I am not a fan of math worksheets, but show me math in the world around me and I’m hooked!
I am constantly on the lookout for ways to make learning math more fun for children. I think math is best learned in an interdisciplinary method: the physical body, the natural world, in art, music and science… any way but a worksheet! Can you think of a more fun way of learning multiplication tables than jumping on a mini trampoline just for that purpose? Or shouting out math equations while marching? Or dancing?
One personal favorite: lying by the pool and scissoring my arms and legs with my 9-year-old daughter while we shout different equations.(Those were the ones she had no trouble remembering.)
How about learning math skills while jumping rope, stretching a giant rubber band, or pounding on a drum?
It’s such a nicer way to learn the number 5 by walking through the woods and finding steams with five leaves, or finding leaves with five points, or flowers with five petals or starfish with five points on the beach.
The creative options of weaving math into our surrounding world are endless and exciting and turn math into the poetry it can be.
One of the most exciting things I ever learned in math was about fractal patterns, the Fibonacci sequence (the golden spiral) and phi, the golden ratio. These mathematical concepts are like magic! And so I was delighted to find this amazing article in Wired showing fractal patterns in the natural world. Stunning, beautiful, and super cool. Show your teens, and see if it ignites their interest!
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