Borrowing a Ten: Mermaid Lagoon
Welcome to Mermaid Lagoon! Octavia the octopus collects shells, pearls and shiny pebbles under the sea. When the top digit is too small to take away from, we borrow: trade 1 ten for 10 ones (or 1 hundred for 10 tens).
Remember: 54 − 18: 4 ones is too small to take 8 from. Borrow 1 ten: now there are 4 tens and 14 ones. 14 − 8 = 6 and 4 − 1 = 3, so 54 − 18 = 36.
Magic trick: More on the floor? Go next door and get 10 more! And always cross out the next door’s digit and make it 1 smaller.
Seek and Find
Look carefully at the picture of Mermaid Lagoon and find:
- 🐚 Find the scallop shells on the rock. Count them: 7 shells in a row. If Octavia gives 2 away, 7 − 2 = 5 shells are left.
- ⭐ Find the starfish on the sand. Count them: 4 starfish.
- 🐟 Find the yellow fish swimming in a line. There are 5 fish. If 3 swim away, 5 − 3 = 2 fish stay to play.
- 🐱 Millie and her kitten Biscuit are hiding in every picture. Can you spot them?