Every morning, I lace up my running shoes and then grab our dog Nora’s leash before sliding the kitchen door open and stepping out onto the patio. Sometimes I have to pull Nora from her kennel but usually, she is eager for a run and as soon as she sees me, she bounds ahead to the gate. Once the dog is secured to the leash, I open the side gate and we all head out to the front garden and then onto the road. Soon my daughter Gemma-Rose, Nora and I are strolling down to the park. Every day it’s the same.
But the other morning something different happened. When we came through the garden gate, I looked across the road and I saw a huge kangaroo. It noticed us but didn’t move. We locked eyes. And just for a moment, I enjoyed being very close to this magnificent animal.
Then I remembered Nora. She was quivering by my side. For a long time, catching a kangaroo has been her greatest desire. I imagined being dragged along the road by a dog in hot pursuit of a bounding kangaroo. And then things got worse. A cat appeared. Nora was pulling on her leash. Cat or kangaroo? And then both animals moved off down the road and I breathed a sigh of relief. I grabbed Nora by the collar and quickly marched her towards the park. She did lots of looking over her shoulder, but I managed to keep her moving in the right direction.
Later, I said to Imogen, “I have a story to tell you!” After I’d told it, my daughter said, “I have a better one than that. When Dad and I were driving down our road last night after choir practice, we saw a kangaroo in Mr B’s front garden. It was huge!”
“Did it dash out onto the road when it saw the car’s lights?”
“No, thank goodness. It just sat very still and stared at us.”
A staring kangaroo? Was it the same kangaroo I’d seen? Probably. It must have spent the night hopping along our road.
We’ve seen a lot of kangaroos recently. And wombats and lyrebirds and other wildlife. They’re all emerging from the bush that surrounds our home. Maybe the drought is sending them on a search for water.
I tell this huge kangaroo story in this week’s podcast, episode 132: When an Unschooler Isn’t Interested in Maths. I also share a second story about Sophie and Imogen and their cafe job. I ponder the questions: What is success? How do we measure it? What have these stories got to do with the main podcast topic of unschool maths? Nothing at all. But I hope you enjoy them anyway!
You might have already read my blog post When an Unschooler Isn’t Interested in Maths. But maybe you’d still like to listen to the podcast. I’m not only telling this maths story, I’m discussing it as well.
Show Notes
Blog Post
When an Unschooler Isn’t Interested in Maths
Maths Youtube Channel
My Maths Video
My Youtube Channel
Photo: Recently, Sophie and I went on a photography outing to Sydney. We took a lot of photos of people running along the streets and through the parks. Many city workers run during their lunch break. I wonder if they’re using lots of maths while they’re running. Do they calculate their distance? Work out their average speed and their pace? Calculate how many minutes they have left until they need to be back at work?
Do you ever worry about maths? Have you ever been pulled along in hot pursuit of a kangaroo? And are you a runner? Please feel welcome to stop by and answer my questions or comment on anything else in today’s post. Or just say hello!
It was great to see a new podcast up from you Sue! I am glad your neighborhood visitor was safe and sound! Jon was surprised on the way to work by a giant wild pig and just barely missed hitting that. It was pretty big, higher than the hood of his car. I like how you teach Gemma-Rose and allow her to learn. Even if she did have a disability, gentle child led teaching and guiding is best! I’ve learned that it’s best not to worry too much about what other people think. They make their comments and then move on. I can think of times when I have done things differently to make sure people know that we are not slackers. In retrospect that was very silly of me. Even if you do everything conventionally and your child is seen as fallling short in one way or another people will come up with their own reasons why. Happy to hear everything is going well at the Elvis home!
Venisa,
We don’t have wild pigs where we live, but my son Callum, who lives further north than us, has to watch out for them. I imagine they can do a lot of damage to cars.
It’s hard not to be affected by other people’s comments and opinions, isn’t it? But you are right: people make their comments and move on. Perhaps we should move on too and not let ourselves get distracted from what we believe is right for our children.
It’s always good to chat with you. Thank you for your comment!