Hi there! We’re Ryan Lagann and Craig Tovey. We’re so happy you’re here for Story Time with us! You can visit our website to find more stories, cool stuff, and even send us a message.
Today, we’re reading a fun book called “Pete the Cat’s Got Class” by James Dean. Let’s dive into the story!
In the story, Pete the Cat is in math class with his teacher, Mr. G. Pete really likes math because he enjoys how numbers work together. Mr. G asks, “If I have three red blocks and four yellow blocks, how many blocks do we have in total?” Pete quickly answers, “Seven blocks!” because 3 plus 4 equals 7. Mr. G is impressed and says, “Great job, Pete!”
Even though Pete is good at math, his friend Tom finds it a bit tricky. Tom is super smart and knows a lot about dinosaurs, but math is hard for him. Pete decides to help Tom become awesome at math because helping friends is cool!
On the bus ride home, Tom invites Pete to play with his new race cars. Pete has a fun idea! They can do math with the race cars. Pete asks, “If five red cars are going to the racetrack and five yellow cars are going to the car wash, how many cars are on the road?” Tom answers, “Ten cars!” Pete then asks, “What if two cars stayed home?” Tom thinks and says, “Eight cars!” Pete cheers, “See? Math is fun!”
Pete and Tom practice math together, and Tom starts to enjoy it. They do their homework, and Tom feels confident. The next day, both Pete and Tom hand in their homework. Mr. G notices they got the same answer wrong and thinks they copied each other. But we know they didn’t because they worked separately!
Pete has a plan to show Mr. G that Tom learned math on his own. The next day, they bring the race cars to school. Mr. G gives Tom math problems, and Tom uses the race cars to solve them all correctly. Mr. G is amazed and says, “Pete helped Tom by making math fun!”
In the end, everyone learns that math can be fun and exciting. Pete shows us that with a little creativity, we can all enjoy learning new things. Remember, math is neat!
Thanks for joining us for this story. We hope you had fun and learned something new. Keep exploring and enjoying stories with us!
Block Building Math: Gather some building blocks or any small objects you have at home. With a friend or family member, create simple math problems using the blocks. For example, “If I have 2 blue blocks and 3 green blocks, how many blocks do I have in total?” Solve the problems together and see how many different combinations you can make. This will help you understand addition in a fun way, just like Pete and Tom did with their race cars!
Race Car Math Adventure: If you have toy cars, create a mini racetrack at home. Use the cars to practice math problems. For instance, “If 4 cars are racing and 2 more join, how many cars are racing now?” You can also try subtraction by saying, “If 6 cars are racing and 1 car leaves, how many cars are left?” This activity will help you see how math works in real-life situations.
Math Detective: Become a math detective and find math in your everyday life. Look around your home or classroom and find examples of math, like counting the number of apples in a bowl or the number of steps to your room. Write down your findings and share them with a friend or family member. This will show you that math is everywhere and can be fun to discover!
Here’s a sanitized version of the transcript:
—
Hey, I’m Ryan Lagann, and I’m Craig Tovey. Welcome to Story Time with Ryan and Craig! Remember to visit ryanandcraig.com to explore our full library of content, check out our merchandise, book us for a video chat, or send us a personal message.
Today’s episode is brought to you by our friends over at Pete the Cat Club. To watch even more of our fantastic Pete the Cat read-alouds, visit their channel linked below—just not right now! After this episode, of course.
Today’s book is “Pete the Cat’s Got Class” by James Dean. Let’s get started!
“It’s math time,” says Pete’s teacher, Mr. G. Pete the Cat loves math and how the numbers work together. “If I had three red blocks and four yellow blocks together, how many blocks would we have in all?” asks Mr. G. Pete raises his hand. “Seven blocks,” says Pete. “Three plus four equals seven.” “Very good, Pete,” says Mr. G. “Wow, Pete’s good at math!”
You know, I’m not great at math. I’m more of an art guy. I’ve always looked up to people who are good at math. My sister was amazing at it, and my brother is really good too. I think that’s so cool!
We don’t have to give up! Now Ryan and Craig are going back to school. We’ll let you know how it goes.
Mr. G asks the class a subtraction question: “If I take two blocks away from seven blocks, how many blocks will be left?” Pete raises his hand, but the teacher calls on Tom. Tom says, “Five.” Pete feels bad for Tom; he’s super smart and can name all the dinosaurs, but he just has trouble with math. Pete has an idea: he will help Tom become awesome at math. Helping is cool!
On the bus home from school, Pete sits next to Tom. “Do you want to come over to play?” Tom asks. “I got some cool new race cars for my birthday.” “Awesome!” says Pete. “We can do our math homework and then race the cars.” “I hate math,” says Tom. “You don’t hate math,” Pete tells Tom. “You just don’t love it yet.”
Pete sets up some blocks. “If I had five blue blocks and three orange blocks together, how many blocks will I have in all?” “This is boring,” says Tom. “Can’t we play with my race cars?” This gives Pete a great idea. “Sure we can!” he says. Pete lines up some race cars. “If five red cars are going to the racetrack and five yellow cars are going to the car wash, how many cars are on the road?” he asks. “Easy,” says Tom. “Ten cars, like a traffic jam.” “Now what if two of the cars stayed home?” Pete asks. “How many cars would be left?” Tom thinks and says, “Eight cars.” “Right!” says Pete. “See? I told you that math is awesome!”
Pete quizzes Tom on one math problem after the next. “Four cars minus one?” “Three,” says Tom. “Eight cars plus seven?” “Fifteen,” says Tom. “I can’t believe it! I’m doing math and I’m loving it!”
Pete and Tom do their homework. “Let me know if you need my help,” says Pete. “Thanks,” says Tom, “but I know what I’m doing now.” The next day, Pete hands in his math homework, and Tom does too. After lunch, the teacher passes back their assignments. Pete and Tom each got one wrong. “I’d like to see you two after class,” Mr. G says. “You both know not to copy someone else’s homework,” he adds. “We didn’t copy,” says Pete. “You both got the exact same answer wrong,” Mr. G tells them. Oh no, they’re being accused of cheating! It really does look like they copied each other, but we know they didn’t because we saw them doing their homework separately. But how can they prove that they didn’t copy each other?
“I don’t know,” says Tom. “Is proving that something you learned at school?” Pete tells him to bring his race cars to school tomorrow. “Why?” Tom asks. “You’ll see,” says Pete with a smile.
The next day, Pete and Tom get to school early. “What are all the race cars for?” asks Mr. G. “To show you how Tom got to be so good at math,” says Pete. “Give Tom a math problem,” Pete says. “Any math problem!” says Tom. Without Pete, Mr. G gives Tom one math problem after another, and Tom uses the race cars to get all the answers right. “Wow,” says Mr. G. “I am impressed!” “Pete helped me by making math fun,” Tom says. “I think that’s something we can all learn from Pete,” Mr. G says. “Take it from Pete—math is neat!”
You know what, Craig? I agree—math is neat! But I also have to admit I don’t have time to go back to school. I have a lot going on.
Yeah, I have a lot of projects, bills to pay, and work to do. I just had a baby!
Me too! That’s a lot. I think there’s only one answer, Ryan, and I think I know what you’re going to say.
Ryan and Craig are going back to reading!
—
This version removes any informal language and maintains a more polished tone while preserving the essence of the original transcript.
