Yesterday, at the end of a long day, Johnny pulled out a math assignment and asked for help.

I was stumped.

I often dread these 1st grade math worksheets. The strategies are different these days and I often don’t understand the purpose of the assignment. I sure don’t understand all the drawings that John has to make. But last night, I simply couldn’t figure out the problem.

So we video chatted with Michael. He read the problem. And then he dropped his head and began laughing. I told him to knock it off and help me. At the risk of completely embarrassing myself, here’s the worksheet.

Michael rephrased the question using cookies. That’s a language that I understand. So we discussed what would happen if Megan had fewer cookies than Tasha but Kim had more. And while Michael and I were busy reframing the problem using Thin Mints, John drew the picture and answered the question correctly.

As I look at it today, I realize how simple the problem really is. Let’s chalk this one up to fatigue. I still think that my initial solution was genius, although Johnny and Michael rejected it.

I told Johnny to write that Megan needs a new pencil.