Challenge all our children beyond what we think they can do!

So today I told my daughter to again challenge my 5 year old grandson with math problems and don't be afraid to ask him questions that appear to be beyond his knowledge, ability or developmental level. And don't clarify the wording if he hesitates.

I suggested she ask him "What is the biggest even number less than 100?" She expressed that he might not be able to understand the question and had learned only a little bit about odds and evens in class. I told her to ask anyway and if he makes an error just say, "Are you sure about that?"

She called me back a few minutes later and says "Dad, he immediately replied 99 so I said "Are you sure?" and he replied "No, no I meant 98." So of course my daughter followed up with "what is the biggest odd number" but before she could finish the question, he replied infinity plus 1. She looked at him incredulously and didn't have any idea how to respond to that so she said, "I was going to ask you what is the biggest number less than 100 and he replied,  "I already answered that ----  99."

Obviously I'm a proud grandparent like all grandparents are but the real  message is that whether at home or in school we need to stretch our children's minds so that their reach will exceed their grasp. Perhaps we are too concerned about frustrating our children. My kids and my students were never too concerned about frustrating me! It's only fair!





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