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["Lisa K.V. Perry" <lisakvperry AT gmail.com>]

On 11/28/06, Clansgian AT wmconnect.com <Clansgian AT wmconnect.com> wrote:
> lisakvperry AT gmail.com writes:
>
> >  Our youngest son is friends with an unschooled brother
> > and sister, the boy is 13 and struggles to read and do basic math. My
> son is
> > frustrated that their school work is done by or before noon, he
> occasionally
>
> Eh?  Are you sure you are not mixing metaphors?  How can the boy be an
> unschooler and have a time when his school work is done?  Unschoolers
> don't do
> school work.  My children use math every day, probably every hour.  And
> yet they
> have never had one minute of "math work".  Math is part of life and normal
> trafficking in everyday interests and living.  It's not possible for them
> to 'do
> poorly' in math, since they don't "do math" in the schooling sense.  But
> when
> the measure, extent, quantity etc. of something is needed, they come up
> with the
> solution in their heads and it is invariably correct.


The child I'm speaking of occasionally does math work, but is by and large
unschooled (as is his sister who is into dance). From what he's told us, he
does math 1-2x per week or when he needs it (his words). He had to study
before taking an occasional afternoon job at a local coffee shop, so he
could count and make change and add a bill correctly. Perhaps that's a great
example of unschooling, learning what you need when you need it. Who knows,
maybe this boy is headed for a drama scholarship or directly to the stage
and will never need Algebra II or Geometry.

The way your children are involved on your homestead, it would be easier for
them to pick up math as they helped cook or often build something. My sons
have occasionally helped in my husband's music store for the last three
years. They've learned to help customers (and to truly be helpful), how to
calculate sales tax, and a number of other things retail store related. My
oldest son now has a part-time job working for a computer repair store and
we've been told that he's a great employee.

We told our sons (when they were both homeschooled) that we do 'school at
home' and every family makes their own choice. My sons are involved with
cooking and have made birdhouses and helped my husband build a tree house, a
raft and assorted other projects over the years and I'm sure they picked up
math from these experiences (particularly fractions). My oldest son is doing
well in Algebra II, but we don't think it's because he spent a summer with
my husband building a tree house. You could say that you don't need or use
much advanced algebra in daily living, but I suppose some people do and it
would depend on what you do.

Lisa