From time to time, we will be reviewing products here at Talking Math with Your Kids. Sometimes they will be products that are intended to foster mathematics learning, but not always.
Today, we consider one that is not.
We recently bought Kellogg’s Eggo Homestyle Minis waffles.
Tabitha is obsessed with waffles. We typically get the store brand, which as far as I can tell are mathematically uninteresting. But every so often Eggos go on sale, and then it’s game on!
Consider the Minis.
The minis come in sets of 4.
Here is the kind of fun we can have (and, I assure you, that we have had) with this:
- Say, “I’m making frozen waffles this morning. How many do you want?” Leave the unit deliberately unspoken. Child says “one” and is served one mini waffle. Discuss.
- Do the same thing again the next morning.
- Hold up a set of four waffles and ask a young child (say, 2 to 4 years old) how many you have (answer is likely “four”). Then point out to the child that it says there are “10” in the box. Dump them all out and discuss. Key question: What are there ten of?
- Ask a somewhat older child (say 7 to 9) “If there are 10 sets of 4 waffles in the box, how many waffles are there?” Follow up with “How do you know that’s right?”
Finally, this: In addition to (1) waffles, and (2) sets of waffles, there is a third unit to count in that box: servings.
It turns out that 1 serving is 3 sets of 4 waffles. How awesome is this?
You can ask an older child to predict what the number of “Servings per Container” will be on the Nutrition Facts label. I would have gotten it wrong. I would have applied too much mathematics to the problem and said 
You didn’t think I had something to say about the waffles as food, did you? I’m sure they are everything one would expect of Eggo waffles. You probably already know whether you consider that a good thing. Tabitha likes them.
P.S. My own father turns 70 today. He certainly supported my own mathematical development growing up. Thanks, Dad! And Happy Birthday.