Weirdest questions your child has asked

[Kezia]

And you found yourself looking up online or in books to find the answer?

 

I was asked how to find the area of a bean at lunch today. 
 

 

It is usually math questions. It is a good thing he does not even like math, we already talk about it all day. 

 

[caffeineandbooks]

What a great question!  I love that he is wondering about stuff like that, even if he's not enjoying your formal math program.

We have a book called Family Math (https://www.amazon.com/Family-Math-Equals-Jean-Stenmark/dp/0912511060/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=family+math&qid=1619826869&sr=8-1) - and there are others in the series - that do explorations a bit like this.  It de-emphasizes calculations, which makes it genuinely friendly for a family with kids at various levels, and lets kids explore concepts like area, perimeter, graphs, estimation with no pressure.  I can't remember how old your son is, but if he's PK-2 you might also like the I Love Math series (out of print but readily available; this is one of them: https://www.amazon.com/How-Octopi-Pizza-Math-Love/dp/0809499509/ref=sr_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=pizza+math&qid=1619827025&sr=8-3).

[Kezia]

43 minutes ago, caffeineandbooks said:

What a great question!  I love that he is wondering about stuff like that, even if he's not enjoying your formal math program.

We have a book called Family Math (https://www.amazon.com/Family-Math-Equals-Jean-Stenmark/dp/0912511060/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=family+math&qid=1619826869&sr=8-1) - and there are others in the series - that do explorations a bit like this.  It de-emphasizes calculations, which makes it genuinely friendly for a family with kids at various levels, and lets kids explore concepts like area, perimeter, graphs, estimation with no pressure.  I can't remember how old your son is, but if he's PK-2 you might also like the I Love Math series (out of print but readily available; this is one of them: https://www.amazon.com/How-Octopi-Pizza-Math-Love/dp/0809499509/ref=sr_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=pizza+math&qid=1619827025&sr=8-3).

He is 10 and I have been picking up more fun maths, I just got a few zaccaro books. I will check out family math.  He likes math or he wouldn’t ask so many questions. He just doesn’t like the tedious workbooks. He asks a bunch of odd science questions too. 
 

He has lots of ideas about time travel. So many questions.  I don’t know the answer, kid let’s look it up. I guess you all call these things “rabbit trails”.

 

[Not_a_Number]

26 minutes ago, Kezia said:

He just doesn’t like the tedious workbooks. 

Maybe he needs a more fun math program 😄 . Math can be really fun!! 

ETA: so what did you decide about finding the area of a bean?? 😂

Edited May 1, 2021 by Not_a_Number

[JenneinCA]

Can jellyfish get pneumonia?  (Answer: no, they don’t have lungs)

How do the zookeepers catch the ants for the anteater? (Answer: they don’t.  Anteaters in zoos get pellets that look like dog food)

[Kezia]

10 hours ago, Not_a_Number said:

Maybe he needs a more fun math program 😄 . Math can be really fun!! 

ETA: so what did you decide about finding the area of a bean?? 😂

We use BA, the most fun looking math I have been able to find. His mind was blown with factorials and the huge number of variations of 20!.  I don’t remember learning about permutations and combinations at all. 
 

I told him that the area of a tiny rectangle that just fits the bean would be close enough. Well he thought an oval would be closer, so then asked how you figure the area of an oval. I had to google that. 

[Not_a_Number]

Just now, Kezia said:

We use BA, the most fun looking math I have been able to find. His mind was blown with factorials and the huge number of variations of 20!.  I don’t remember learning about permutations and combinations at all. 

Oh yeah, BA is definitely the funnest thing I've seen. I love permutations and combinations 😄 

 

Just now, Kezia said:

I told him that the area of a tiny rectangle that just fits the bean would be close enough. Well he thought an oval would be closer, so then asked how you figure the area of an oval. I had to google that. 

Hmmm, yeah, I guess you could pretend the bean is an ellipse or something 😄 

[Kezia]

10 hours ago, JenneinCA said:

Can jellyfish get pneumonia?  (Answer: no, they don’t have lungs)

How do the zookeepers catch the ants for the anteater? (Answer: they don’t.  Anteaters in zoos get pellets that look like dog food)

I would have guessed the zoo would keep ant colonies just for their ant eaters, lol. 
 

Kids wonder about the craziest things.