Math seems to be a sticking point for a lot of people who are just starting unschooling, or against it altogether, so I thought I’d share this story that happened last night.
Meredith and I were walking into the grocery store together, and I asked her if she wanted a treat. She told me she wanted a Kit Kat bar. (They have been her favourite ever since we discovered that particular store carries a dark chocolate, non-dairy version.) Kit Kat bars usually come in a bar that can be broken into four pieces.
She said to me “Mama, I want a Kit Kat bar. And I’ll share with Mama and Daddy. One piece for Mama, one piece for Mimi…” Here she paused and seemed to be thinking for a bit. Then her face got bright and she said “No! One piece for Mama, two pieces for Mimi, and one piece for Daddy.”
It was really cool to see her doing calculations already! It’s not the first time, she has done other simple subtraction and addition problems before, but it’s one of the more complicated ones she’s done.
So nope, math doesn’t worry me. In school, math is a problem that needs to be solved. It can be avoided (by skipping math, glossing over the problems, etc) and it’s hard to see the point. In the real world, math is the solution to problems that arise. You can’t avoid it, and it’s just part of life, so why would you want to? I feel it’s like reading. I don’t think that children who are immersed in the world, with literate parents, could not learn to read or do math.
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Yay Meredith!
LOVE this. Like you, math doesn’t worry me one bit. Isaac, at four, has taught himself so much “math” already. He counts into the hundreds, by twos, fives, and tens – forward and backwards. Does addition and subtraction in his head. He LOVES it. When our children have a love of something and are left to discover it at their own pace, beautiful things happen. It blows me away.
I forget where I read this (you may have read it too) but someone out there noted that all the math currently “taught” between K and grade 12 could easily be learned in 8 weeks if a child spent 8 hours a day “doing” math. It enrages me somewhat that in the name of “school” and “education” that we stretch this out for 13 years.
Thanks for sharing your view point and experience. xo Debbie
Yeah, when I told Kris the story he reminded me that she’s done other division problems (mostly with other Kit Kat bars haha) in the past. Two for Mimi and two for whichever parent happens to be with her, or one for each of us (including Fiona, and then we remind her that Fiona doesn’t get Kit Kats yet). So at just three, she can subtract, add, and divide in her head; and while of course I think she’s brilliant, it’s not because she can do simple math. I think all kids could do the same, though of course not necessarily at the same age. But that’s the whole point really, isn’t it? Letting kids figure these things out when they’re ready and it’s relevant to their own world.
The thing you read is probably the example that happened at a Sudbury school:
“12 children, ages 9-12 asked for a math class. The adult they asked initially tried to discourage them (something I would never dream of doing) and then insisted that the children act responsibly (appear on time, etc) or the math classes would stop.
The class met twice a week for half an hour for 20 weeks, for a total of 20 hours of instruction. The class was structured, but any child was free to leave at any time. There was homework, quizzes, the whole nine yards. The children set the pace. They used a primer written in 1898.
Daniel Greenberg wrote the article “Learning Without Coercion: Sudbury Valley School”. It appeared in Mothering magazine, No. 58, Winter 1991.”
All 12 children passed at the end with flying colours. I can’t seem to find the actual article online anymore unfortunately, but if I remember correctly they did math up to at least a grade 6 level and possibly actually a lot higher than that.
Arithmetic is learned when doing so many normal things we do! I love it when I actually notice it because I think it’s one of those things that unschooling parents don’t pay that much attention to. Not long ago Lily was doing multiplication without my paying attention when we were heading to the bakery for treats. I said we’d get two of something each and she was very matter of fact in letting me know that meant we’d get six. I was shocked!
Exactly Annie! I hadn’t even thought about the fact she was dividing four by two and four already until Kris pointed it out. This particular example stood out because she was obviously thinking about it. Of course everyone is different, but I think math is a natural way to solve so many things that come up in everyday life. It’s easy not to notice it happening.
I find it funny that when kids in school complain about math their parents (or at least my parents) often tell them they use math every day and it’s so important, but those same parents are skeptical that kids could possibly learn math outside of school.