"How many would you like?"

      "Three red ones, and two green ones, please."

      A confident three-year-old Michael counts out three red milk bottle tops and two green ones, slides them across the table to his mother saying, "Here you are."

      She stops grading her papers for a moment, receives the tops and drawing them to her side of the table says, "Thank you."

      He says,"You're welcome.  How many would you like?"

      "Two red ones, three green ones, and one blue one please," responds the mother as she continues grading papers.

      Michael sorts through his mass of plastic milk bottle tops repeating sometimes out loud and sometimes to himself, "two red ones, three green ones, and one blue one." As he does this he creates a pile of tops then announces, "Here you are," pushing the colored tops to his mother.

      Mommy glances at the tops. "I'd also like six blue ones, please."

      The boy checks his supply and says, "I don't have that many."

      "How many do you have left?"

      "Four."

      "O.K., I'll take those."

      Mike passes her four blue tops.

      "Thank you," says Mommy. "Now, how many would you like?"

      "Oh," sighs Michael, "three red ones, maybe."

      Mommy slides three red tops to her son, says, "Here you are," smiles, returns to her papers, and awaits further instructions from her son.