Impromptu Math

The other night at supper, Jon gave Buddy a little impromptu math lesson.  Buddy was counting the oranges and apples in the center of our table so Jon placed two apples on the table.  He then looked at Buddy and said "If you have two apples and add two oranges, how much fruit do you have in all?"  We waited for Buddy to count and he proudly announced "Four!".  Jon continued, "Two plus two equals four" and Buddy repeated the number sentence while looking at the apples and oranges. 

Neither Jon nor I love math but we want Buddy and Sweetpea to have a better grasp on mathematics and numbers in general.  We try to find easy ways to talk about addition and subtraction with Buddy and this was a great opportunity.  I was so glad to see Jon jump on this with Buddy and to see Buddy loving learning math facts.  Of course, he doesn't know what math problems look like but he is grasping basic concepts. 

By the end of the evening, Buddy was creating his own math sentences and solving them.  "If you have four 'fruits' and I take away two oranges, how many 'fruits' are left?  Two apples!" 

Learning through life is the best way to learn and I was grateful to have an impromptu math lesson at my dinner table.  Now next time, maybe we can work on subtraction with broccoli!  "If Buddy has five pieces of broccoli and he eats two, how many are left?"