The Strawberry Share-Out

Tilly Turtle picked 12 ripe strawberries on her morning walk. She wanted to share them fairly between herself and three friends — four turtles in all — so that everyone got exactly the same.

How many strawberries does each turtle get if 12 are shared equally between 4? Explain how you worked it out. What if one more friend turned up — how would you share 12 between 5 then, and what makes that trickier?

Now make up your own sharing story. Choose a number of treats and a group of friends, and tell how they share them out. Does it always come out even?

Play the Fair-Share game with Tilly and her friends. Gather a small handful of buttons, beads, or berries and a few little plates. Take turns: one player calls out how many friends are sharing, and everyone deals the treats onto the plates one at a time until they run out. Did every plate end up the same? If one treat is left over, that's the fun part — talk about what you'd do with the odd one out. There's no winning or losing, only sharing.