To Math or Not to Math...

Our first week back to unschooling went well. One would think that unschooling happens 24/7, but in my case we really did take the summer off and pretty much did whatever we wanted, including watching TV and playing on the computer whenever we wanted. With Dave going to Iraq in April, we all just needed some time to just be and not add to the pressures and demands that were already on our lives.

This last week the children were calm and relaxed, and so was I. They came up with many activities on their own; their creativity is always a joy to see. I made a couple of suggestions of what to do, and we did some activities as a family. They only complained of being bored a couple of times, but they quickly found something else to do and they forgot all about being bored. I was very happy with the flow and the atmosphere of our home and their learning journey.

I did give them a couple of art lessons. While both girls did listen, it was obvious that Sami had no interest or desire to do what I was trying to show her. She just wants to do things her way and to be left to her own devices, so I happily let her. If she has her own ideas about how art should be, then I will let her take that ball and run with it. I am secretly hoping that she'll watch Megan following the lessons and that she'll want to try some things out, too, but that's just to broaden her techniques.

Now we get to math. I want to start doing official math lessons again, and it's just because I am paranoid that they will never learn their math skills on their own through unschooling. I don't have any unschooling mentors to talk to in my community, so I just don't know how to unschool math. I've read a couple of blogs that say that they learn it through measuring while baking, or counting their allowance, or through every day life. While I'm sure that 's true, I'm wanting the girls to be GREAT at math NOW. The paranoid side of me is afraid that they'll be the only kids around that can't do math at their "grade level," which is totally counter to everything I believe in.

So today I will dust off the workbooks and we will slowly delve into the world of math. We will do a few problems daily, do simple math activities, and make sure that it stays fresh in their minds. I don't think any of us would survive doing a whole hour, so I'll keep it short and to the point. The girls will complain, I'm sure (they hate workbooks and worksheets), but I'll be sure to keep it from the point of tears that used to come with their math lessons.

I can't imagine them doing math in public school. Would the girls do their assignments? Would they have cried in class? Would the teacher move on even though the girls weren't ready yet? I'm glad I don't have to know those answers.