The big ideaSmall things grow big with time, and each year's growth is bigger.
How it works
Small things can grow big, if they get enough time. An acorn can become a giant oak.
In this made-up coin garden, every year adds one new coin for every two coins in it.
Maya planted eight coins. Year one added 4, year two added 6 and year three added 9.
Each year brought more new coins than the year before, because the new coins help to grow more coins.
New coins each year.
🌰an acorn🌱a shoot🌳a tall tree
An acorn, years of waiting, and a tree.
Example 1: Year one
The garden holds 8 coins. Every 2 coins make a pair, so there are 4 pairs.
Four pairs bring 4 new coins.
8 + 4 = 12 coins.
Example 2: Year two
The garden holds 12 coins, which is 6 pairs.
Six pairs bring 6 new coins.
12 + 6 = 18 coins.
Example 3: Year three
The garden holds 18 coins, which is 9 pairs.
Nine pairs bring 9 new coins.
18 + 9 = 27 coins.
Example 4: Half of the garden
One new coin for every two coins means half as many new coins.
A garden of 24 coins adds 12 new coins.
A garden of 10 coins adds 5 new coins.
Words to know
time
What small things need to grow big.
shoot
The first small green part that pokes up from the soil.
sapling
A young tree, bigger than a shoot.
Watch out
The coin garden is made up. Real trees grow with time too, but this garden is a story.
The new coins each year grow: 4, then 6, then 9. It is not 4 every year.
A day is hardly any time. Digging the coins up after a day gives them very little growth.
Waiting is the work here: leave the coins to grow, and time does the rest.
Try it
A garden holds 12 coins. How many new coins come in a year?
The garden holds 18 coins after year two, and year three adds 9. How many in all?
Which brings more new coins, year one or year three?
Why do the new coins grow each year?
Answers: 1. 6 · 2. 27 · 3. Year three · 4. The new coins help to grow more coins
Try at homeWith a grown-up, find a tree near you, guess how many years it took to grow, and ask what they know.
For grown-upsThis garden is pretend, and the credits your child earns in the app do not grow by waiting: they are earned by doing the work. Talk about something real that grows with time: a plant, a skill, a friendship.
Open these notes on screenScan the code, or go to tutorpip.com.