Story:

Holly loved coloured pens.

She had red ones, blue ones, and even glittery ones!

One day, she cleaned her room and found 4 empty pots.

“I’ll put my pens in these pots,” Holly said.

She placed 3 pens in each pot.

“1…2…3…next pot!”

After filling all the pots, she wanted to know; “How many pens do I have now?”

She thought aloud;

“One pot has 3 pens.”

“Two pots make 6 pens.”

“Three pots make 9 pens.”

“Four pots…hmm…how many is that?”

She counted by threes;

“3…6…9…12!”

“Wow! I have 12 pens in total!”

Holly gathered them up to create the most colourful page ever.

Wow!

The End

This story is written by Aiden – a brilliant member of our mathematical outreach team.

The Maths Behind the Story:

Holly’s story is a playful and engaging introduction to the concept of multiplication as repeated addition and skip counting. By placing an equal number of pens in each pot and counting in threes, children can begin to understand the idea of equal groups, which lays a strong foundation for multiplication. The story also models unitising – treating each group (or pot) as a unit – which helps children visualise and make sense of larger quantities.

Seeing Numbers in New Ways:

The story encourages children to:

• Count in multiples e.g. 3, 6, 9, 12
• See the relationships between equal groups and total amounts.
• Use grouping as a strategy to solve simple problems.

This helps children begin to understand number patterns, build fluency in early multiplication, and develop confidence in mental arithmetic.

Extension:

To enrich the story, you could introduce a new twist – perhaps Holly wants to sort glittery pens into their own pots, or her friend Leo comes over and brings more pens to share. You might ask, “If Holly adds 2 more pens to each pots, how many does she have now?” or “If Leo brings 2 more pots, how many pots and pens do they have altogether?” These promote flexible thinking and support deeper understanding of equal grouping, addition, and multiplication.

What to Avoid:

Avoid jumping too quickly into formal multiplication symbols or equations (e.g. 4 x 3 = 12), especially with young children. Instead, focus on the concrete actions Holly takes – grouping pens, counting by threes, and solving the problem through exploration. Let children use their own strategies to find totals and emphasise the idea of fairness and logic behind grouping. This approach helps develop number sense in a meaningful and developmentally appropriate way.