Living Museum of Learning
Different Numbers of Deer
Rhea was just two years old. Three small boxes sat in front of her with a pile of plastic deer. I said, "This box gets two deer, this one also gets two, and the last one gets one."
She listened carefully and began.
She picked up a deer and paused.
"Do I put it here?"
Then, before I answered, she shook her head.
"No, not this one."
She looked up for confirmation, corrected herself, and continued. A moment later, she picked up two deer and placed them into the next box in one confident move.
She wasn't reciting an answer or guessing until something worked. She was holding the rule in her mind, testing an idea, checking it, and revising it. Even at two years old, her own reasoning was leading the way.
Young children deserve time to think. When we resist the urge to answer too quickly, we make room for something far more valuable than a correct response: the quiet confidence to reason, self-correct, and try again.