New Toys

We picked up some secondhand cuisinaire rods this week.  Although we probably could have done without them, at $5, they were just too much of a steal to pass up.  Personally, I've been wondering what the fuss is over these manipulatives anyway. 

Adding Online

A few weeks ago, we came across the Googol Learning website.    It has some fun games, varying in difficulty from counting and numbers to advanced math.

This morning, BatBoy came wanted me to help him get onto the computer.  He wanted to play Addition Pinball.

Recounting the First Half of the Year

These are a few math activities that have happened in January through April, taken from reporting to Self-Design distance learning program:

Why I Unschool Math

There are people that insist that math can't be unschooled.  Everything else can, but math must follow a curriculum.  I don't agree.  I have seen the math curriculum here in B.C. change so often that teachers begin to suspect it's simply a way of making more work for them.  The curriculum setters move topics around, up and down the grade levels, splitting them up, mashing them together.  Yeah, the curriculum is pretty fluid.

Then there are people who say that math is everywhere and, left alone, children can't help but learn math.  I don't totally agree with that either.  We need to support math learning in the same way we support language learning.  Children need to see math being used on a daily basis; they need to share math with a loved one; they need the opportunity to practice, make mistakes, and get feedback.

A Little Background

When I first left school, I had great ideals of changing the world -- or at least changing the way high school math was taught.  I was energetic; I was enthusiastic; I was creative.  I worked in the school system for seven years.