The nature in your backyard is full of math! From the spirals of the sunflower to the symmetry of a butterfly’s wings. There is so much for kids to discover and dive in. The best way of learning is hands-on, engaging, and real life connections that we can remember later.
During the summer we took our son to a sunflower field to look, smell, and touch the sunflowers. We explored the math and science around him. He loved explore the colors, counting the petals, and seeing how many bees were nestled inside each spiral. We found one bee on a spiral, about 32 petals on the sunflower, and one happy boy.
Another way to explore the shapes and math in your backyard is on a nature walk. We often love to go on nature walks in our backyard or on waterfall hikes to explore the world. We count leaves, trees, and even rocks along the way. We take photographs of the shapes we see. When we get home, we draw the shapes and identify them as circles, triangles, or symmetry.
Takeaway: Teach how to classify shapes, symmetry, and patterns. Discuss why certain shapes or patterns are common in nature (e.g., hexagons in beehives or spirals in sunflowers). Get out there and find the math around you!!!