An adult works through addition problems with five-year-old Ethan, asking how he gets each answer and validating his strategies, whether counting on fingers or in his head. Ethan discovers that adding 1 always gives the next number in the sequence.
Hey Ethan, how are you doing? Hello Ethan, can you hear me? Good morning Ethan, you're there? How are you? Are you doing well? You're good this morning?
Yeah?
Okay, I wanted to talk about math. Do you know what math is?
Yeah, we just did math last night.
So tell me what math is.
It's when you put other numbers together.
All right, so you, do you know how to put numbers together?
Yes.
So let's try some, let's try some. Do you know what 1 1 is?
2.
How about 2 2?
3.
2 2 is 3?
No, it's 4.
How did you figure out that it's 4? Did you guess or do you know, do you have a way to figure it out?
I'm kind of just doing this by counting up.
That's a totally okay way to do it. So counting up is one way to do it. You know, it's good to have ways to figure things out. So if you are counting to figure it out, that's one way to do it. So you counted to figure out that 2 2 is 4. How about 1 2? What's 1 2?
1 2. 3.
All right. And you counted again?
No, I had to use my fingers that time.
Okay. Um, is— so sometimes you use your fingers And other times you, you just count in your head without using your fingers?
Yeah.
Do you think that your fingers make it easier?
Uh, yeah, a little easier.
Okay, how about 3 3?
6.
And it looks like you used your fingers, right?
Right.
Do you think you could have done that one by counting?
Um, no.
No, that one's too hard to do by counting? How about, let's see, let's, let's try another one and see if you can do it by counting first, okay? What about 3 2? Can you do that one by counting? Is that pretty hard?
Yeah, I mostly have to do counting first and then tell.
Okay, so, so should we count together in our heads? So if you have 3, how about we have the 3 with the fingers, so there's 3, and in our heads let's add 1, If we had 1 in our heads, how many would that be? 3 plus 1, how many would that be?
5.
3 plus 1 is 5?
That's, um—
I think 3 plus 1 is 4. Do you see why I think 3 plus 1 is 4? If you have 3, I'm gonna do it on different hands, and 1, that's 4, right?
Yeah, it is 4.
Okay, so if 3 plus 1 is 4, how many do you think 3 plus 2 is? Use your fingers, use your fingers. 3 plus 2, how many is it?
5.
There you go. Would you say it is hard to hold numbers in your head?
Yes.
But you can hold some numbers in your head, right?
Yeah.
Does it seem weird to talk about holding numbers in your head?
No.
Okay, how about let's try a different one. Um, let's try 9 1. Can you do 9 1 in your head? So, can I give you a hint?
I could probably do it with help from my dad.
So, Ethan, can I give you a hint? Is it okay if I give you a hint? Look, Ethan, can I give you a hint? Do you know what a hint is?
Yes.
So, you know how to count like 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and so forth? Can you count to 10?
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10.
Exactly. So let me give you a secret hint, okay? The secret hint is when you add 1, that always gives you the very next number in counting. Does that make sense?
Yeah.
So 1 plus 1 is 2. 2 plus 1 is 3, 3 plus 1 is 4, 4 plus 1 is 5. Does that make sense?
Yeah.
So what do you think 9 plus 1 is?
9—
when you count, what happens when you count? What's the number after 9 when you're counting?
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10. 10!
There you go, there you go. Did you like that secret hint?
There we go, yeah! It gave me lots of help.
It gave you lots of help, exactly, exactly. So do you think it's kind of fun to think about math?
Um, yeah, actually it is.
Is it also hard?
Yeah, really hard.
Okay, so I think it's fun to think about math as well, and sometimes it's hard, but it's also fun to start thinking about math in your head when you can. It's fine to use your fingers and other things, um, and it's also fun to think about math in your head. So just quickly, how's your building coming? Are you still building stuff?
Yeah.
Do you still draw?
I just attached, I just attached a couple scopes to my Nerf guns.
All right, all right. Did you make them or did you buy them?
They were toilet paper rolls. So.
All right, so you kind of made them, right?
Yeah, I kind of made them.
Okay, uh, excellent. Well, um, I want to keep it short, so thank you for thinking about math with me. And, um, was this still weird or is it a little bit less weird?
A little bit less weird.
Okay, so I hope you have a wonderful week. You're welcome, and I'll see you next week maybe, okay?
Bye-bye, Ethan.
