Parent Ninja Move: More Bedtime Math Moments
Meet Guest Author Erin Wahler-Cleveland! Erin is an experienced educator and founder of Roots and Wings Math. Holding a Master’s degree in Teaching Mathematics and bringing over 19 years of teaching and leadership experience, Erin works with parents and schools to design engaging strategies that empower every child to build a strong math foundation.
We’re thrilled to have Erin back for another post in this month’s Talking Math! She joins us again as a special guest author. If you missed her July post, be sure to go check it out to learn how any story time can double as a fun math discovery.
Recently, a family friend gave each of my girls a copy of a book called 4 is a Little. 4 is a Lot. The book was inspired by the author’s own child asking a simple but surprisingly deep question:
Is four a lot?
Turns out, the answer is: it depends!
4 shots at the doctor’s office? A lot!
4 blueberries? A little… unless you don’t like them.
4 cupcakes? A lot for just me, but just right if I have three friends to share with!
If you saw the July post, you already know how much I love turning reading time into math time. Often, that involves counting skills—but this book taps into something different: early reasoning.
Why This Is So Great
Talking about whether a number is “a lot” or “a little” supports math development in some powerful ways:
It requires authentic thinking
There are many reasonable answers
It draws on your child’s own experiences and interests
It helps them make sense of abstract ideas, like time
Think about it: 4 minutes can feel like a lot, a little, or just right—depending on how you're spending it!
The Goldilocks Routine
This book instantly reminded me of the “Goldilocks routine,” which I learned about from Sue Looney. You can find an overview in my free guide, 3 Powerful On-the-Go Early Math Activities, but here’s the gist of it using an example.
When we tried it with the number 100, here’s what my daughter Janelle (fresh out of Kindergarten) said:
100 is too many TVs
100 is too few atoms
100 is just the right amount of cups if you have 100 people at your party
You can’t make this stuff up!
Try It This Week
Pick a number—any number—and ask:
When would this number be too much or too many?
When would it be too little or too few?
When would it be just right?
Get ready for some hilarious and brilliant answers.
This routine grows with your child, too. Try these with your older children:
Bigger numbers (2-digit, 3-digit, etc.)
Fractions or decimals
Money amounts or time spans
In my Roots and Wings Math newsletters, I regularly share family and school math moments like this. If you try the number 6 at the dinner table this week, I’d love to hear what your family comes up with. Send me an email to erin@rootsandwingsmath.com and share what happened! You can also subscribe to my parent newsletter or my educator newsletter. Happy math-ing!