Transcript for Parent Storytellers
On a warm, sunny morning by the edge of a sparkling pond, Mama Frog Charlie was getting ready for a very special day. She had ten little baby frogs hopping around her – the most energetic and giggly baby frogs you’ve ever seen!
“Good morning, my little hoppers!” Charlie called to her babies. “One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten! All my babies are here and ready for fun!”
The baby frogs were so excited they could barely sit still. They kept hopping from lily pad to lily pad, making little splashing sounds in the water.
“Mama Charlie! Mama Charlie!” called the smallest baby frog. “What are we going to do today?”
Charlie smiled her biggest frog smile. “Well, my dears, I was thinking we could have a tea party! But first, would you like to go for a swim in the warm pool over there?” She pointed with her webbed foot toward a cozy little section of the pond where the sun had been shining all morning, making the water perfectly warm.
“Yes!” all ten baby frogs shouted at once, hopping up and down with excitement.
“Wonderful!” Charlie laughed. “But let’s go in one at a time so we can count as we go. Who wants to be first?”
The biggest baby frog, who was always eager to try new things, raised his little green hand. “Me! Me! I want to go first!”
“Perfect!” said Charlie. “In you go, little one!”
SPLASH! The tenth baby frog jumped into the warm pool with the biggest smile on his face.
“Now,” Charlie said to the remaining frogs, “how many baby frogs are left with me?”
All the baby frogs looked around and counted together: “One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine! There are nine baby frogs left!”
“That’s right!” Charlie clapped her hands. “We started with ten, and now we have nine. Who wants to go next?”
Another baby frog hopped forward excitedly. “My turn! My turn!”
SPLASH! The ninth baby frog dove into the warm water to join her brother.
“Now how many are left?” Charlie asked.
“One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight!” counted the remaining baby frogs. “Eight baby frogs are left!”
“Excellent counting!” Charlie cheered. “We had nine, and now we have eight.”
One by one, the baby frogs continued jumping into the warm pool. Each time, Charlie helped them count how many were left.
SPLASH! went the eighth baby frog. “Seven left!” they all counted together.
SPLASH! went the seventh baby frog. “Six left!” they shouted.
SPLASH! went the sixth baby frog. “Five left!” they called out.
SPLASH! went the fifth baby frog. “Four left!” they counted.
The baby frogs were getting so good at counting backwards! Charlie was very proud of how well they were learning.
SPLASH! went the fourth baby frog. “Three left!” they said together.
SPLASH! went the third baby frog. “Two left!” they counted.
SPLASH! went the second baby frog. “One left!” called the last little baby frog, who was now all by himself with Mama Charlie.
The last baby frog looked around and giggled. “I’m the only one left with you, Mama!”
“That’s right, sweetie,” Charlie said, giving him a gentle hug. “You’re baby frog number one, and you’re the last one on the lily pad with me. Would you like to join your brothers and sisters in the warm pool?”
“Yes, please!” said the little frog, and with that, SPLASH! He jumped into the water with all the others.
Charlie looked around the lily pad. “Now how many baby frogs are with me on the lily pad?” she asked.
“Zero!” all ten baby frogs called from the water. “No baby frogs are left! They’re all in the pool!”
“That’s absolutely right!” Charlie laughed. “We started with ten baby frogs, and now zero are left on the lily pad because all ten are swimming in the warm pool!”
From the water, all the baby frogs started calling together: “Mama Charlie! Mama Charlie! Come in! Come in! The water is so warm and nice!”
Charlie smiled and looked at her ten happy baby frogs splashing and playing in the warm pool. “Well, if you insist! A mama frog needs to swim too!”
With a graceful leap, Charlie jumped into the warm pool with all her babies. “Now how many frogs are in the pool?” she asked as she floated happily.
“Eleven!” all the baby frogs counted together. “Ten baby frogs plus one mama frog equals eleven frogs!”
Just then, they heard a familiar voice from the shore. “Charlie! Baby frogs! I have a surprise for you!”
It was Papa Frog, Charlie’s husband, and he was carrying a large tray with tiny teacups, a teapot, and the most delicious-smelling snacks.
“Papa!” all the baby frogs cheered, swimming toward the edge of the pool.
“I thought you might be ready for your tea party,” Papa Frog said with a big smile. “I’ve been preparing the best tea party treats while you were all learning to count and swim!”
Charlie and all ten baby frogs climbed out of the warm pool, shaking the water droplets from their green skin. They gathered in a circle on the soft grass by the pond’s edge.
Papa Frog carefully set out eleven tiny teacups – one for each baby frog and one for Charlie. He poured the most delicious lily pad tea into each cup and placed small pond cookies on little plates.
“This is the best tea party ever!” said the smallest baby frog, taking a tiny sip from his teacup.
As they enjoyed their tea party, Charlie helped the baby frogs practice their counting one more time.
“Let’s count our teacups,” Charlie suggested. “One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven! Eleven teacups for our tea party!”
“And let’s count the cookies!” added another baby frog. They counted together: “One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve! Twelve cookies – that’s one extra for sharing!”
Just as they were finishing their tea, they heard a friendly buzzing sound overhead. It was Buzzy the bee, who had been exploring the pond area looking for flowers.
“Hello down there!” Buzzy called as he landed on a nearby lily pad. “I couldn’t help but notice your wonderful tea party. You all look so happy!”
“Hi Buzzy!” Charlie waved. “We’ve been having a counting and swimming adventure, and now we’re having a tea party! Would you like to join us?”
“I’d love to,” Buzzy said, “but I just finished having lunch with my friend Oni Pepperoni. He was practicing counting marshmallows! It sounds like you’ve been practicing counting too!”
“We have!” all the baby frogs said excitedly. “We counted backwards from ten all the way to zero, and then we counted our tea party supplies!”
“That’s wonderful!” Buzzy smiled. “Counting is so much fun, especially when you’re doing it with friends and family.”
As the sun began to set over the pond, Charlie gathered all her baby frogs close to her.
“What a perfect day we’ve had,” she said softly. “We learned so much about counting today, didn’t we?”
“Yes, Mama!” the baby frogs replied.
“Let’s remember what we learned,” Charlie said. “We started with ten baby frogs and counted backwards as each one jumped into the pool. Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one, and finally zero! Then when I joined you, we had eleven frogs total.”
The baby frogs nodded happily. “And we learned that when you take away one from a group, the number gets smaller!” added one of the baby frogs.
“And we learned that when you add someone to a group, the number gets bigger!” said another.
“That’s exactly right,” Charlie said proudly. “You’ve all become such good counters today. Numbers help us understand how many things we have and how many are left when some go away or when more join us.”
Papa Frog began collecting the teacups and plates. “And the best part,” he said with a wink, “is that we learned it all together as a family, with swimming, splashing, and a delicious tea party!”
As the stars began to twinkle above the pond, Charlie and Papa Frog tucked all ten baby frogs into their cozy beds among the cattails.
“Good night, my little counters,” Charlie whispered. “Dream of numbers and tea parties and warm swimming pools.”
“Good night, Mama Charlie,” all the baby frogs said together. “Thank you for teaching us to count backwards and for the best tea party ever!”
And as the gentle sounds of the pond filled the air, Charlie smiled, knowing that her baby frogs had learned something new while having the most wonderful day together as a family.