--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: She liked numbers and sums. She devised a…" description: "\"“She liked numbers and sums. She devised a game in which each number was a family member and the “answer” made a family grouping with a story to it. Na..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/391/betty-smith-1012_baby-boy_she-liked-numbers-and-sums-she-devised-a_1635691.jpg" --- # She liked numbers and sums. She devised a game in which… ![“She liked numbers and sums. She devised a game in which each number was a family member and the “answer” made a family grouping with a story to it. Naught was a babe in arms. He gave no trouble. Whenever he appeared you just “carried” him. The figure 1 was a pretty baby girl just learning to walk…” quote by Betty Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/391/betty-smith-1012_baby-boy_she-liked-numbers-and-sums-she-devised-a_1635691.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/391/betty-smith-1012_baby-boy_she-liked-numbers-and-sums-she-devised-a_1635691.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/391/betty-smith-1012_baby-boy_she-liked-numbers-and-sums-she-devised-a_1635691.jpg) > ““She liked numbers and sums. She devised a game in which each number was a family member and the “answer” made a family grouping with a story to it. Naught was a babe in arms. He gave no trouble. Whenever he appeared you just “carried” him. The figure 1 was a pretty baby girl just learning to walk, and easy to handle; 2 was a baby boy who could walk and talk a little. He went into family life (into sums, etc.) with very little trouble. And 3 was an older boy in kindergarten, who had to be watched a little. Then there was 4, a girl of Francie’s age. She was almost as easy to “mind” as 2. The mother was 5, gentle and kind. In large sums, she came along and made everything easy the way a mother should. The father, 6, was harder than the others but very just. But 7 was mean. He was a crotchety old grandfather and not at all accountable for how he came out. The grandmother, 8, was hard too, but easier to understand than 7. Hardest of all was 9. He was company and what a hard time fitting him into family life! When Francie added a sum, she would fix a little story to go with the result. If the answer was 924, it meant that the little boy and girl were being minded by company while the rest of the family went out. When a number such as 1024 appeared, it meant that all the little children were playing together in the yard. The number 62 meant that papa was taking the little boy out for a walk; 50 meant that mama had the baby out in the buggy for an airing and 78 meant grandfather and grandmother sitting home by the fire of a winter’s evening. Each single combination of numbers was a new set-up for the family and no two stories were ever the same. Francie took the game with her up into algebra. X was the boy’s sweetheart who came into the family life and complicated it. Y was the boy friend who caused trouble. So arithmetic was a warm and human thing to Francie and occupied many lonely hours of her time.”” [Betty Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-smith/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. She creates a symbolic game assigning family roles to numbers, turning arithmetic into storytelling. **In simple terms:** Numbers represent family members in a story game. Key Takeaway Use imagination to make learning engaging. Themes creativity education family storytelling mathematics Mood playful thoughtful Type educational creative When to use this quote - teaching children - writing puzzles - family bonding Key Concepts symbolic representation learning through play Questions to Reflect On - How can symbolic games aid memory? - What limits exist in person numbers as people? A Different Perspective May oversimplify complex relationships. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Baby boy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/baby-boy/) [Came Grandmother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/came-grandmother-523034/) [Family](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/family/) [Family life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/family-life/) [Grandmother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grandmother/) [Grandmother Hard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grandmother-hard-523035/) [Hard time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hard-time/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Little Boy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/little-boy/) [Number Family](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/number-family-523037/) [Playing together](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/playing-together/) [Stories Francie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories-francie-523036/) ## Related quotes > [“The number of family secrets is just staggering.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-a-davis/the-number-of-family-secrets-is-just-staggering/) [Jill A. 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She was almost as easy to “mind” as 2. The mother was 5, gentle and kind. In large sums, she came along and made everything easy the way a mother should. The father, 6, was harder than the others but very just. But 7 was mean. He was a crotchety old grandfather and not at all accountable for how he came out. The grandmother, 8, was hard too, but easier to understand than 7. Hardest of all was 9. He was company and what a hard time fitting him into family life! When Francie added a sum, she would fix a little story to go with the result. If the answer was 924, it meant that the little boy and girl were being minded by company while the rest of the family went out. When a number such as 1024 appeared, it meant that all the little children were playing together in the yard. The number 62 meant that papa was taking the little boy out for a walk; 50 meant that mama had the baby out in the buggy for an airing and 78 meant grandfather and grandmother sitting home by the fire of a winter’s evening. Each single combination of numbers was a new set-up for the family and no two stories were ever the same. Francie took the game with her up into algebra. X was the boy’s sweetheart who came into the family life and complicated it. Y was the boy friend who caused trouble. So arithmetic was a warm and human thing to Francie and occupied many lonely hours of her time.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Betty Smith" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-smith/she-liked-numbers-and-sums-she-devised-a-game-in-which-each-number/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Baby boy" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-smith/she-liked-numbers-and-sums-she-devised-a-game-in-which-each-number/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/391/betty-smith-1012_baby-boy_she-liked-numbers-and-sums-she-devised-a_1635691.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/391/betty-smith-1012_baby-boy_she-liked-numbers-and-sums-she-devised-a_1635691.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/391/betty-smith-1012_baby-boy_she-liked-numbers-and-sums-she-devised-a_1635691.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“She liked numbers and sums. 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