TMWYK

TMWYK means talk math with your kids. If you do a google search of it you get this:

 

So this just happened on my way home from lunch with my two boys in the van.

They are G who is 7 and C who just turned 6. And to be fair I am a math teacher, and we do talk math often (usually in the van). This is just the first time I am writing about it.

G: "There is 60 minutes in an hour C. If you take one minute away you would have 59."

Me: "That's right G. And if I took 7 minutes away from 1 hour what would you get?"

Pause

G: "53 minutes"

Me: "Nice. What if you took 10 minutes away?"

G: "That's easy. 50"

Me: "20 minutes way?"

G: "Easy. 40"

Me: "G, if you had 1 and took away 3, where would you end up?

Pause

G: "At minus 2"

Me: "How do you know about minus numbers?"

G: "From the winter."

Me: "What do you mean?"

G: "When it's cold the TV says it's minus ten."

I wonder how far I can push it.

Me: "So G. If you started at minus 2 and took away 3 more where would you end up?

G: "Minus 5."

Me: "If you started at minus three and added 5 more where would you end up?

G: "2"

We pull into the lane way.

C: "Dad did you know 3 is in the middle of 1 and 5.

Me: "Can you tell me two other numbers 3 is in the middle of?

C: "1 and 6."

Me: "Not quite C. If three is in the middle then you need to go the same amount on each side of it. So with 1 and 5 we go over 2 each way. So C when you said 1 and 6, for 6 you went over 3 from 3, and for 1 you went back 2, so 3 is not in the middle of those two numbers"

G: "So nothing and 6."

C: "So 2 and 4."

Me: "So how far did you go over on that one?"

C: "1"

Me: "Nice. So if we went over 10"

G: "13 and....."

Pause. This is the moment.......

G: "Minus 7"

Me: "Nice G. OK boys let's go in. Mom's going to be home soon and we need to clean the house."

C and G: collective "awww"

As we are walking in C: "Dad can we do some more math?"

Nice!!!!

So  Mr. Danielson- surprising? What I should expect at this age? Other thoughts?

From circle man to triangle man! Love your work.