Happy Math Storytelling Day! Newsletter September 25, 2015
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Our newsletter grew beyond 6,000 subscribers this month. That means even more parents, teachers, and math circle leaders will be sharing their ideas, models, art, and stories. Speaking of stories…
Happy Math Storytelling Day! September 25
On September 25, invite your children to celebrate Math Storytelling Day. What types of stories do people create and share on this day?
Picture from the Sequences activity in our Multiplication Explorers course
Classic math tales span centuries of tradition and history, and are still popular today. Invite friends and family to watch these 1-minute videos, find these stories as books or blogs, or best of all, act out your own versions with toys! There’s Zeno’s paradoxes (ancient Greece); the tale of king, chessboard, and rice (10th century India and Persia); or Hotel Infinity (early 20th century Europe).
Some traditional stories aren’t as widely known, but more and more people learn about them, as more cultures now share their treasures online. Check out these traditional sand drawing stories from the Sona tribe, and more Ethnomathematics activity ideas from our Pinterest collection.
The good news is that math stories are growing very popular! People have probably created more child-friendly, accessible, fun math stories in the last ten years than in all the past history combined. Record a video or a podcast with your phone, or use computer storytelling tools like Scratch from MIT and see if your tale can become one of the viral hits online. Meanwhile, check out Vi Hart talking fast in Infinity Elephants (2.5 million views) or the visual tale of symmetry and fractals Cows & Cows & Cows by cyriak (33.5 million views).
Not all math stories are happy. When we hold meetings, many grown-ups share their math grief stories, telling of teaching disasters, crushed dreams, or quietly giving up on mathematics. If you have math grief, share your story with others. We need to hear what went wrong, to do better for the next generation. Natural Math “About” page has a short presentation by Maria Droujkova with several math grief stories – and ways to help children.
Why is math storytelling good for you? Here is a feature article from San Jose Mercury News. You can find more Math Storytelling Day resources at our blog.
POSTPONED: Second annual Sculpture Scavenger Hunt with Cary Visual Art is on September 26
We are expecting very heavy rain tomorrow, so the sculpture tour is postponed. We’ll let you know when we have a new date!
Dr. Maria Droujkova and the Natural Math crew
Posted in Make, Newsletter
Origami=math, Hacking Math teen course, scavenger hunt Sept 26: Newsletter September 21, 2015
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In this newsletter:
- All ages: Origami = math?
- Teens: Questions and answers about the new Hacking Math course
- All ages: Join us for a free math scavenger hunt on September 26
Fold cicadas and read 6 reasons why origami=math
Parents and teachers often ask why we call this or that informal activity “mathematics.” Where is math in a puzzle, game, or craft? This year, we did origami at the annual BugFest, and got this question a lot. Why is origami good for your math?
Questions and Answers about the Hacking Math course
There is a lot of interest in the new Hacking Math course that we are starting this Saturday. Here are some questions and answers:
- Can I sign up if I will have to miss a meeting?
- Yes. We will record meetings and the recordings will be available to course participants.
- Can you help me with the price?
- We’d like to encourage you to share the course with a friend (using one computer during the meetings). It will help you split the cost, and improve your learning experience. Most people learn better when they program and discuss math with someone in person. Professionals call this approach “pair programming.” In the future, we will make courses more affordable by running multiple groups at once.
- What times are the meetings?
- 4 PM Eastern (New York) time on Saturdays, starting the 26th. Sorry we didn’t post the time before.
- Can my serious and interested 11-year-old take this course?
- Yes. Especially with friend or family help. Ages are always just guidelines. This will be at about formal algebra level.
- What number of hours per week do I need outside of the meetings?
- Probably 2-3 hours.
- Can I have a certificate of completion?
- Yes! We’ll even include course participant computer-generated art on it.
Second annual Sculpture Scavenger Hunt with Cary Visual Art is on September 26
On Saturday, September 26, 10 AM to noon, visit downtown Cary, NC! We will be on the main lawn by the Town Hall, near the sculptures. Cary Visual Art and Natural Math welcome families with children of all ages for a fun and thoughtful scavenger hunt, appreciating the sculptures on exhibit as part of the Cary Outdoor Sculpture Exhibition.
Do you live too far? We’ll post the scavenger hunt materials after the event, so you can run it at your own town!
RSVP to reach.out@naturalmath.com to participate in the event, or just show up.
Do you want to volunteer at Natural Math events (online or in the Research Triangle, North Carolina) and work with us to make math adventures happen? Write us at reach.out@naturalmath.com to talk! Children and grown-ups are welcome.
Dr. Maria Droujkova and the Natural Math crew
Posted in Newsletter
BugFest 2015: Why origami is math
Parents and teachers often ask why we call this or that informal activity “mathematics.” Where is math in a puzzle, game, or craft? This year, we did origami at the annual BugFest, and got this question a lot. Why is origami good for your math?
First of all, try the pattern we used. It’s a cicada, because this year is super-special for cicadas. The broods that emerge every 13 years and 17 years come out together! And how often does that happen, exactly? Wow, what rare event!
You’ll need a square piece of paper for this, and most paper comes in rectangles. What’s an easy way to make a square piece out of a rectangular paper? Of course, if you aren’t into bugs, you can find an origami pattern for anything you do like – superheroes or Jedi, robots or ponies, flowers or crystals, and so on.
If you’ve folded our cicada or another design, you know it takes a few decisions along the way. Do I use all paper layers or just some? Do I fold up or down? What angle do I choose at Step 7? If you play the (very very challenging) game of explaining an origami pattern by phone, you are sure to use a ton of math-related words. Up and down, triangles and squares, lined-up and perpendicular… When children hear math words in casual activities, it boosts their understanding of the subject. This is just one of the many math benefits of origami:
- If you talk about your origami, you are sure to bring lots of math words into your child’s life.
- Origami gives you hands-on experience of shapes, angles, lines, and geometric transformations. It’s a series of small geometric puzzles!
- Origami is an impressionist art. That’s why the folded piece is not a photo-realistic cicada. Instead, it shows the essence of the shape. This way, origami teaches us the art and craft of mathematical modeling, where you use simple parts to build complex stuff.
- Even young children want their folds to be precise, because nicely folded paper looks pleasant. Precision is a major value in mathematics. Origami teaches precision in a gentle and beautiful way.
- Paper is accessible and cheap. Paper craft invites you to mess with your project as you wish, to make mistakes, and to try this and that. Just like healthy math, where you make your own models, problems, and conjectures.
- Like all good math, origami can take your mind to a happy place. The headspace origami creates is focused and meditative. But when you figure out a difficult fold, it’s a burst of exuberant joy! Once you learn how, you can enter these states of mind to do other types of mathematics.
Posted in Grow
Online conference, BugFest, and Sculpture Scavenger Hunt: Newsletter September 5, 2015
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In this newsletter:
- Join us at an online parenting and homeschool conference on September 8
- Free science-math-art family events in Raleigh and Cary, September 19 and 26
- Preserve the summer feeling: an article about Natural Math at home and outdoors
- Join the crew as an event volunteer
Free online parenting conference presentation: math is what you make of it
On September 8th at 2 PM Eastern time, Dr. Maria Droujkova will present online at one of the largest parenting and homeschool conferences. HECOA is inclusive of different kinds of families; read descriptions to see what does and does not fit with your views. To join, enter your name and email at the summit page: http://hecoa.com/nbts-speakers-and-workshops
Math is what you make of it: Designing, building, and modeling with Natural Math
You probably know at least one “Johnny who can’t count” – but overall people do more incredible science, technology, engineering, and mathematics than ever before in history. In the big scheme of things, we are doing great in math. But still there is a lot of pain and suffering.
As parents, how do we help our children grow their mathematical understanding, and see the beauty and joy of math? How do we use math as a source of freedom and power in our communities? How can we work through out own math grief? Let us figure it out, together.
BugFest free science and math event: September 19 all day in Raleigh, NC
Mark your calendars! Natural Math will be one of more than 100 local organizations and groups hosting activities at BugFest, the popular annual event at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences in Raleigh. More info: http://bugfest.org/index.html
Bring your family to play with all the bugs, design insect fractals, and explore bridges between mathematics, arts, and sciences.
Here we are making origami butterflies at BugFest 2014:
Playing with math jokes at BugFest 2013: “Why did the ant cross the Mobius strip? To get to the same side!”
Second annual Sculpture Scavenger Hunt with Cary Arts on September 26
On Saturday, September 26, 10 AM to noon, visit downtown Cary, NC! Cary Visual Art and Natural Math welcome families with children of all ages for a fun and thoughtful scavenger hunt, observing the sculptures on exhibit as part of our Outdoor Sculpture Exhibition. Explore physical and virtual modeling techniques, enjoy the sculptures, and take guided tours.
Here is one of our Look and Make mini-posters with children’s creations at the Sculpture Scavenger Hunt 2014:
RSVP to reach.out@naturalmath.com to participate in the event.
Preserve the summer feeling with these playful activities
Several of our activities and principles were featured in the Noodle.com article Your Kids Will Love Doing Math This Summer (If You Do Too) by AK Whitney. From the article:
There’s no question that kids can be a tough audience and will quickly catch on to your attempts to educate them during their precious vacation. So don’t. Or at least, don’t seem like you are. Try the time-tested Socratic method. Instead of lecturing them, ask a question about the activity you are doing to encourage them to think about math.
“Ask, don’t show or tell,” Droujkova says.
You’ll be surprised to find that once you’ve gotten out of that show-and-tell mode, you’re more comfortable noticing how much math is out there, whether you’re shopping, planning a trip, or trying to stay on schedule.
Do you want to volunteer at Natural Math events, online or in the Research Triangle, North Carolina, and work with us to make math adventures happen? Write us at reach.out@naturalmath.com to talk! Children and grown-ups are welcome.
Dr. Maria Droujkova and the Natural Math crew
Posted in Newsletter
