How will they learn math
Julie Stauffer
Kids will learn math because math is a basic element in our lives.
Kids start learning fractions and geometry as toddlers when we are cutting
sandwiches. Geometry and physics have been big at our house as the kids
play sports (playing pool is almost all "math"). Cooking gets into
fractions, division and multiplication really quickly. Allowances will get
further into multiplication and beginning algebra.
All this and the kids are about 8 years old or so.
You may be thinking. OK, but how will they learn to solve the equations, do
long division. Just as "math problems" in school get more complex as we get
older, so does the unschooler's life. Example: Adriane (11) chose to show
dairy goats in 4-H (sound familiar Lynda? LOL) just because it would be fun
and the math skills she has learned has been tremendous.
Example: The goats are now being milked and we are using the milk. Adriane
thought that perhaps we could pay her for the milk since we are no longer
buying it from the grocery store. She weighs the milk each morning and
subtracts out the weight of the bucket. She charts the milk weight. End of
each month, she adds up how much milk she has supplied the family. She
checks out how much organic milk is selling for at the store. Converts the
price for a half gallon into price per pound (8lbs=1 gallon). She
multiplies how much milk she has provided by the price per pound. She then
figures out how much the family has paid for the goat's upkeep. (We have 5
goats so total expenses per month divided by 5) She subtracts the cost of
upkeep from amount her milk is worth.
Math happens.
Julie
Kids start learning fractions and geometry as toddlers when we are cutting
sandwiches. Geometry and physics have been big at our house as the kids
play sports (playing pool is almost all "math"). Cooking gets into
fractions, division and multiplication really quickly. Allowances will get
further into multiplication and beginning algebra.
All this and the kids are about 8 years old or so.
You may be thinking. OK, but how will they learn to solve the equations, do
long division. Just as "math problems" in school get more complex as we get
older, so does the unschooler's life. Example: Adriane (11) chose to show
dairy goats in 4-H (sound familiar Lynda? LOL) just because it would be fun
and the math skills she has learned has been tremendous.
Example: The goats are now being milked and we are using the milk. Adriane
thought that perhaps we could pay her for the milk since we are no longer
buying it from the grocery store. She weighs the milk each morning and
subtracts out the weight of the bucket. She charts the milk weight. End of
each month, she adds up how much milk she has supplied the family. She
checks out how much organic milk is selling for at the store. Converts the
price for a half gallon into price per pound (8lbs=1 gallon). She
multiplies how much milk she has provided by the price per pound. She then
figures out how much the family has paid for the goat's upkeep. (We have 5
goats so total expenses per month divided by 5) She subtracts the cost of
upkeep from amount her milk is worth.
Math happens.
Julie
vivrh
GREAT example! Thanks so much it is very helpful to me to hear these stories.
God bless
Vivian
Mom to three Happy little Monkeys
Austin 10/31/93 Sarah 8/28/95 Emmalee 8/15/00
And loving wife to Randy
**If fifty million people say a foolish thing, it is still a foolish thing.
-Anatole France***
God bless
Vivian
Mom to three Happy little Monkeys
Austin 10/31/93 Sarah 8/28/95 Emmalee 8/15/00
And loving wife to Randy
**If fifty million people say a foolish thing, it is still a foolish thing.
-Anatole France***
----- Original Message -----
From: Julie Stauffer
To: [email protected]
Sent: Monday, March 25, 2002 10:40 AM
Subject: [Unschooling-dotcom] How will they learn math
Kids will learn math because math is a basic element in our lives.
Kids start learning fractions and geometry as toddlers when we are cutting
sandwiches. Geometry and physics have been big at our house as the kids
play sports (playing pool is almost all "math"). Cooking gets into
fractions, division and multiplication really quickly. Allowances will get
further into multiplication and beginning algebra.
All this and the kids are about 8 years old or so.
You may be thinking. OK, but how will they learn to solve the equations, do
long division. Just as "math problems" in school get more complex as we get
older, so does the unschooler's life. Example: Adriane (11) chose to show
dairy goats in 4-H (sound familiar Lynda? LOL) just because it would be fun
and the math skills she has learned has been tremendous.
Example: The goats are now being milked and we are using the milk. Adriane
thought that perhaps we could pay her for the milk since we are no longer
buying it from the grocery store. She weighs the milk each morning and
subtracts out the weight of the bucket. She charts the milk weight. End of
each month, she adds up how much milk she has supplied the family. She
checks out how much organic milk is selling for at the store. Converts the
price for a half gallon into price per pound (8lbs=1 gallon). She
multiplies how much milk she has provided by the price per pound. She then
figures out how much the family has paid for the goat's upkeep. (We have 5
goats so total expenses per month divided by 5) She subtracts the cost of
upkeep from amount her milk is worth.
Math happens.
Julie
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