An abacus is a lot of fun to use. And you can make one very easily. To make an abacus like the ones used long ago, you'll need forty pebbles and a piece of cardboard, wood, or stiff paper. With a...
The marvelous counting machine
Imagine that it is five thousand years ago and that you are a rich merchant in the ancient city of Babylon. You have a curly black beard and a purple robe with yellow fringe at the bottom. You're...
Pebbles for tens
Like everyone else in the family, Mirim had lots of work to do. Even when she was very little, Mirim had helped her mother grind grain for bread and pick berries and grapes. But now that she was...
Stop at ten
Before people began to count, they probably had no name for any number but one. Suppose a hunter wanted to tell about a small herd of four to six deer he had seen. He might just say it was a "hand"...
Fingers for numbers
It was early morning as Amu, the shepherd boy, trudged toward the sheep pen, whistling merrily. His feet were bare. His only clothing was a short skirt made of animal skin. In one hand he carried his...
Counting sheep
How many sheep are there, here? Two, of course. You didn't have to count them to know that. You could tell at a glance. And you probably don't have to count these sheep either, to know that there...
Fingers, pebbles, and wiggly marks
What would we do without numbers? Why, we couldn't even count! We couldn't keep track of birthdays, Or of any other amount. But have there always been numbers? Were they always just "lying around"?...
Ten
The ancient Greeks gave ten a shape with ten sides and ten corners. Such a shape is called a decagon, which means "ten corners." The Greeks also thought of ten as a triangle made out of the first...
Nine
The ancient Greeks thought of nine as a shape with nine sides and nine corners. Such a shape is called a nonagon, which means "nine corners." They also thought of nine as nine dots arranged in the...
Eight
The Greeks of long ago thought of eight as a shape with eight sides and eight corners. Such a shape is called an octagon, a name that means "eight corners." They also saw eight as a shape called a...
