Maybe I should have thrown this in the previous post. I just remembered that this happened. A couple of weeks ago, Emma and I were in the van and she was doing a workbook. It was math. Second grade math. FRACTIONS!!!
She knows from years of hearing Todd and the boys talk about it (making fun of me sometimes), that I am not good at math. It intimidates me. I am particularly bad at fractions and algebra. So... Emma was doing her workbook and I heard her little voice from the back of the van telling me that she was going to explain fractions to me. I felt like I was a kid in our kitchen with Mom cutting pies in her attempts to "explain" fractions to me. I know what fractions are, I just don't know how to solve mathematical problems containing them. Addition, subraction, multiplication, division... it doesn't matter... I can't do them.
So, last night she proclaimed that she, "learned algebra today in school!" She had me sit in the game room, in front of her chalkboard. She proudly wrote... 6+8=8+?
She then went on to explain to me how you figure out what the ? would be (she actually drew a squate to fill in). Todd overheard the lesson and came into the room with a smile from ear to ear. His daughter was teaching his wife about the Commutative Property of Addition (a phrase used in understanding basic algebra).
Emma: "Mommy, do you get it? The answer will be the same on both sides even if you flip the numbers!"
Mommy: "Yes, Emma, I get it."
Emma: "Good. Now you show me an example."
Todd still standing there watching with a grin...
Mommy writes an example on the chalkboard...
Emma: "Very good Mommy! I'll keep teaching you as I learn how to do them!"
Mommy: "Thank you, Sweetie!" and walking into the kitchen muttering to myself, "Just don't throw a damn fraction in there!"
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