Tooli is a four and half year old girl. She was at my office for a Routine Check up.
She is amazing. I asked her, “two plus three” and she responded correctly, “five” without pointing or counting fingers. She was able to do, 3 + 3, 3 +4, and 5 +5 without mistakes and without finger counting. She did it all in her head.
Then I gave her this problem: “If I give you three apples and your mom gives you two more apples, how many apples to you have?” Tooli, without difficulty and again without counting fingers, happily responded “five.”
Then I got a book at one corner of the examining room. It was “the Bible Story” and I randomly opened it to page 80. I requested her to read the top line, and she did.
This was the sentence: “When you stop to think of it this was by far the greatest” Tooli read it by sounding the first letters and then pronouncing the words.
Before I left the room to see another child, I requested the father to teach her the concept of fractions. The father responded, “We are doing that already with apples and cookies.”