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LAUnschooler, Louise, wanted to say THANKS!

Thanks for all of the advice in this email, and from the several others I
received. Some things we've already done in the past for Derek and they
truly have been a benefit. We give him old appliances and gadgets all the
time, and before we throw out any large appliances we let him explore it for
awhile. He has electronic kits and digital books and experiments daily with
those. He frequently is "frankensteining" bits and pieces he takes from old
appliances and has made an electronic fan, an toy airboat, a small plane
that moves across the floor with LED lights that flash, and a motorized car.
ANd he's always coming to me with conversations about amp's and wattage and
other stuff I have zero knowledge about. This past week he has built his
own workshop in the backyard and it's a solid building built with much
precision, and he next gets to install electricity in it. To boot, he's
already been commissioned to build a similar workshop for a homeschooling
family we know and stands to make some good money from it! (this workshop is
impressive). I know he understands much of the math involved with
electronics just from seeing the stuff he builds. And if he starts making
money from his endeavors, I suppose he'll learn the math that I struggle
with daily (budgets, finances, taxes, etc.:-)

For his next stage of electronics that he has eagerly expressed a wanting to
learn, we are going to combine a few things from others advice and our own.
We're going to acquire some advanced math books (thanks for the ones
suggested!) that explain formula's and such and have them available to Derek
when he's ready to pour through them. We're also going to purchase Derek a
more advanced calculator than the basic one he has. He uses it frequently,
so I am pretty sure he'll appreciate the more advanced one that works
formula's and such. I'll also look for those electronic know-how video's
suggested. In addition, his father has said he needs about two hours this
week to spend one-on-one with Derek to show him the math he's needing as it
relates directly to the electronics he's wanting to learn about. After this
approach we'll see if we need to hire a tutor as well, but I'll start
looking now so I have a few resources if the time comes. In the meantime,
Derek is enjoying the math computer games, and the cooking he gets to do.
(we enjoy his cooking too!).
This plan brings me a big sigh of relief because we have never followed a
curriculum and embrace letting Derek explore his interests at his own pace.
I knew I would get some great ideas from the LAUnschooling group that didn't
involve that nasty "C" word. (I was a bit surprised to get one advice to
follow a curriculum from a radical unschooler group). Anywho, many THANKS
again for the wonderful advice. At least now when our babies get older and
want to learn this stuff, I can tell them "Go see Derek!!".

Ciao!
Louise

----- Original Message -----

Gosh....what horrible advice! Math doesn't have to be taught
> incrementally, and doesn't have to be taught with textbooks. Blech!
>
> Suggestions:
>
> 1) Visit a tv repair shop when it isn't busy and talk to the guy





[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Dana Matt

Hi--

I guess I missed most of this conversation and I'm
coming in on the end, but my husband, who is an
industrial electrician and instrument tech, says that
in reading electronics books your son will no doubt
come upon formulas, and that he doesn't need to know
algebra ahead of time, but by working these formulas
he will then KNOW algebra, and for the right reason!
I also wanted to offer my husband's help if your son
needs it ;)
Dana (and Matt)
hoffmanwilson@...



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