P: I can count to one hundred by fives.
M: Okay, let's hear it.
P: 5, 10, 15, 20, ... 100
C: What would come after 100?
P: 105
M: I wonder how many fives you had to count to get to 100.
Courtney's question is super important. Most counting routines stop at a landmark number. We spend a lot of time counting to 10 and later to 100 (by ones, tens, and fives). Children are often confused about how to extend the counting sequence past that landmark number, so it's really important to practice doing that.
I did not think Parker would know the answer to my question and since we were sitting at a table eating I wasn't sure exactly where my question would go. I thought we might talk about counting them with our fingers as we went.
P: ... 20
M: How did you get that?
P: Because there's 2 fives in every 10 [and P knows there are 10 tens in 100]
This is the great joy of child-centered math. I had no idea Parker would be able to do this, and this isn't the first strategy that would come to mind for me (in part because I just know the fact).
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