Just a different point of reference

Readers of this blog (is there anyone out there? :-) ) may recall that Isabelle had identified a 2 and a 0 as the biggest number (see post titled "Difficult questions").

Yesterday at the supermarket, I was unloading our trolley at the check out. Isabelle said calmly "See Mummy? The biggest number". She pointed upwards. I followed her glance and saw a large "20" above the last checkout. It certainly was the biggest number - all the other numbers close to the ceiling (being the checkout numbers) were indeed smaller. And the number itself was physically very big.

So is Isabelle's concept of infinity linked to our supermarket shopping??! Our experiences have to shape our understanding of reality and the abstract ideas that flow from that. This is of course why we try to enrich our children's days with different things to see, do, taste, touch, hear, smell and think about. I always think that the everyday might just be what teaches children the most - a walk down the road to post a letter might be just as educational as a day at the zoo. Hence too my related belief that "quality time" can only flow from quantity time.

So, infinity at the supermarket? Well, I'm not 100% sure about that, but the amount we spend on groceries certainly seems to be in an ever-increasing upward spiral...