Exit Slip - Oct 17th

Today's sit spot activity was one of my favorite, specifically because we were asked to speak about the mathematic patterns in the garden in a context of gratitude. This helped to emphasize a departure from the rigid, sterile environment that we generally associate with math. It helped me appreciate how much  math there was to be grateful for. By adding an element of gratitude, I was able to use my 'math' brain in a totally new way. I wrote the following thank you notes: 

"You are a special Tree, in your three-ness. two-two-two, all the way up; Three at the bottom."

"Thank you light! Negative and Positive"

"Thank you leaves, your gradients of green! Letting our circles ease you into a winter slumber. Dots of color on the ground - Thank you."

"4ourness plant - thank you! Thank you for your evermore-ness. Always two more... How do I know your a four?"

"Thank you gradients. Showing me trails often travelled. Showing me your dance, approaching a blossom. Ten steps from the base to the blossom. Thank you! 

"Thank you bush - your thousands of leaves letting in chaotic light. Thank you for showing what is different can the serve the same."

"Thank you former Care-Givers. The centric door is a beautiful attempt to join nature's variability. Thank you for your thoughtfulness cultivating this place. A seed of life in a jungle. Thank you!

"Thank you air and your power to heal". 

I found the body-measurement activity very rich. I had not done this before - it was shocking to see how accurate some of the units were. In particular, the width of my thumb seemed exactly 1", and the length of my half finger was so close to 5.5". 

This activity inspired an idea for a different activity, the goal of which is to help students understand how 2D Area measurements are different from 1D distance measurements. Briefly: it would involve students creating several 'units' of measurement with their  bodies. They would then measure out some 2D plot using two different body units. The result? My patch is... 451 [Jacob] feet-hands. I think this would draw attention to the differences between length and area. 

As a final note... I'm very eager to learn the results of my peer's inquiry projects. Very exciting that everyone seems to have relatively novel ideas!