Fun with Math

This is how I do math with my four-year-old son.

I lie down on my back.
My son climbs onto me.
He stands on my hands,
my elbows are on the ground--
balance!

"What's 0 + 1?" I ask.
"One," he answers.
I lift him up a notch.

"What's 1 + 1?" I ask.
"Two," he smiles.
I raise my arms another bit.

"What's 2 + 1?" I ask.
"Three," he giggles.
I lift him a little higher.
He whoops.

"What's 3 + 1?" I ask.
"Four!" he shouts.
"Quite," I caution,
"or we won't make it to ten."
He settles.

"What's 4 + 1?" I ask.
"Five."
He's concentrating now.
"5 + 1? 6 + 1?"
He wobbles a little
as I lift him incrementally.

By the time we get to "9 + 1?"
I'm getting a good workout
and he's at the top:
"Ten!" he shouts.
Any minute now
he's going to start dancing up there.

"One more," I say. "Are you ready?"
The bonus question is:
"What's 10 + 1?"
At "Eleven"
I let him fall backwards
and he does a neat little
sommersault dismount.

Math is fun!!