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'I went to the green paret for

DANNY JOHANSON'S year one class is learning about inventions. Plastered on pieces of paper on a wall are their arguments about whether some inventions are essential.

"You need clothes because Puma Espera Shoes Cheap if you didn't have clothes we would walk around naked. People would laugh and you would get freezing cold," one pupil wrote.

A pupil argues that makeup is not needed: "You don't need makeup because it might not be good for you. You only wear it to weddings."

Another writes that shoes are important because if he is playing in the mud without them his socks will get dirty.

The 18 pupils listen closely as Mr Johanson explains that people invent items to meet a need or want. He prompts a pupil to retell the class the reason he gave for vacuum cleaners being invented.

The shy boy pops his head up and quietly tells his classmates that vacuum cleaners get rid of dust. "If there is dust it will make you sneeze."

During maths the class plays number cricket - boys versus girls. The five and six- year-olds' competitive streak is obvious. Each team rolls the dice five times and then adds up its total score. The boys start off quickly, with one of them rolling a five. Their hands all punch the air and they yell "yes".

When it is the girls' turn things don't go quite so well. On the second turn, they roll a six, which means they are out. The boys punch the air again, the girls groan.

But during their next turn the girls roll three fives, a three and a four. The boys look worried.

By the end of the game the girls score 37 runs, a six-run victory. The boys are not happy.

Mr Johanson continues the maths lesson by holding up his fingers to show a series of equations. He starts by holding up all 10 fingers and then puts down two. The lesson gets harder when he puts his hands behind his back and tells the class: "I am holding up six fingers and hold up three more fingers, but then put two down."

They count together in twos from 12 to 24. "What can you notice about the numbers we just counted?" he asks the class. "They are all even," a smart cookie yells out.

Mr Johanson asks someone to give him a number between 60 and 70. Someone suggests 62. The class is then asked how many 10s go into 62.

To help the class get the answer, he gives a tin to six pupils and puts 10 plastic dinosaurs in each.

The class works out the number of 10s and then the teacher adds two more dinosaurs to reach 62.

The class splits up into five groups and they head away to do different maths exercises, depending on their ability.

Mr Johanson starts working with one group using different- coloured blocks to make up numbers of more than 1000.

In another group a pupil is trying to count out loud to 100 using an abacus. He gets to 17 and loses concentration.

"Man, I was doing so well, but I mucked up," he tells a classmate.

He starts again and this time makes it to 43 before losing count. Determined to count to 100, he has another go. He is doing well - 74, 75, 77. He pauses, confused about where he has gone wrong. He looks at the abacus, counts back a few numbers and realises he pushed two beads ov
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