Alexandria Jones struggled to think of a Christmas gift that a one-month-old baby could enjoy, but finally she got an idea.
She cut empty cereal boxes to make regular polygons: 6 squares, 12 regular pentagons, and 32 equilateral triangles. Using small pieces of masking tape, she carefully formed the five Platonic solids. Then she mixed flour and water into a runny paste. She tore an old newspaper into small strips and soaked them in the paste. She covered each solid with a thin layer of paper.
Thank you to Dan at Math 4 Love, who pointed me to Vi Hart’s math doodles. (The rest of her page is well worth exploring, too!) Kitten really enjoyed this one and immediately sat down to create her own version of the OuroBorromean Rings…
Recognize that every math program, whether more traditionally skill-based or reform-oriented (more problem-solving, projects, less drill) has its merits and its weaknesses. Whether you believe there is too much emphasis on basic facts (less likely!), or not enough, you can supplement with the myriad of resources on the web.
— David Marain, MathNotations
Odds and Evens Week of 12-1-10
Click through to the original post for a counting puzzle, plenty of advice on helping with your child’s math homework, useful math links, and a couple of “cute 3-year-old” stories.
And remember that one of the best ways to supplement any math program is by playing games.
Homeschoolers, you can have your math and enjoy it, too! Play a mathematics game every day until Christmas at nrich.maths.org:
[Photo by rdesai.]
The MIT Mathmen got the ball on their own 20-yard line for the last drive of the game. They were down by 2 points, so they needed at least a field goal to win the game.
If quarterback Zeno and his offense advanced the ball halfway to the opposing team’s end zone on each play…
For the rest of NaBloPoMo (National Blog Posting Month), my other blog is featuring a logic game or puzzle every day. So far, I’ve shared three of my online favorites:
And there’s plenty more fun to come. Drop in every day until December to see a new puzzle or game:
[Photo by gabi menashe.] This story is continued from Alexandria Jones and the Eighty-Yard Drive…
There was a time-out on the field, and the Jones family sat down for a brief rest. Sam asked, “How do babies decide when it’s time to be born?”
“Well, son, it has to do with numbers. You see,” Uncle Will explained, “the baby spends his first month thinking about the number one.”
“That’s not much to think about,” Sam said. “But I suppose he can’t handle much at that age.”
[Sung to the tune of the Gilligan’s Island song.]
The carnival is up and now it’s time to click away.
Go check out all the links in this month’s Math Teachers at Play.
There’s algebra, geometry, and some Egyptian vids,
Equations, jokes, domes, real numbers, and games for all the kids….
[Photo by West Point Public Affairs.]
Alexandria Jones pulled the last sheet of chocolate chip cookies from the oven and inhaled deeply. Mmm! Perfect. And just in time — Mom was calling her to the car. She slid the cookies into a plastic bowl but left the lid off so the steam could escape. The Jones family was going to meet Uncle Will and Alex’s cousin Sam for a tail-gate picnic before the big football game.
A topologist walks into a cafe:
“Can I have a doughnut of coffee, please?”— Tanya Khovanova
Tanya Khovanova’s Math Blog » November Jokes
Denise Gaskins' Let's Play Math 