Unschool Maths: Why and How
A few years ago, we used to unschool everything except for maths. I guess some people would say that’s not really unschooling, but that never worried me. I’ve learnt to ignore other people’s opinions and do what I feel is right for us. We did eventually decide to unschool maths, but we did it for a much better reason than only to avoid criticism and be accepted.
In this week’s podcast, I tell you the story of why and how we moved from traditionally taught maths to unschool maths. I share some of my own thoughts on unschool maths, before interviewing my daughter Sophie (13).
The other day I said, “I’m thinking about making a podcast about unschool maths, Sophie. Do you have anything to say about this topic?”
“Oh yes!” she replied. “You’re talking to the girl who hated maths and then turned around and now absolutely loves it. I have LOTS to say about unschool maths!”
Yes, as I found out, Sophie did have lots to say. I challenge anyone to listen to her speaking and not catch her enthusiasm for maths!
So will you listen to episode 23, Unschool Maths: Why and How? I hope so!
Show Notes
Blog posts about unschool maths
But is this compromise killing my children’s inborn love of learning? Will Sophie’s dislike of maths, and her opinion that she is no good at maths, intensify? Should I throw caution to the wind and cut the last tie that is holding me to a conventional approach to education? Should I allow my children the freedom to learn maths in their own way in their own time?
Thinking about Maths Creatively
It seems to me there are three main ways of learning maths: the workbook way, the real life maths way and the messing-about-with-numbers way.
Why My Unschooler isn’t Going to Learn Any More Maths
Charlotte (16) and I are talking about what she wants to learn about this year. “How about maths? Do you want to do the higher maths course?”
Charlotte screws up her face. “When am I ever going to need to know such things as trigonometry?”
“Well you never know,” I reply. “You could learn it just in case.”
I wonder if maths can be approached backwards? Could we offer the big picture, show children how fascinating and interesting maths is, and then wait for a child to wonder about the details? Maybe it’s a bit like writing…
I have written a lot of other posts which can be found on my unschool maths page.
Maths Resources
Books by Bill Handley
Scott Flansburg, the Human CalculatorNumberphile videos: Youtube and website