It’s nice to know that if you get lost, a bus driver might give you a ride home – even if you’re a sheep. It was Martine Patey’s first day of work as a bus driver when she saw a sheep wandering on the highway. She stopped, and with help from several bus passengers and two other drivers who stopped, they caught the sheep ! Martine then drove the sheep a few miles up the road to meet the owner. We think this sheep owes Martine at least one sweater.
Wee ones: Sheep have 4 legs. Do you have more legs than that, or fewer?
Little kids: If 4 people jumped out to catch the sheep, but the task needed 10 people total, how many more helpers did they need? Bonus: Suppose 5 sheep showed up in the road. Count up their legs by 4s!
Big kids: If there are twice as many sheep as people running around in the street, and there are 30 legs in total, how many sheep and people are there? Bonus: If there were 52 people on the bus and 1/4 jumped out to help, how many people jumped out?
Answers:
Wee ones: You have fewer legs (just 2).
Little kids: 6 more people. Bonus: 4, 8, 12, 16, 20.
Big kids: 6 sheep and 3 people. If there are twice as many sheep, then every 2 sheep and 1 person make a group with 10 legs. If there are 30 legs, there must be 3 of these groups. Bonus: 13 people.
