Hey J, don't spend it all in one place.

So J has been doing some babysitting for us and we paid him some money. Naturally, it was burning a hole in his pocket so he accompanied us to Wal-Mart. They were out of the toy he wanted. I told him that since Christmas is coming up they will probably have more next week so maybe he should wait until then. He just looked at me like I was crazy and decided to get a bigger one.
J isn't particularly fond of math, so I am always looking for practical applications for things he is learning. On the way home our conversation went something like this:
Me: So, J how much do you have left on your prepaid card?
J : Uh, 15.72 minus uh...
Me: Hey, you know you could use estimation to figure that out, you know what you learned in school a few weeks ago.
J : Uh-huh.
Me: What is it called when you chop off the last few digits of the numbers?
J : Front end estimation.
Me: Yeah, if you use that technique then it is easy to do in your head.
J : Uh-huh.
Me: So that leaves you with about 5 dollars right?
J : Uh-huh.
Me: See, there is a real use for math in your daily life.
J : Uh-huh.
Me: Wouldn't your teacher be so happy if she knew you are using what you learn?
J : Uh-huh.
Me: Are you even listening to me?
J : Uh-huh.
Me: Then what did I just say?
J : Uh-huh.
Me: See, you aren't even listening to me.
J : Yeah I was.
Me: Then what did I just say?
J : Oh, you said I shouldn't spend all my money at once and I should save it up for something big I want to buy.

He was so busted, Nuan and I just burst out laughing. He decided to torment his sister with his new toy.