Rediscovering Maths: Three Inspiring Books to Build Confidence and Curiosity for Home Educating Parents

Maths. It either fills you with excitement or dread. Whatever your past experiences with maths were, they’re probably still affecting how you feel about it today. And that in turn can affect how our kids view it.

For most of my life, apart from a couple of enthusiastic primary school teachers, maths felt dry and irrelevant. Even when I was teaching I found the constant focus on progress and assessment to undermine the creative and exploratory side of maths, that enjoyment of making discoveries and playing with ideas without pressure or expectations.

But home educating my kids has opened up a new appreciation for maths. Watching how they engage with it and learn so much through play and interests has helped me to see it as something playful, creative and genuinely enjoyable.

I’ve also discovered two brilliant mathematicians who've shown me the more creative and fascinating side to maths. If you've always approached it with dread, or you just don't know where to take it with your kids, I think they could do the same for you. These books aren't just for your kids, they’re for you to learn alongside your kids and discover how enjoyable maths can be together.

Ben Orlin - Math with Bad Drawings

This book is hefty but incredibly easy to read - the drawings really do help! It's full of fascinating insights about maths and addresses the familiar questions: Why do I need to learn this? When will I ever use it? Why is it so hard? He's someone who has taken a tricky subject that people can have a serious aversion to, and actually open your eyes to how fun, enjoyable and incredible it is.

It was my husband's bedtime reading for a while and he definitely falls into the 'I'm rubbish at Maths' group (which he definitely isn't). It's a great one to dip in and out of. See it as a bit of a math mentor.

This book will help you:

• Build your confidence with maths — and pass that confidence on to your kids.
• See maths beyond numbers: logic, creativity, patterns, and strategy.
• Create a positive, pressure-free approach to maths at home.

Ben Orlin - Math Games with Bad Drawings

His first book is great but this one is definitely one I'd recommend having as a home educator! It's an epic book of games - most needing nothing or just a pen and paper - that once you've learnt them and played them a few times, can stay in your arsenal forever more.

They're great for doing alongside snacks, during a lull in the day, on the bus, train or plane, when you're waiting around for something. We've only learnt about 5 or 6 of the games so far (our favourite is the mega tic-tac-toe challenge!) but because he shows you how to adapt them for a greater challenge, you can stick with them for a while. And when your kids start playing them together in their own time - well, that's the gold you're really looking for!

Blue Prints - Marcus du Sautoy

This was a chance encounter. I saw that Marcus du Sautoy was doing a talk in my local bookshop, and intrigued by the book's title and intrigued by the idea of exploring the creative side of maths - something I’m not an expert in - I bought a ticket. I'm so glad I did! His passion, enthusiasm and knowledge of maths was astounding and I was a bit frustrated I hadn't discovered him sooner.

In response to a question about how he would change the maths GCSE curriculum, he advocated for a maths curriculum that goes way beyond number and arithmetic, embracing the ‘literature of maths’. Blue Prints is exactly that. It explores how mathematical structures underpin human creativity and nature and how it can be found in all types of music, art, design and literature. It shows how maths is everywhere, yet often gets reduced to memorising times tables or solving equations.

This book explores several blueprints from prime numbers, fractals and geometry and shows how they've been used in everything from Shakespeare's writing to Bach's compositions. It's one to dip in and out of and use as you need to over the years.