Outside the Blog -- by Jon Young

Lillie's been in kindergarten and learning basic math. Sheri and I have been teaching her some basic math as well. A few weeks ago, I brought up the idea of squaring a number. I explained that to square something was to add that number to itself the same number of times as it's value. We demonstrated the concept with numbers 0, 1, 2, and 3. We used finger counting to help keep track of the multiplication. She seemed to understand pretty well.

A few nights ago, I decided to test her knowledge. "Lillie, what's five squared?" "Ten" she answered. "No, that's addition," I explained and then briefly described what squaring is. I then asked her again, "What is five squared?" At this she turned around holding out her fingers as if to hide that she was counting them. "Oh no, this is going to be a huge failure and it's my fault," I thought. Does she think the answer will fit in both hands? What will she do when she get's to ten? She began to count: "1, 2, 3 . . . 9, 10, 11." Right now I'm thinking, "Eleven? What's she doing?" I suppose she's starting over on her same fingers--duh. Finally she completes the sequence, " . . . 22, 23, 24, 25." She turns around and says with a smile, "Twenty-Five!?"

Even with all the immature things kids do, their mental abilities often impress.