the doorbell rang…..and rang…..and rang

‘I’ve made some cookies for tea,’ said Ma.  ‘Share them between yourselves.  I made plenty.’

‘That’s six each,’ said Sam and Victoria.

‘They look as good as Grandma’s,’ said Victoria.

‘They smell as good as Grandma’s,’ said Sam.

‘No one makes cookies like Grandma,’ said Ma as the doorbell rang.

It was Tom and Hannah. 

‘Come in,’ said Ma.  ‘You can share the cookies.

‘That’s three each,’ said Sam and Victoria.

That’s right.  Four children each get three cookies.

‘They look as good as your Grandma’s,’ said Tom.

‘They smell as good as your Grandma’s,’ said Hannah.

‘No one makes cookies like Grandma,’ said Ma as the doorbell rang.

It was Peter and his little brother.

‘Come in,’ said Ma. ‘You can share the cookies.

Now that there are six children, how many do they get each?  Can you work it out?

Then the doorbell rang again.  This time it was  Joy and Simon and their four cousins.  Twelve children altogether.  Count them if you like.

‘That’s one each,’ said Sam and Victoria.

And just as they were about to tuck in…..the doorbell rang again!  In fact it rang…..and rang…..and rang.  Oh dear!  More people to share the cookies with?

But no, it was Grandma.  With an enormous tray of cookies.

‘It’s a good thing I made a lot,’ she said.

‘And no one makes cookies like Grandma,’ said Ma - as the doorbell rang.

Afterwards, we drew and wrote to show our own thinking about how the cookies were shared.

         

If you’d like to read the original story for yourself, it was ‘The Doorbell Rang’ by Pat Hutchins.

Oh and before I go, you managed to work out how many cookies Ma made, didn’t you; but can you explain how you knew?