In the Real World

THIS is how I feel right about now:

I am sick...or allergic to life...not really sure which.  But that's life.  And that's what working with First graders will get you.

In class today we got to play with math tiles...which yes...I did play :

I'm weird with patterns...I kind of like to play around with stuff and make things out of other materials...hence why I absolutely love the idea of manipulatives.

Today we put them flat and used them to make a mental math game.

So if I way the blue square is 15 I have to figure out what the yellow square is.  If I pretend the tiles are set up on a 100s chart then my answer by elimination would be 57.  A fun and easy activity with manipulatives to play with your kids!

I grew up in an extremely artistic family and so I have learned to look at the world with a different point of view.  I'm the kid who took pictures of things in nature or in the city because the pattern looked pretty or I thought the colors turned out kind of cool.

In nature, math is EVERYWHERE.  There are patterns anywhere and everywhere you look.  It's actually pretty cool.  Don't ask me why, but I really find the work that spiders do in their webs amazing.  Look:

Like seriously how cool is that!  The pattern is so simple but it is crazy effective for what the spider needs to survive!  I love love love it!

Oh!  And the stars!  God has given us such a wonderful Creation to be a part of.  Look at this picture from outer space:

Not only is it beautiful, but the patterns that the stars make are indescribable!  Patterns and shapes and math are constantly around us---only if we stop to take the time and look around us will you be able to appreciate the world for a new found appreciation of mathematics.