I know it's OK, but I still want permission.

[Dmmetler]

DD is really spurting on math right now, and everything else is getting eye rolls and "do I have to". Is there any good reason why I CAN'T let her spend 3-4 hours a day on LoF, BA, Mathletics, math Bafflers, and so on (plus the reading she does on her own), and let everything else drop? We officially end our school year April 30 (and start up again in July, when it's over 100 degrees out and yucky), so is there any good reason NOT to let her unschool for the next couple of months and do a ton of math if that's what she wants?

[Greenmama2]

Well, as an unschooler myself I'd say of course not but I guess the question is are you concerned about the depth of her interest?

[Dmmetler]

More bemused than concerned-until the last few months, I would have considered her a "Languag-y" kid, who was fairly good in math, but didn't love it. Recently, she's really dived into math, with the stated goal of getting to Algebra, and I'm not sure whether she already had the knowledge, or really did teach herself all at once, but seems to have jumped about 3 grade levels in under 3 months. Right now, she's on fire for learning decimals, percents, ratios, volume formulas, and was reading about the quadratic formula in the car on the way to church and asking questions about it. I've seen such enthusiasm before, but usually its been for something like making Mount Olympus out of Legos or writing a novel, not math.

[Runningmom80]

I'm totally new to this, and don't really know what I'm doing, but you have my permission. :lol:

[nova147]

Yeah, I'd let her run with math. DS7 always goes in spurts - totally consumed with one subject, topic, or toy. It's best not to fight it. I might keep doing other subjects a little - maybe alternating what other things you do each day.

[Diviya]

I'd go with it! In fact I have gone with it. My kids know they have a free pass if they ever want to spend the whole of school time doing math. In my experience they will do it anywhere from one day to a few weeks, and then they are ready to go back to "balance". I absolutely love it when they get on one of these kicks.

[Amber in AUS]

I'd go with it and like PP said i usually find the enthusiasm wanes at some point and they come back to a more reasonable balance.

[2smartones]

Put yourself in her shoes. What are you passionate about? Now have someone take that away from you until July. Would you be upset? ;)

[acurtis75]

I say go for it too. I find that we are often in similar places with curriculum. Dd hated math until recently. She has always been ahead and had the capacity to do it but no desire. She is very "language" oriented. She has been a voracious reader since she was barely 3, loves Latin, begged to start Greek, watches her movies in Spanish just for fun, recites lines from books & movies constantly often using variousn accents, etc. but when the math books were pulled out she groaned & complained on her way to perfect weekly tests. We recently started moving faster and supplementing with LOF, Singapore CWP, living math books and most recently Beast Academy. Now all of the sudden she asks to do math first. She especially likes Beast Academy and even asked to do work on Saturday this week.

 

I've been thinking a lot about why we are experiencing this sudden change in interest level and I have a theory. I think as we move in to more logic oriented problems (like Beast Academy) and language based problems (LOF, cwp, etc) we have finally gotten to a level where it's challenging enough to be interesting to her. I suspect that when we get to algebra and geometry she'll become even more interested. I think the basic math fact practice and even long division were boring and detached from problem solving challenges so she just wasn't engaged. It was math just for the sake of doing math.

[Jen in PA]

That wouldn't bother me. I'd let my kids do it.

 

:iagree:

[Terrilth]

We are in a similar groove here too. I consider it a "math block". :001_smile: