A conversation that has been on-going lately in the car has been about positive and negative numbers. Thanks to living in a cold state where the temperatures go from 36 one day to -20 the next, we have had a great context in which to discuss numbers. And any math teacher's dream is to discuss mathematics with an eager student in real world context.
Well, Anna is a numbers girl and an eager student, and Mama couldn't be more thrilled. She watches the thermometer in the car constantly. We've already discussed negative numbers, and knows that -19 is colder than -5. But the best part of our conversation in the past few days was when she asked about zero.
She asked, "Is zero positive or negative?"
Oh, great question my sweet girl! I answered, "Zero is a special number, it's neither positive or negative, it's like having none so it's neither."
Now, that may have not been the best answer a math teacher could give, but for a 4 year old, it was a pretty solid explanation. She thought about it for a minute, and then seemed impressed and as if something clicked. Now she is sure to comment on zero's special properties when it's 0 degrees on our thermometer in the car.
I love talking math-nerd with my big girl!
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