Cutie π

-
She's here!  A few weeks early but it was nice of her to wait until the day after my 8th graders graduate.  Can you imagine if my water broke at the graduation ceremony?!

Cutie π

So I got to finish the school year with my students but there were a few days left of school that I was supposed to use for scheduling for next year and cleaning my classroom.  This baby is teaching me a lesson in flexibility because I couldn't organize my classroom like I wanted.  I had to ask some teacher friends to pack up my (messy!) desk and other random items in my room including an open bag of pretzels in my desk (embarrassing!)

Despite the change in plans for the end of the school year, it's all worth it because little Natalie Anne is healthy and happy.  My 8th graders were convinced that she would be born knowing all the algebra that we learned this year.  I haven't seen evidence of her combining like terms or solving equations yet, but then again most of our day is filled with changing diapers and feeding so we haven't had time for math… yet. :)

Comments

  1. MichelleJune 6, 2014 at 6:38 AM

    Super cute, Annie...love this post and the "Cutie Pi" title (I don't even know how to make a Pi symbol!) Anyways, enjoy your summer with the little one and I'll be looking forward to keeping up with you here!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Annie ForestJune 19, 2014 at 3:25 PM

      Thanks Michelle! I'm hoping to have some time to work on my blog this summer, but so far Natalie has been keeping me pretty busy! I hope you are enjoying your summer so far!

      Oh, and to make the "π" symbol it's: option p :)

      Delete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Valentine's Day: I Heart Math

-
Image
If you teach middle school, brace yourself for the craziness that is Valentine's Day celebrated at school tomorrow! Heart shaped suckers, teddy bears, chocolate, and a few (hopefully minimal) tears. Instead of fighting it, embrace the mathiness that can be squeezed out of this heart-filled holiday! Here are a few resources to use: 1. Send a Math-o-Gram . Love math? Love Desmos? You can send your students (or friends) a heart themed graph! 2. Make a Mathy Valentine Use transformations to rotate your way to your students' hearts. 3. Check out these other heart-shaped graphing activities I found these NCTM Illuuminations graphing actives a few years ago. 4. Graph this equation in Desmos : (this was a fun one for my 6th graders... just to figure out how to type in the correct symbols!) 5. Mobius Strip Hearts ?! Yes! Happy Valentine's Day! <3 Update: More Valentine's Day Activities Added: Early Childhood Ideas: Spark a Lov
Read more

What to do during the last days of math class?

-
Image
Here is my criteria for what makes good mathy activities for the end of the school year: -no/low tech (we have 1:1 devices, but the last few days of school usually mean all devices are turned in) -still incorporate math or problem solving in some way -fun and engaging video credit:  http://sci-toys.com 1. My favorite activity is one I've done every year. Kaleidocycles . When I first starting doing them, over 10 years ago, I had to figure it out on my own. Now, there are tons of online tutorials (check youtube) to explain how to color, fold, and glue. You can also check out my blog post about making these . Kid love them, trust me. It's been my go-to activity for the last two days of math class for years for a reason! :) 2. 5x5 Game. Check out Sara's blog post about the rules . She calls it "the most amazing game" and I trust her judgement. :) I haven't tried it yet, but I'm leaving it as sub plans for the last days of school becau
Read more

Lesson Idea: Combining Like Terms

-
Image
I haven't written about a lesson idea in a while! While talking with an 8th grade teacher today, I was reminded of a lesson I've done in the past about combining like terms. I wanted to write a quick post to share and also so that I can have it saved to refer back to. The lesson begins by showing this clip: The kids always laugh and enjoy the silliness of it. When it keeps going, I hear a lot of "You gotta be kidding me!" and "ugh, how long is this going to go on?" Perfect. I feel like I'm creating the controversy (create the controversy, Dan Meyer suggests is a first step) After the video, I talk about a simpler version of this same idea. Me: What if I ordered 5 hamburgers, 3 orders of fries, 6 hamburgers, and 2 more orders of fries. Is there a better way to order that is less confusing? Students: Yes! (they are almost frustrated with me!) Put the hamburgers together and the fries together. Me: Oh, so if I wrote ((write on the board:
Read more