Interesting conversations

Mom: "Do you want to go to a school where it is easy for you to be the best or a school where there are some classmates competing with you?" 

Son: "The latter."

Mom: "Why?"

Son: "Because I like competition. "

Mom: "Even if you might lose the competition?＂

Son: "Yes. "

Mom: "It's good you think this way. "

Looks like my boy has made it easy for me to make the decision about which school he will go.
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Everyday I have lots of fun putting my son to bed.  Yesterday is one of those.

Me: "Don't move! Let me put the ointment on. " (He has cracks at mouth corner that is healing.)

He stopped shaking his face and I did my job:  "Okay, good.  You are still.  Very cooperated."

Son: "Mom, I am moving.  When I breathe, I move.  Logic!  Don't think after you say..." (We are reading Logicomix these days. :)

LOL.

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Me： “See the skyrise buildings? Do you want to live there?"

Son: "No! That's an apartment."

Me: "What's wrong with apartment?"

Son: "It's small and noisy." (他們social study課比較apartment 和 house 的區別，他就記住這麽個結論。 這都教的什麽啊？）

Me: "There are upscale apartments. They are big...and expensive too."

Son: "Bigger than our house?"

Me: "No...but more expensive per square feet."

Son" "Then don't waste your money!"
Me:

 

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有一陣子兒子喜歡問各個公司是不是for profit. 

Son： “Mom，is your company for profit? "
Me: "Yes..."

.................

Son:  "Is Disney for profit? "
Me: "Yes..."
Son: "But money isn't the ultimate goal, right?"  (幼小的心靈受到很大打擊。。。）
Me: "Yeah...but having money can help many people too. Pursuing profit makes a company run more efficiently."  (也不知道應不應該這麽說。：）


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看了網友的求三角形最小角的最大值一帖 http://bbs.wenxuecity.com/znjy/2536394.html， 前一陣有一天從夏令營接兒子回來，我忽然想起這個問題。

我： “你學過三角形嗎？”
兒子：“學過。”
我：“你知道三角形的內角之和是多少嗎？”
兒子：“必須是180 度。”
我： “好。那我問你一個問題，任何三角形裏你可以找到一個最小的角，對吧？ 這個角的最大值是多少呢？”
兒子： ”49。"
我：“為什麽是49？ 50不行嗎？”
“因為。。。”，他沒說下去，大概發現自己不對，兒子砰地打開收音機，歪一邊假裝睡覺去了。（我開的是兩座的車。）他就這樣，對做數學沒什麽興趣，我也不想再追問他，就不說了。

回到家，他在樓下玩了一陣，照例上來要我輸入iPad密碼。我一看機會來了，不知怎麽的，兒子的腦子隻有在非動不可的時候才會轉，所以：
我：“你把剛才三角形的那題做出來，再玩。”
兒子在一邊想了兩分鍾，說： “是60。”
我有點驚訝，問： ”Wow，你是怎麽算出來的？“
兒子： ”我先用50試，每次加10。50的時候，剩下的兩角平分是65。60的時候，剩下是60。70的時候，剩下55。（不是最小角了）所以隻能在50和70之間。多出的角度分一下。。。所以是60.“

他後麵的解釋我沒太聽懂，我覺得他對這部分的推理也不太能表述清楚。但當時我怕他嫌煩，打擊他的興趣，所以沒有繼續問。首先我沒明白為什麽剩下的兩角要做等角，如果等角是對的話，為什麽不直接三分角？ 這麽推算是瞎貓碰上死耗子，還是有一定道理？

兒子9月上四年級。