Tag Archiv: hands-on math
Flowers are great for teaching mathematics. Depending on the type of flower, you can talk about symmetry or sums. All apple blossoms have 5 petals, which make them great for talking about multiplication by 5’s.
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One of the things the children loved most about last year’s backyard make-over was the balance scale we made for them to play with.
Our original balance scale was created using an old clothes hanger, a couple empty soda bottles, and some duct tape. And while it worked well enough, I thought it was time to upgrade to something a little more visually appealing and also a little more durable.
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Last year we installed a large abacus between two trees using pool noodles and, while useful, it was a bit too far from the hot-spots in the yard. So this year we’ve installed a smaller abacus nearer to the mud kitchen area.
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Last year we built a mud kitchen for our children and it was wholly popular among our children and their friends. Lots of big time messy play went down at that mud kitchen. While we loved our old mud kitchen, it wasn’t very easy on the eyes. This year we decided to revamp the idea; build a new, more visually appealing mud kitchen.
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Last year we built a small balance beam for free out of a piece of scrap 2×4 and two concrete blocks we salvaged. While it was functional, easy, and cheap, I was really eager to upgrade to something larger this year.
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A big part of the geek culture is STEM- that is science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Most every geek is obsessed with one or more STEM topics. So it is important to us geeks to raise children who are well-versed in and passionate about STEM subjects. That means finding hands-on ways for them to practice and learn.
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Both LittleMan and SunnyGirl have birthdays this month so we’ve been incorporating their birthdays into our daily lessons and activities. Today we used birthday candles and some mud kitchen supplies to practice our math skills.
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At a recent trip to Dollar Tree, we spied a set of Spiderman stampers
in their seasonal Valentines aisle. I wasn’t quite sure what we’d use them for but I knew they’d come in useful and be fun to play with so I picked up a set for LittleMan.
That evening, there was a Odd Squad episode on TV about patterns. Viola! I knew what to do with the Spiderman stampers: a simple and fun patterning exercise.
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This week my STEM Saturday co-hosts and I are doing something a little bit different, we’ve decided to have a theme to our posts (more…)
Part of the fun of homeschooling is that learning can take place anytime, anywhere. Today learning took place in an autumn leaf pile.
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