And so it begins.....

I sat down to help Bella do her math homework. I always enjoyed math in school and couldn't understand people who didn't like or "get" math. 

Bella was working on word problems (not my favorite) and insisted that I was wrong. 

Here's the problem. 

Wendy buys 3 blue balloons and some red balloons for a party. She buys 11 balloons. How many balloons does she buy?

I had Bella pull out what we know...has 3 and a total of 11. Trying to figure out how many red she bought. The equation is 11 - 3 = ___. Bella comes up with the answer 8 and then has to prove her work. 

She draws eleven circles and crosses out three. She then says its 4+5. I asked how 4 and 5 got into the equation. She said because of 9.  I re-read the problem and could not find 4 or 5 (or 9).  I asked how those numbers got in there and she said because I took away three. (Are you confused as I am?). 

After awhile I was ready to hang it up. I just wasn't seeing that 4 and 5. Finally I looked at her proof (circles) and realized she added one extra circle and that is why she wanted to add those extra numbers. 

How many more years of math homework do I have again?