Number Eight

Leilani had her new friend Seyon over, and she was doing a puzzle and he and I played a number game – recognize the number on a little tray and count the correct number of marbles onto it. He did really well up to 7, recognized 8 and then decided that was too much work. Leilani looked up from her puzzle briefly, and said: “Just find the black ball in there. It has the number 8 on it, put it on that tray, then you don’t have to count.” I was speechless, for one thing that she was completely listening and doing the puzzle – multitasking is not something preschoolers do well – and even more so because of the train of thought.