Raccoons are super cute, but they can cause trouble. In the city of St. Paul, a mama raccoon got stuck on a skyscraper ledge, and didn’t know how to get down. So she climbed UP, all the way to the 23rd floor. The entire city panicked, watching and hoping she wouldn’t fall. Finally she reached the very top, where animal rescuers caught her and gave her cat food. Hopefully she’ll never do that again!
Wee ones: A raccoon has 4 paws. Can you name the number that comes after 4 when you’re counting up?
Little kids: Once the raccoon climbed to the 6th floor, what numbers were the next 2 floors she climbed? Bonus: When the raccoon reached the 23rd story of the 25-story building, how many floors did she have left to climb? Try counting up!
Big kids: The raccoon was caught very early the next morning. If she climbed from 10 am one day to 5 am the next day, how long was her adventure? Bonus: What time was halfway through her trip?
The sky’s the limit — especially for raccoons: If the raccoon stopped to look around at every 4th floor (starting with the 4th) and napped at every 6th floor (starting with the 6th), at how many floors would she have done both on a 100-story building?
Answers:
Wee ones: 5 comes after 4!
Little kids: 7 and 8. Bonus: 2 more floors.
Big kids: 19 hours, since it’s 5 hours less than a full day. Bonus: 7:30 pm on the first day, 9 1/2 hours in.
The sky’s the limit: At 8 different floors, which are every multiple of 12: they are 12, 24, 36, 48, 60, 72, 84, and 96. We know 6 x 4 = 24 is divisible by both, but since 6 and 4 are both divisible by 2, you don’t need to multiply them together – the number 12 is divisible by both, too!
