Bringing Origami to Geometry Class -- Product Reviews

 

Disclosure: I was sent these products in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. 

One thing I love to do is bring origami into my classroom. Whether using the old patty paper methods to discover theorems and such or doing origami and perhaps an origami project to demonstrate using geometric terms or just to have cool geometric shapes around the room, I love adding origami. I actually have a box of origami paper in my room-- a boot box covered with Asian wrapping paper. Students come in all the time to have a piece or two just to create something for a relaxed moment. Today I am sharing a book full of geometry and geometric shapes all created by origami and two different packs of origami paper (which all will be added to my classroom supply). I have a shelf full of origami books and kits as well. The book is The Art & Science of Geometric Origami by Jun Maekawa. The packs of paper are Origami Paper 300 Sheets Vibrant Colors 4" (10 cm) and Origami Paper in a Box Japanese Washi Patterns. 

Origami Animals and Origami Paper Review and How I Use It in My Classroom

 

Disclosure: I was sent these products in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I am heading back to school for teacher training and the pre-school year prep. One of the things I always have in my room is origami paper and books. I use them with my geometry classes and pull them out during breaks and students come in to get some when they need a break or something to do with their hands. Today I am going to share with you an origami kit and three packs of origami paper which I will be adding to my classroom collection! We will start with the kit which is Fun with Origami Animals by Sam Ita. It is recommended for ages 6 to 10. I would say it is perfect for beginners no matter the age.

Fractal Tree -- Geometry Class Project

 

One of my goals this year is to bring fractals into my teaching, especially in geometry class. Today I am going to share the fractal tree. It can easily be done on a computer but is also great for practicing measuring with a ruler and protractor. Now a fractal tree is probably one of the most basic fractals and well-known or at least its cousin, the fern is certainly seen as a fractal. 

Geometric Origami Project -- Origami Bunny Balloon Tutorial with Geometry Terms

 

In geometry class we have been talking about the special segments in triangles. It is the perfect time to introduce my origami project. To start I shared a tutorial with them making an origami bunny balloon. I use terms from our lessons like median, midsegment, angle bisector and more throughout the tutorial. The kids make one with me in class. Then I give them my assignment. The kids enjoyed spending the class trying different origami projects. You can watch my tutorial here. I love that I am making an origami bunny balloon when lunar new year is going on and it is the year of the rabbit in Chinese Horoscope. 

Congruent Triangle Gazebo -- Geometry Class Project

 

One of my goals now that I'm teaching is to share some of the projects I am doing with my classes. Before break I was teaching my geometry classes the congruent triangle shortcuts: SSS, SAS, SAA, ASA, and HL (for right triangles only). In one class I assigned a congruent triangle project. I gave the kids the choice of building a truss bridge, making a gazebo, or making a congruent triangle picture that had at least five different pairs of congruent triangles (one for each shortcut) and they needed a page showing each of the pairs as congruent with one of the shortcuts or needed to mark them in their drawing. Most of the kids picked the drawing. I wasn't in love with the gazebo tutorial, or the gazebo made in it so I thought I would make my own. Today I am going to share my gazebo as well as a project sheet to assign it. (I am still deciding if I am going to assign it to my other class or not as they are about half a chapter behind the other one.) 

Dollhouse Scaling Project -- Geometry Class Project

 

This weekend I found a mini-room box kit on clearance at a craft store. I picked it up and thought it would be great for my classroom when I teach ratios, similarity and scaling. It is 1/24-scale which is also known as 1/2 scale. The 1/24 scale means that for every 24 inches (or 2 feet) an object is in real life, the miniature will have 1-inch. All the dollhouses I have worked with previously have been 1/12 scale or sometimes called 1:1 scale. It is for every 12 inches (or 1 foot) a real-life object is the miniature will measure 1 inch. The kit was easy to put together though I did mess up the wallpaper on one piece.

Sierpinski Gasket -- Math Art -- Fractals

 

Today I am going to share some fun math art looking at a famous fractal--the Sierpinski Gasket or the Sierpinski Triangle. It is a perfect fractal to have kids create and goes well with geometry lessons. A fun way to introduce it and create it is the Chaos Game. Here is a video showing the Chaos Game with a triangle, square, and pentagon. With the triangle the Sierpinski Triangle will appear with enough iterations of the game. The rule as explained in the video is to begin with a random point. Then randomly choose a vertex. Connect your point to the vertex and find the midpoint. (Erase the line.) The midpoint is your new starting point. Repeat. This is a game you could easily play in a class as well. Don't watch the video first though. 

Pythagorean Theorem Fun -- DIY Mathematical Art

 

As I continue to think about my new job in September and plan for what I want to hang in my classroom, I am exploring the Pythagorean Theorem. The Pythagorean Theorem is probably one of the most well-known or well-remembered theorem in math. It is often taught in both algebra and geometry. In algebra it lends to working with exponents and roots and in geometry with triangles. I have seen memes saying how people did not use the Pythagorean theorem today, but I have also been told by many people that they have used it in their lives from building a new deck and woodwork to programming and more. Although math has real life applications and was mostly discovered to explain the world, much of math is taught to help develop the brain of our children. In high school the brain is just beginning to truly develop its logic skills and math is huge in helping with this. The Pythagorean theorem also is mentioned (incorrectly) in the Wizard of Oz. Yes, it is this famous!

Although it is named for the Greek mathematician, Pythagoras, it was known throughout the world before his time. It is referenced in Ancient Egypt and Babylon (around 1900 BC). Apparently, it did not become as well known until Pythagoras stated it. There are many proofs of this theorem and some of them like the one below is a visual proof.

Origami for Geometry Class with Marbled Patterns Origami Paper

  

Disclosure: I was sent a pack of this origami paper in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

As I mentioned I am returning to the high school math classroom in the fall! One of my goals is to bring more hands-on activities as well as projects to the class. One of the classes I am pretty sure I will be teaching is geometry. I am so excited to be back in the geometry classroom. I am hoping to use origami in the classroom and definitely want to have an origami project in the geometry class. This year's teacher did this, so I am working off her idea and adding my own spin. Today I am going to share two origami tutorials all using a beautiful pack of Origami Paper 500 Sheets Marbled Patterns 6-inch paper. This particular pack of paper is being released in July 2022, but there is a similar pack of 200 sheets already available. 

Origami Polyhedra

 

Disclosure: I was sent a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I love teaching geometry. It is funny because I took geometry in summer school to get ahead in math. Eighth or ninth grade is when my math brain kicked in and I wasn't in the honors program. So, the summer after ninth grade I took geometry in summer school to get into the honors program. My own exposure to geometry wasn't great because of the rushed aspect of summer school, but when I started to teach geometry, I fell in love. Geometry is a visual math. There are so many things that lend to projects in geometry and origami is a fun way of exploring shapes and can be a fun enrichment to any geometry class. I have shared different products and lessons over the years involving origami and math. Today I get to share a book that teaches the ultimate geometry lessons with origami--the polyhedra!! The book is The Complete Book of Origami Polyhedra by Tomoko Fuse. 

Hanging with My Gnomies for Valentine's Day -- Paper & Felt Gnome Tutorials with Geometry Lesson

 

Have you noticed how gnomes seem to be so popular these days? They seem to be the in thing for the past couple of years, and they have moved into different seasons. It used to be gnomes were for Christmas and maybe the fall and of course the garden. Now they seem to jump into every holiday! I was thinking about gnomes for Valentine's Day. And I was thinking about how paper gnomes would lend to geometry. Then I was thinking back to our Waldorf School days and remembered a felt gnome tutorial. I went and created different kinds of gnomes for you! The first one I made is the one on the right.

Fun & Useful Math Books for Different Ages

 

Disclosure: I was sent these books in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Today we get to talk about one of my favorite subjects! MATH!! As a former high school math teacher, I always love talking math. My life has been a bit busier because I have been volunteering and subbing at the high school end of Hazel's school. My volunteer work is helping kids with their math and sometimes even being in the classroom as an extra adult to help. I love it! It feels good to be back in the classroom and especially without all the grading and politics! Today I am going to share four books that involve math, and they range for ages 7 through adult. We will start with the origami book. Origami is a fun activity to bring into the math classroom and there are so many math applications involved. The book There's Math in My Origami! 35 Fun Projects for Hands-On Math Learning by Fumiaki Shingu, shows how math can be taught in the origami projects. It is recommended for ages 7+.

Math, Art, Crafting and More in a Box!

 

Disclosure: I was sent one of these kits in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Today I am going to share with you a fun building kit. It involves some crafting, math, art and more and I always love when you can make learning fun. Mind-Blowing Paper Puzzles by Haruki Nakamura does just that. 

Fun Books that Teach

 

Disclosure: I was sent copies of these books in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Have you heard of the four gift rule? It says parents should give their kids only four gifts: something they want, something they need, something to wear and something to read. With the holidays quickly approaching I want to share some fun books this week in time for you to make purchases for gifts. If your child is like mine you will be buying books for both something they want and something to read. My family has been complaining because the only things on Hazel's wish list for the most part are books. (Hard to believe when you think about all the books I get to review but they are not all of the series she loves.) Anyway, today I am going to share with books that teach something to the reader.  These books are for ages 8 - 18. Most are for ages 8-12 but there is one for high schoolers. We will start with Brain Candy 2 by Kelly Hargrave.

Kids' Craft Books -- a Crafty Weekends Review and Link Party

Disclosure: Leisure Arts sent me a copy of this book in return for an honest review. All opinions in this post are my own. I did not receive any other compensation for this review. The links are affiliate links where I will receive a small percentage of any purchases made through them at no cost to you. Thank you for supporting Crafty Moms Share!

Most schools are out for the summer now around here (or will be this week). I know people will be looking for things to do with kids especially on those rainy days. Today I am going to share two craft books for kids. Our first book is by one of my favorite bloggers: Rachel Nipper over at I Heart Crafty Things. The book is After-School Kids' Crafts. 

God's Eye Geometry and a Crafty Weekends Link Party 2 Weeks Long!

Last week I shared about Easter in Bermuda and the Bermudian kites reminded me of fancy God's Eyes. It got me thinking about God's Eyes and making some. I looked on-line and there are plenty of tutorials out there like this one over at Crafts by Amanda.  

Back-to-School--Math Resources #STEM

Disclosure: Oriental Trading sent me this products in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. 

Are your kids back at school yet? My Facebook feed is filled with first day pictures and it isn't quite time for the Northeast where the majority of my Facebook friends live. Hazel does not start until after Labor Day, but I know plenty who start earlier. To help those who are starting or who homeschool I thought I would use my teaching skills and review some mathematics resources for you today. Did you know that Oriental Trading has a whole curriculum section? Yes, Oriental Trading, my go-to for party and craft supplies has school curriculum! I figured I might as well use my math teaching experience to check some of this out. I focused on three areas--geometry, fractions and multiplication. Hazel is just learning her multiplication facts so I figured something to help her with that would be good. I found Learning Resources tri-FACT-a Multiplication and Division Game. (There is an addition and subtraction version as well.)

Math Lessons for Different Ages

Disclosure: I was sent these books to review free of charge in exchange for an honest review. All opinions in this post are my own. I did not receive any other compensation for this review.

I promised to share some of the resources for homeschooling. Today I am going to focus a bit on math. Some of these resources are for younger children than Hazel, but there is a lot you can still do with them. Before we get into the books, we are still looking for participants in our USA state postcard exchange. Let me know if you want to join in this fun and educational activity!

Sticker Fun! -- Review of Sticker Activity Books

Disclosure: I was sent these products free of charge. All opinions in my review are my own and I did not receive any other compensation. As always I am providing links to the book for your convenience.

One of the things that keeps Hazel busy are sticker activity books. She gets so excited for them. Today I am going to share with you four new sticker activity books for different ages!! I am going to start with the older kids. The first is Sticker Shape Create by Thereza Rowe. 

Math Lesson: Geometric Origami

 Disclosure: Tuttle Publishing gave me a copy of this book free of charge for this review. All opinions in my review are my own and I did not receive any other compensation. They also sent me a copy to giveaway! As in all my reviews I am providing links for your ease, but receive no compensation.

I haven't done a math lesson post in awhile and here is a fun one! It goes along with the Geometric Origami Mini Kit by Richard L. Alexander and Michael G. LaFosse. 

This kit includes a booklet, a DVD and some mini origami paper. The booklet has instructions for six different origami items and the DVD demonstrates how to make all six. The nice part of having the DVD is sometimes origami instructions can be a bit confusing, so being able to actually see them is great. This is a fun kit that is very reasonable and each project lends itself to a math lesson. I made up a lesson for the first project for various ages and will give suggestions for the second one.