Seven and eight-year-olds are making arguments. They’ll tell you something is true, and why it has to be true. More and more, they see math in the world, and they want to tell you about it.
A very snowy winter is turning to a long, slow spring here in Minnesota. It is the kind of spring that makes us joyful for sunny 45° days. So I went for a long walk Sunday afternoon. Together with a meaningful percentage of the population of the city of Saint Paul,...
I wrote last week about the release of 21st Century Pattern Blocks on a much larger scale than before. This week, I want to share five fun math adventures that begin with these blocks. 1.Scaling Which 21st Century Pattern Blocks can you use (any number of)...
After seeing Hana Murray's lovely study of rectangles made from 21st Century Pattern Blocks, I started playing and noticed that many of them seemed to involve the small green triangles. Pretty soon, I had formed a conjecture. Using copies of these at least two...
I am very excited to let folks know that Dan Finkel of Math for Love has scaled up 21st Century Pattern Blocks production and availability. They've been available here on this site for a few years now. At first I was making them on a maker-space laser cutter, then...
This beautiful book helps us see the world through a child's joyful, creative, mathy eyes.
A summer subscription service—currently on hiatus, but stay tuned!
Reflections on the first Math On-A-Stick at the Minnesota State Fair
I have had several conversations with relatively new parents in which the question of how/whether to talk math with babies. I always try to help such parents see math like they see reading. You read with your baby long before she knows what your words mean. An...