobra snake - eating up everything in sight - a pair of scissors were munched into the machine, a ball of wool and two knitting needles. The vacuum cleaner started to get belly ache with all this guzzling and groaned. It stuttered as it wolfed up the Sunday Times, digested a readers’ digest and glutoneously gulped down the local gazette. The vacuum cleaner’s appetite seemed endless. It consumed the Encyclopaedia Britannica followed by a sundae dessert of Sunday supplements. Next the vacuum cleaner sucked up three photo frames and two birthday cards. This year’s spring clean was one never to forget !

© Jacqueline Richards 2005

 Clean As A Whistle Spelling

Add “clean” to these words and phrases to complete the spelling.

____ ____ ____ ____ ____ er

____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ing

____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ed

____ ____ ____ ____ ____ est

____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ness

____ ____ ____ ____ ____ liness

____ ____ ____ ____ ____ slate

____ ____ ____ ____ ____ shaven

____ ____ ____ ____ ____ up

____ ____ ____ ____ ____ as a whistle

come ____ ____ ____ ____ ____

____ ____ ____ ____ ____ sed

____ ____ ____ ____ ____ sing

____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ly

____ ____ ____ ____ ____ cut

____ ____ ____ ____ ____ living

____ ____ ____ ____ ____ lines

____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ed out

Clearance Sale

Add “clear” to these words to complete the spellings.

____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ance

____ ____ ____ ____ ____ up

____ ____ ____ ____ ____ windows

____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ing

____ ____ ____ ____ ____ cut

____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ing House

____ ____ ____ ____ ____ eyed

____ ____ ____ ____ ____ way

in the ____ ____ ____ ____ ____

____ ____ ____ ____ ____ sighted

____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ly

____ ____ ____ ____ ____ er

____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ed

____ ____ ____ ____ ____ the air

____ ____ ____ ____ ____ the way

The Vacuum Cleaner Maths Game

Write a mathematical equation to show your working out to the following maths problems.

1/ The vacuum cleaner should have cost £25.99 but there was a 15% discount in the sale - how much did it cost ?

2/ The vacuum cleaner sucked up 0.23 kg of dust every day, how much dust did it suck up in one year ?

3/ If there were 560 crumbs on the kitchen floor, and the vacuum cleaner sucked up 55% - how many crumbs were left ?

4/ If there were 75 cobwebs around the house and the vacuum cleaner sucked up 2 / 5 ths - how many were left ?

5/ The vacuum cleaner sucked up 75 g of dust, 150g of crumbs, 25 g of cobwebs and 100 g of scraps of paper. Express this as a ratio.

6/ There was an electricity cut every twenty - two hours. If the vacuum cleaner cleaned for 456 hours every year, how many times did the power supply cut off ?

7/ If the vacuum cleaner could clean the rug, which was 3 m long x 2.5 m wide, in 4.5 minutes, how long did it take the vacuum cleaner to clean the entire house with a surface area
of 450 square metres ? Give your answer in minutes and hours.

8/ If electricity cost £1.25 to run the the vacuum cleaner for 6 minutes, how much did it cost to run the vacuum cleaner for 6 hours ?

9/ The vacuum cleaner plug needed a new fuse every 57 hours that it vacuumed. How many new fuses were needed whilst the vacuum cleaner sucked for 15 weeks ?

10/ Ouch ! Usually, the maid tripped over the vacuum cleaner wire four times every times that she hoovered. If she hoovered five times every week, how many times did she trip in one year ?!

© Jacqueline Richards 2007

Answers : Vacuum Cleaning Maths Game
cleaner; cleaning; cleaned; cleanest; cleanness; cleanliness; clean slate; clean shaven; clean up; clean as a whistle; come clean; cleansed; cleansing; cleanly; clean cut; clean living; clean lines; cleaned out

Answers : Clearance Sale
clearance; clear up; clear windows; clearing; clear cut; Clearing House; Clear eyed; clearway; in the clear; clear sighted; clearly; clearer; cleared; clear the air; clear the way

Answers :
1/ 25.99 - (25.99 / 100 x 15 = £3.89) = £22.10
2/ 2.3 x 365 = 83.95 kg
3/ 560 - (560 / 100 x 55 = 30 = 252
4/ 75 - (75 / 5 x 2 = 30) = 45
5/ cobwebs : dust : paper : crumbs = 25 : 75 : 100 : 150 = 1 : 3 : 4 : 6
6/ 456 / 22 = 20.72 = 21 times
7/ (450 / (3 x 2.5 m = 7.5 m) = 60) x 4.5 = 270 minutes / 60 = 4.5 hours
8/ £1.25 x (6 x 60 / 6 = 60) = £75.00
9/ 15 x 7 x 24 / 57 = 44.21 = 43 fuses
10/ 52 x 5 x 4 = 67 600 trips

There was once a sewing machine that wouldn’t stop sewing - as soon as the thread was put into the needle and the plug plugged in … off the sewing machine set magically … whizzing and whirring as it stitched together the sleeves of my coat. Gradually whole pockets disappeared and seams were double - stitched. The hem on my skirt became two inches shorter and I no longer had a hood in my favourite coat. The zip was zipped for good and tacked to the tablecloth. Not only were my socks darned, but before they looked like gloves - with five fingers. There really was no stopping the electronic needle - it pounded the curtains and sewed the blinds together. Up and down and up and down again, the needle stitched, embroidering the legs of my trousers to the sleeves of my t- shirt. A pair of socks soon became one … and my tie was stitched to my collar. Trousers were hemmed, and buckled and zipped in a single stocking stitch. My best coat was hemmed and as I was doing up the buttons … my fingers were stitched, too. My gloves were sewn together, so I couldn’t get my hands out of them … nor could I put my arms down my sleeves. My two shoes were tied together … and the laces stitched with cotton thread. And when I went to put my hat on, my hat got stitched to my head ! “Watch out for your ears !”, said a pal with a cheer … and clapped his hands together. The sewing machine stopped …. and off the needle dropped … It simply wouldn’t stop stitching. Once the sewing machine was through in the lounge, it jetted off to the kitchen - stitching the dishcloth to the tea - towel and patching up the rug. In the conservatory, the sewing machine jetted off through the fruit bowl … three bananas were fixed permanently to a pair of pairs and an apple. A stocking stitch stitched the flowers in the vase to the vase and the vase to the fireplace. It seemed that there was no stopping the sewing machine that wouldn’t stop sewing. Into the garden, the sewing machine stitched together the lawn mower to the trowel and the trowel to the shovel. Oh my word ! This is getting absurd ! It would take me weeks to unpick these stitches … and even longer to open the window and doors after the sewing machine had tacked them together.

Activity That Is Only So -Sew

Make ten sentences that have the word “so” and ten sentences with the word “sew” inside it.

(Teacher’s note - this may be a good idea to show how sentences and paragraphs can be stitched together) .

Hear A Pin Drop

Drop the letters P - I - N to complete the words

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

__ __ __ e

 s__ __ __ e 

__ __ __ ned

 s__ __ __ ning wheel 

 res__ __ __  

 __ __ __ acle 

 __ __ __ afore 

 __ __ __ t of milk

 __ __ __ k 

 __ __ __ cer 

__ __ __ fold 

 __ __ __ k 

 o __ __ __ ion 

 __ __ __ hole 

__ __ __ ball 

 s __ h __ __ cter 

 s __ __ __ dle 

 s __ __ __ ach 

 s __ __ __ ster

 s __ __ __ text

Not What It Seems

Write ten sentences including the word “seam” and “seem” - do you know the difference ?

The Pleated Skirt

How many words can you think of that include the letters - plete ? Example - deplete, complete.

In Creases Quiz

Round 1

Divide the class into two teams of “pins” and “needles”. Each team gets one point if … 

1. A team member can name a word that includes the word - crease ? (Example - decrease)

Round 2

2. Each team writes down ten long words from the dictionary on different scraps of paper. They are then folded at various points and handed to the adjudicator and read out loud. A point is scored for the team who adds the right letters in the correct order to  complete the spelling of the word.

Rags To Riches

Circle the word “RAG” inside these words.

drag

dragon

dragged

fragment

crag

large

barge

target

pragmatic

patchwork

© Jacqueline Richards 2005

Answers : pine; spine ; pinned ; spinning wheel ; respin ; pinacle ; pinafore ; pint of milk ; pink ; pincer ; pinfold ; pink ; opinion ; pinhole ; pinball ; sphincter ; spindle ; spinach ; spinster ; spintext