Socks Are Like Pants Crowdfunding, Young Calculus, and Hacking Math: Newsletter June 9, 2015

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In this newsletter we offer sample activities from our new books and courses:

• Algebra for ages 3 to 10: art activities and puzzles from the forthcoming book Socks are Like Pants and the invitation to crowdfund it.
• Our “Inspired by Calculus” course for families and groups with children ages 5 to 12 starts in July; get the new and improved version of the course and enjoy Math Sparks about an X-Ray vision math superpower and a visit to Flatland.
• The Hacking Math online course for ages 12+ starts on June 17; join us and get a free chapter of the book we’ll use to learn algebra through Python programming.
• Are you inviting others to your Natural Math circles, camps, and other adventures? Let us know so we can spread the word! A few spaces are still open in the online camp for ages 8-14 at Monarch Webwork. It starts June 22 and follows our book, Camp Logic.

Socks Are Like Pants, Cats Are Like Dogs

Do you want your children to feel like algebra is beautiful, playful, and intuitive? Come play, solve, talk, and make math with us! Support our book, reserve your copy, and make these math adventures available to children, parents, and teachers all over the world. Visit the book’s page today to download and try the activities with your children.

Our book Socks are Like Pants, Cats are Like Dogs is filled with a diverse collection of math games, puzzles, and activities exploring the mathematics of choosing, identifying and sorting. Teachers and parents have tested all activities in real classrooms and living rooms. The activities are easy to start and require little preparation.

Inspired by Calculus

We have updated and improved our young calculus course, and are happy to offer it again in July. Inspired by Calculus is a three-week intensive online course for 20 parents, math circle leaders, and teachers who work with children ages 5 to 12. We will meet in a webinar on July 7, 14, and 21 from 10-11 AM MST. The meetings will be for grown-ups, but your children are welcome to be there with you and to play along. We will also work with videos and stories in an online forum.

Go to the course page to get beautiful Math Sparks about the X-Ray vision math superpower and a visit to the 2-dimensional Flatland. You can also watch Dr. Maria Droujkova’s funky short presentation, “5-year-olds can learn calculus.”

Hacking Math with Python

How would you like to use the powerful tools of the Python programming language to explore math ideas like algebra, geometry, fractals and 3D Graphics?

Hacking Math is an informal computer programming course for ages 12 and up that starts on June 17th and runs for six weeks. You’ll learn to use Python programming to explore math and science topics deeply. In this course you’ll retrain your math-think: it’s not about avoiding “real” math by using calculators or computers! It’s about automating the boring stuff so you can get to the fun stuff like fractals and 3D graphics. Our practical approach allows you to solve problems using appropriate technology as well as think mathematically–a skill that is equally important. No previous programming experience is necessary; you’ll learn the major tools of programming in Python, one of the most widely used programming languages.

Camp Logic

Our friends at Monarch have a few spaces left in their online camp for children ages 8-14. The camp runs June 22 to 26 in the mornings. This camp based on our new Camp Logic book is a joyful and useful way to learn logic through puzzles, riddles, challenges, and games. On the surface, many of these puzzles do not resemble traditional mathematics. It may come as a surprise to the students (and often even to their parents!) that in working these puzzles, they are practicing and honing their mathematical skills as much or more than they would using traditional mathematical material.

See you online!

Dr. Maria Droujkova and the Natural Math crew