Due to the nature of the particular winter we’ve just had- the long cold nights, storms and cold, cold mornings, sharp frosts and huge amounts of rain, we indulged in more winter crafts than usual.
Our Perth based kids dream of snow. They long for snow and talk about it regularly! We have used so many recipes for snow dough and snow, snow slime, snow everything and we have enjoyed a feast of winter books!
We have finally mastered the art of snowflake making. The children rejoiced in my mistakes and watched me get up again and again, trying to model persistence while trying not to swear as yet another misshapen snowflake emerged from my scissors.
And then- what a wonderful moment- after endless winter days I got it and could pass it on. Just a sharp acute angled cut at the end and perfect snowflakes emerged!
The amount of mathematical language that emerged was amazing. Terms such as acute, equilateral, triangular, thirds, halves, symmetrical were used with meaning and the results carefully placed on our winter tree and display boards. The kids were so proud of what they had made during our maths lesson,
When I told them our craft work was all about maths they were amazed! And yet- they retain the concepts learned in this hands-on way.
This is maths by subterfuge and it works! Why not get some scrap paper, scissors, glitter and teach a fun maths lesson today to celebrate the seasons. I have many of these “maths by subterfuge” lessons planned for SPRING and SUMMER and piles chosen for HALLOWEEN and CHRISTMAS.
Check out this Pinterest page:
MAKING MATHS MEANINGFUL
https://www.pinterest.com.au/victoriacarlton/making-maths-meaningful/ for lots of ideas for linking maths and art and craft!