Luz Shosie and Ned Vare

Date: Tue, 06 Aug 2002 11:09:05 -0700
From: natural mama <naturallyorganic@...>

Tanya wrote:
>>Katie is for some reason a math phobic. Just say the word
>>"numbers" or "math" and she visibly freaks out, and sometimes even cries!
>>Math! I can't DO math <wail>

Ned answers:

Don't even mention numbers or math. (That's school)
Go to an article that Luz wrote, called Unschooling Math. It is posted on
our webpage, www.borntoexplore.org/unschool

Ned Vare

natural mama

At 06:12 PM 8/6/02 -0400, you wrote:
>Don't even mention numbers or math. (That's school)

I don't. She says it, or other ppl do. You know, the required "What grade
are you in" "what's your favorite subject" (her reply: everything. but I
hate math!). Must figure out a way to deflect these insane questions and
fixation on my childrens grade placement and mastery of skills!

Thanks for the website!

Tanya

zenmomma *

> >Don't even mention numbers or math. (That's school)
>
>I don't. She says it, or other ppl do. You know, the required "What grade
>are you in" "what's your favorite subject" (her reply: everything. but I
>hate math!).>>

Maybe she doesn't really have a good grasp of what the word "math" means. It
might seem foreign and mysterious to her. Or she's heard from other kids or
on TV that math is hard and to be avoided.

Casey used to say math was too hard for her all the time. One day Conor and
I started talking about all the ways she uses math everyday, but without
using the word math until the very end. We talked about how she likes
measuring the ingredients for baking, figuring out how much money she has,
counting the cookies left in the bag and splitting them evenly between her
and Conor, figuring out how many minutes left till Rugrats or how many
inches she's grown since we last measured, etc. At the end Conor said
"That's all math is you know."

Life is good.
~Mary


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In a message dated 8/6/2002 3:13:06 PM Pacific Daylight Time,
nedvare@... writes:


> Go to an article that Luz wrote, called Unschooling Math. It is posted on
> our webpage, www.borntoexplore.org/unschool

I couldn't find it, Ned --- can you send the actual url for that article?
Sorry if I'm being dense.

--pamS

National Home Education Network
http://www.NHEN.org
Changing the Way the World Sees Homeschooling!


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ummuhammad_2000

>
> I couldn't find it, Ned --- can you send the actual url for that
article?
> Sorry if I'm being dense.
>
> --pamS
>
> National Home Education Network
> http://www.NHEN.org
> Changing the Way the World Sees Homeschooling!
>
>


Hi Pam,

I found the article under A few words about math. I hope this helps.

Asmaa'

[email protected]

In a message dated 8/6/2002 5:35:29 PM Pacific Daylight Time,
UmMuhammad@... writes:


> I found the article under A few words about math. I hope this helps.

Ah - well that is VERY cool and, in fact, with Luz's permission I'm already
handing out copies at the Sacramento conference. I just thought there was an
article there somewhere about unschooling math that I'd missed.

--pamS
National Home Education Network
http://www.NHEN.org
Changing the Way the World Sees Homeschooling!


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

natural mama

At 05:48 PM 8/6/02 -0600, you wrote:
>Or she's heard from other kids or
>on TV that math is hard and to be avoided.

I'm thinking that is it.

Damn television <grumble grumble>

Tanya, who, in 10 years of marriage has gotten rid of and purchased tvs
probably six times. Enough, I say, enough!

audrey elwood

tanya-
i have the same problem w/ tv's.we have one now and thanks to these radical
child lovers (on this list) i'm letting my kids watch---we don't watch
television-just videos.but they do see"regular tv" at grandma's house.i've
really stessed about it...but i'm feeling alot better since i've been on
this list---2 wks or so


>From: natural mama <naturallyorganic@...>
>Reply-To: [email protected]
>To: [email protected]
>Subject: Re: [Unschooling-dotcom] Re: 2197 Math Phobic Kid
>Date: Tue, 06 Aug 2002 18:26:56 -0700
>
>At 05:48 PM 8/6/02 -0600, you wrote:
> >Or she's heard from other kids or
> >on TV that math is hard and to be avoided.
>
>I'm thinking that is it.
>
>Damn television <grumble grumble>
>
>Tanya, who, in 10 years of marriage has gotten rid of and purchased tvs
>probably six times. Enough, I say, enough!
>
>




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Alicia Knight

Lots of kids hate math -- mine included. I want them to be excited
about how numbers work and to understand some basic math concepts which
I think that they will enjoy once they're over the hump of that bad
school memory of drill and kill math computation worksheets.

We really like playing backgammon, chess, checkers, picaria, cribbage,
mancala, go, tangrams, pentominoes, dominoes, etc. So we're starting a
Strategy Games club where math concepts will come out naturally in the
course of playing. For now, we are avoiding the use of the M-word --
until they figure out that what we've been doing all along is math and
they've replaced the sour memories with happy ones.

~ Alicia

debi watson

Hey, Alicia -- what's picaria? We play the rest (except for backgammon -- I never really understood it myself, so I can't help the kids with it, and haven't come across a rulebook for it i the second hand store yet.) Debi
We really like playing backgammon, chess, checkers, picaria, cribbage,
mancala, go, tangrams, pentominoes, dominoes, etc.


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