Counting Money

We have been saving change in a jar for a long time now, letting Michael know that when it was full we could use the money to go for a visit to Chuck E Cheese. Apparently we picked a jar that was too big because in two years we haven't filled it. So this week we decided there was enough money to go ahead and empty it anyway.

We stopped by the bank and picked up some coin rolls. The teller was sweet and offered that the downtown branch had a machine but I thought the kids would have more fun (and maybe learn some things) while counting them ourselves. So we poured the money out on the table and then the boys sorted it all and stacked them in piles so we could count them. I was so proud of how well they did.

Michael had 12 stacks of coins in 3 rows of 4. He quickly counted them 4, 8, 12. He has been doing a little bit of multiplication so I showed him how this was multiplication: 3x4 - three rows of four each. He smiled and quickly explained back to me that it could also be 4x3 - four rows of three each: 3, 6, 9, 12. He never stops amazing with how much about math he really understands.

Jon did amazing too. He stayed with the project all the way through, which was more than a half hour. He did a fabulous job sorting coins, even sorting the quarters and nickels. He then continued stacking piles of four or five and counting, counting, counting. He was so proud of himself for being such a big boy.