I hate math. Passionately, madly, truly, hate it.
I've managed to do just fine without dealing too much with math. Marrying a man who does numbers for a living sure worked good for me. Unless I'm at the grocery store, alone, trying to figure out the whole ounces/cents thing. It's not pretty.
But, like I said, things have been going well for me in the math department. I leave it alone, it leaves me alone, and everything's fine.
I should've known that sometime my perfect little bubble would have to get busted up. Who would've known an eight-year old boy could do that much damage?
See, since I started to homeschool my boys, I've become the only math teacher my boys may ever know. I thought I was doing a pretty good job with it so far. Good curriculum helps, and I just take it one day at a time.
After doing his Bible reading this morning, my son came to me asking "Mom, what's four score mean?". I paused from my blog surfing work to take this moment to re-enforce the math principles we've been working on.
"Well, a score is 20 years. So, what do you think 4 score would be?"
He gives me a blank stare. Maybe I'm going to fast.
"What is 4 times 20?"
Another blank stare.Okay, we've only just ventured into the world of multiples, so it's still early for him to know this.
"What is 4 times 2?"
"8!" phew
Okay, then what would "4 times 20 be?" I pause for him to answer.
Then, I see it.
Over his face dawns the sun of recognition.
This is it.
He's got it.
The concept is being grasped by his little mind.
I love these moments.
I wait for it, leaning back in my chair to bask in the glory of yet another successful teaching moment.
"I know!" He's grinning ear-to-ear now.
I'm smiling back, waiting eagerly, now leaning slightly forward to catch it.
"It's...." my little genius is so bright.
"36!!" he exclaims with all the joy-of right-answers plastered across his little being.
I bite my tongue. "Ummm. No. Let's try this again. What is 4 times 10?"
He's not deflated, now he's very sure he's got it right the second time around.
"13!"
By now I want to bang my head on the computer keyboard, but I hold back. I'm supposed to be patient and supportive and.......
"Let's try again. Focus. 2 times 10 is.."
"20!"
"And so 4 times 10 is..."
"30!"
That's when it hit me. This was going to be a terribly long day.
And maybe I should find a math tutor.
Or a new brain.
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