A Taste For Math

Not yet two years old, my son is a math whiz. Go ahead, try and stump him with some addition problems. Ask him what one plus one equals, or two plus two. Don’t be shy, bring the heat, try to stump him with something crazy, like a word problem.

For example, what is one New New plus one New New? Prepare to be amazed, because without a thought he will joyously shout, “Two New News!”

You may be wondering just what in the heck is a New New. It is what my son calls a Fig Newton--the current love of his little life at the moment. He wakes up calling for two New News in the middle of the night. He yearns for them at nap time. Or he may just randomly demand them when the urge strikes. I mean the kid really, really really likes Fig Newtons.

That being said, his standard answer to any and everything—Pie, e=, long division, square roots, world peace—is a couple of Fig Newtons. But it’s a great trick at parties. And by parties I mean visiting with grandparents. I guess it is an educational opportunity.

My wife the teacher, is so adept at using nearly anything as a learning opportunity. But the credit here goes to yours truly. My over feeding our child has lead to a great introduction to math. He really does know how many fingers make two. The problem here is that it won't be long before he realizes that what's better than two New News, is of course, three New News...

*The square root of 81 New News were consumed during the writing of this post