Is anyone looking for ideas on how we can use
Evernote to record unschool maths? I hope so because I have put together a list of 20+ ideas I use!
1. Copy and paste infographics
Recently, we’ve been pondering such things as how much does the average person spend at Christmas? How many Christians are there in Australia? How do people fund their Christmas shopping? We found some infographics which gave us the answers.
2. Clip any stats associated with a child’s interests, and list the maths details
The first screenshot is the NaNoWriMo novel writing stats of one of my daughters. The second one is the stats of a walk Sophie and I took. I captured the walk using my GPS watch.
3. Clip maths explanations
After answering a maths question such as, “What’s scientific notation, Mum?” I might look for a good explanatory article online and clip it. These articles reflect what I’ve been talking about with my girls. They also provide them with some information they can return to at a later date.
4. Clip maths videos that explain maths concepts
Similar to number 3… When answering maths questions such as, “What’s long division, Mum?” I might suggest we watch a video together.
5. Clip a screenshot of any maths games played online
I mgiht also add a list of maths skills my girls used while playing the game.
6. Insert photos of any maths art
Gemma-Rose and I were reading about parabolic curves and she decided to draw one.
7. Clip any articles that prompted a maths activity
This is the one that probably resulted in Gemma-Rose’s drawings of the parabolic curves.
8. Clip coding activities
There’s a lot of maths in coding. This screenshot is of a coding course Gemma-Rose was doing. And how about blog design HTML? Sophie discovered a lot of maths while she was playing around with her blog’s template. I have added screenshots of Sophie’s blog to the records as well.
9. Clip conversion charts
When we come across recipes etc. with the ‘wrong’ units of measure, we have to convert them. I look for an online conversion chart and then clip it into a note. These screenshots are of mass and temperature conversions. Of course, currency conversions involve maths too.
10. Clip images/screenshots of any maths apps used
Gemma-Rose found this particular maths ‘game’ very frustrating. ‘Level Failed!’ How discouraging is that? She only played the game a few times, but I still added it to the records.
11. Upload photos of any craft, sewing or similar activity that uses maths
Not all the photo is visible in the screenshot. Gemma-Rose was making a notebook. I listed all the maths skills she used.
12. Clip details of any maths podcasts listened to
13. Clip maths videos from sites such as Youtube
There are lots of interesting maths videos! This one is from the Numberphile team. It’s about Pi.
14. Clip articles and videos about events in the news that involve maths
The Ebola crisis prompted some research. The release of the latest iPhone was in the news.
15. Clip videos from other Key Learning Areas such as science that include maths
I listed all the maths concepts mentioned in this science video.
16. Include a list of maths info you stumble upon unexpectedly
After reading a novel about ponies, one of my girls asked the question, “What’s the difference between a horse and a pony?” We did some rearch and ended up talking about maths.
17. Upload photos of cooking, add recipe, list maths
Of course, cooking involves a lot of maths.
18. Clip maths from such sites as the Australian Bureau of Statistics
19. Copy and paste cover images of maths-related books. Add book blurb from a site such as Amazon.
A chapter summary, or a list of maths concepts in each chapter could be added too.
Books could be text books, but usually they are ones such as those written by Alex Bellos. If my children were younger I would add picture books.
20. Add notes about any mental maths a child does
My girls are constantly doing mental maths as they run.
21. Copy and paste images of any board or card games that involve maths
Photos of children playing games could be added as well.
22. Add photos of maths you discover in real life
We’ve taken photos of such things as metronomes, a thermometer, the controls on the oven, the angles in our house. Sometimes we are maths detectives!
23. Clip videos or articles that explain how things (that are connected to maths in some way) work
This article explains how a metronome works.
So that’s my first 23 unschool maths ideas. If you have some of your own, please share!
PS: I use a scanning app on my tablet to scan documents I want to include in my Evernote notebooks. This scanning method is as easy as taking a photo!
I use my tablet to take many of my photos. They are uploaded directly into my Dropbox. It’s easy to move them from there to my notebooks. Of course, you could use a smart phone, but I don’t have one!
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Great ideas! Thanks!
Xo Jazzy Jack
Jazzy Jack,
It's good to share ideas! Thanks for stopping by.
I'm head-over-heals excited about these great resources for maths! I'm definitely bookmarking this page so we can mix up our math explorations throughout the weeks. Thank you for sharing these posts and your vast experience. I really enjoy how you talk about the philosophy of unschooling and then provide examples of how your family is learning.
Kim,
I'm so glad some of my ideas might be helpful. It's good to share experiences with other people, isn't it? We can all learn from each other. I love chatting with you in the comments. Thanks for stopping by!