Stick Measuring Game - When Your Kid Outsmarts You

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It is Sunday after lunch. Four kids, aged 1 to 4.5 years, are bursting with energy in a little park. What do you do? You invent a game to keep them busy. Well, at least that's what I did.

The Game: "Find me a stick that is exactly This Big."
[hold your hands at some steady distance apart, e.g. one foot].

Why it was great: It encourages search and discovery, teaches size estimation, measuring, comparison.

How it went: The first sticks the kids found were too big. I measured them by aligning my fixed-distance hands on the sticks, and gave them feedback: they need to be this much smaller. After several tries each, one child decided to try a minuscule length of about 2 inches. We measured that one too. Yes, we needed something way bigger than that.

This kept them busy for about 10 minutes, everyone having a great time in the process. Even 15 month-old Gaius brought several sticks for measuring.

The Ending: All was well, until I turn to a very straight-faced Mara standing there with a long stick.
In a very monotone voice, like I've exhausted her patience, she says:

 Mommy, how big do you need it?

 I show her the size again with my palms, bringing them right on her stick:
"From here to here. See, this part is extra long."

 She calmly picks it up from the measurement spot, and breaks the stick right there.

Here you go, Mommy.

 Well, now we need a new game.

---

P.S.: She has a long history of Stick Adventures so I guess it all makes sense:

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