Littlemummy.com

About half an hour ago I was saying to Alex (my not-so better half) that I fancied a sweet.

And as if by intention manifestation (sorry that was a pavlina joke for those of you not in the know) or because it was 7.00pm I heard the jingly sped up version of ‘You are my Sunshine’ ringing out for the whole street (neigbourhood!) to hear.

My sandals couldn’t carry me fast enough, I grabbed my wallet, and hurtled down the four floors hoping beyond hope that I wouldn’t miss it by a millisecond (just my luck).

No fear of missing it though because when I arrived I was at the back of the queue – of five 6-year olds.

The boy at the front who was being served was getting the ice-cream man to add the sweets one by one until he reached his quota (50p). The boys behind him were discussing the merits of whether there would be more enjoyment from an ice-cream or a bar of chocolate (they didn’t have enough for both). The two little girls in front of me were counting up different combinations (on their fingers) to see what they could afford, and what was the best possible combination, I mean you want to try and get something cold and a sweetie if you can afford it!

I stood there thinking to myself kids don’t learn maths at school, they learn maths at the ice-cream van!

So the next time you hear the ear-deafening jingle flip a quid (dollar) to your kid and let them get a lesson in maths.

Photo by Flickr user Sanbeiji