The Math Myth: How Do Unschooled Kids Learn Math?

There are many unschool maths questions. Here are just a few of them:

Can kids really learn maths without formal instruction?

What does unschooling maths look like?

Can we strew unschool maths?

Is it possible for registered homeschoolers to unschool maths? How can we provide evidence kids are learning maths when we don’t have formal records like workbooks and test results?

What about testing?

Will unschooling not work in some situations?

How do we know kids are learning maths?

Where can we find maths in the world?

The answers to these questions and many more can be found in S2E8 of The Ladies Fixing the World podcast. Once again, Cecilie Conrad, Sandra Dodd and I are diving deep into an unschooling topic, sharing our thoughts, ideas and stories. We enjoyed our conversation immensely. As Sandra said at the end, “I like this one!” We hope you like it too.

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Show Notes

S2E8 | The Math Myth: How Do Unschooled Kids Learn Math?

In this episode, we explore one of the most persistent questions in unschooling: What about math?

Cecilie, Sandra, and Sue examine the widespread belief that children can’t learn math without formal instruction — and explain why that belief doesn’t hold up.

Cecilie reflects on the early years of home education in her family, the pressure to “cover” math, and the quiet fear of doing too little. Sandra shares examples of how her children developed mathematical thinking through games, practical needs, and everyday problem-solving — without ever relying on school-based methods. Sue talks about letting go of structured lessons and learning to trust her children’s approach to math.

Together, they look at how math fits into unschooling — and what becomes possible when we stop trying to teach it and start noticing how it shows up in real life.

Recorded February 70, 2025. Finhan, France

Links & Resources

Giving My Unschoolers a Maths Test

Here’s a story that I shared in this episode:

I had this brilliant idea. Well, I thought it was a pretty good idea until this morning. It was all to do with maths. How do you prove your children are covering the required maths syllabus, and achieving the necessary outcomes, when they don’t use a formal maths program? I’ve been thinking about this for a while.

My husband is a school teacher. Every year his year 3 and 5 students have to sit the dreaded NAPLAN test. (National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy)

NAPLAN tests the sorts of skills that are essential for every child to progress through school and life, such as reading, writing, spelling and numeracy.

So I had this idea: if my girls do the maths part of the NAPLAN test and pass, then I can say they have age appropriate maths skills. (They would be in years 3 and 5 if they attended school.) I could file the results in my records book as proof they are learning maths despite the lack of a formal program. I could continue tempting them with real books about real maths, finding maths games for them to play, looking for every opportunity to expose them to real maths in our everyday life…

Two More Maths Stories

I also shared these ones. They’re for my Buy Me a Coffee blog supporters!

Making Unschooled Kids Learn Maths Just in Case

Should we make our unschooled kids learn maths in a formal way just in case? Is this sensible? We never know when they might need to prove they have covered all the skills presented in maths courses. What if they want to apply for a university degree course that has a maths prerequisite? What if our kids decide they’d like to go to school and so have to slot back into the system with their age peers?

These are situations some unschoolers have told me they’ve had to deal with. They’ve let go of maths and then later, they’ve regretted their decision because their kids have been behind in maths.

When an Unschooler Isn’t Interested in Maths

What if our children moan and groan every time we mention the word ‘maths’? What if they say they hate it and can’t do it? What if they’re just not interested?

We could insist our children do some maths whether they like it or not. Basic maths skills are essential. What if someone finds out that our children don’t know such things as the times tables? Will they criticise us and our decision to unschool? Perhaps we feel we have to keep pushing our children even if we end up battling with them. And what about homeschool registration? We might need to prove our children are learning maths. If a child doesn’t do any, what are we going to write in the homeschool records book?