Math Moments

Math Moment #1

You have a drawer containing black and blue socks. It is midnight and the light is switched off. What is the minimum number of socks that you have to remove from the drawer to make sure you have at least one matching pair of socks?

Elijah: I don't understand. Why wouldn't you just turn on the light? 
Me: Maybe the light is broken. 
Elijah: How am I going to figure out which socks to put on my feet if I'm in the dark? 
Me: You'd have to come downstairs (in the light) to put them on. 
Elijah: What am I going to do with the extra sock?
Me: Throw it on the stairway and please just write the answer in your book. 🙂

Math Moment #2

Chris will soon be 8 years old. How many days old will Chris be on his birthday?

Elijah was quite upset by this problem. "How can I figure out the answer when I don't how many leap years there have been since he was born?" I told him to pretend that leap year didn't exist. He bought it and worked the problem. 

Math Moment #3

Create some subtraction problems.

Here was the first problem Elijah generated: "Elijah's mom {ahem} had twenty fits yesterday. She had five fewer fits today. How many fits has she had (total)?" 

For the record, I have been perfectly patient and calm and loving for weeks. I have no clue where he gets these things {lol}.