Our daughter’s school had a bake sale the other day and Hanna was very excited to be given a toonie towards enough sweets to keep her focus on anything but school for the rest of the day.
This was one of those situations where I knew learning about counting, money, commerce and the strategic placement of her sister’s piggy bank was really going to pay off in sucrose.
When Hanna came home, eyes shifty, hands shaking, speech like she was being dubbed at high speeds, I tried to ask her how the bake sale went.
She explained, (while foaming at the mouth through a giant whipped cream moustache) “Each treat was $.50 and I bought two treats.
I thought this was the perfect time to put her math skills to use.
“So if the treats were each $.50 and you had a toonie, how much change did you get back?”
Hanna: I didn’t get any change. A boy in my class said they would only take quarters in exchange for treats so he offered me four quarters for my toonie.
The only thing worse would have been trading a toonie for magic beans. That one still smarts.