Ep. 39 Joyful Maths with Ruth Rinaldi

Ruth Rinaldi is an unschooling mom of two and the creator of Joyful Maths. She spent 11 years in the school system, eventually becoming the head of a math department in secondary school then the pandemic hit. She struggled with the way things were going and what she was required to do. At the same time, she noticed that her son’s behavior was different when he was home versus being in preschool. He was happier. This propelled her to take a sabbatical which turned into choosing the unschooling life.

Now, she hopes to spread math joy instead of math stress.

In this episode we take a deeper look at a subject that tends to make people nervous...Math.

We discuss:

• myths around maths,
• the idea of “holes” in understanding,
• whether people have “math brains”,
• how to approach math in daily life,
• math in games and play
• the importance of working with objects in the physical realm before online realm
• developing number sense and awareness
• looking at math with curiosity and having fun with numbers
• the expansiveness of math versus the narrow way it is presented in school
• the resources she has created to support families,
• math C.P.R. and more!

People mentioned in the podcast:

https://drchatterjee.com/blog/category/podcast/

https://ed.stanford.edu/faculty/joboaler

Find more of Ruth’s work:

Instagram: @joyfulmaths_homeed

Tiktok

Facebook

Visit her Stan Store for resources and support: https://stan.store/Joyfulmaths_homeed

How to stay in touch with Missy:

Instagram: @letemgobarefoot

Facebook: @letemgobarefoot

Website: www.letemgobarefoot.com

eBook: Life Unschooled: A Guide to Living and Learning Without School

Substack: https://letemgobarefoot.substack.com/