Apologies for not posting in the last month. I’ve not been feeling 100% and combined with my schedule, I’ve been more exhausted than normal. Anywho, today is a good day, so let’s catch up!!! ❤️

Last month, Teen STEAM class we did a String Art (aka curved stitching) lesson, but using 360° rotations. First, using pencil, we took 3 shapes and rotated each, and documented this with penciling the shape each time it was rotated. We did this until we completed the rotation, then repeated with other shapes. What did we learn? That ANY shape when rotated 360° creates a circle.

Remember Spirographs from the 80s? I recently purchased one for the Dollar Store & used it to reinforce the rotating shapes idea in a very quick manner.

We took this next step, and starting stitching the rotations. Since sewing and drawing are very different types of media, we had to adapt the patterns. Using 18, 36 or more holes depending on the shape/s you want to recreate.
If you decide to layer more than 1 shape, it becomes super cool artwork, or you can turn them into very personalized greeting cards!

❤️MATH meets ART!!!❤️

#themcnuttyprofessor #spirographs #onlineclasses #onlinemath #onlinetutoring #funmath #mathcurves #ideasformathteachers #mathmeetsart #steam #stringart #curvestitching #stringartgift #stringartgifts #mandalas #mathisfun #homeschoolmama #homeschoolactivities #activitiesforkids #math #art #crafts #cardsforkindness #coordinateplane #xandyaxisart #reflectionsrotationstranslationsohmy #rotations #translations #geometry #geometricart

They say “seeing is believing.” It is true that we tend to believe what our eyes tell us, but in the case of optical illusions, what our eyes tell us is not always the truth. 
Optical illusions take advantage of short cuts between eye and brain and uses them to fool the brain. There are many different kinds of illusions. 

We learned about Optical Illusions, what they are and various types such as Kanizsa Triangle, The Rubin Vase & The Ponzo Illusion. 

We also explored a little into the Museum of Illusions in NYC online, and in the process learned about artists MC Escher & Bridget Riley. Perspective is key for any illusion!!!

We were able to do 3 different Optical Illusions or Op Art during class. We constructed an Impossible Cube in color, a Penrose Triangle with shading, and started to create a 3d sphere on a checkerboard.
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An 'Unbelievably TRIPPY' class!!!

#themcnuttyprofessor #opart #bridgetriley #opticalillusions #msescher #ascedinganddescendingstairs #impossiblestaircase #inceptionstaircase #penrosestairs #penrosetriangle #escherimpossiblecube #impossiblecube #eschercube #kanizsatriangle #rubinvase #ponzoillusion #marthart #math #art #science #steam #onlineclasses #onlinesteamclasses #lego #legopenrosestairs #paradoxicalarchitecture #buildingtheimpossible #perspectiveiskey

📶VOLUME ON 👍🏻 for Video!!! 😂
February is Heart Healthy Month & I created a class that focuses on the Circulatory System, the Heart & Blood.

Last Friday, we learned about the 4 major components of 🩸Blood: plasma, red blood cells, white blood cells & platelets, even learning about the minor fractions of blood and how to explain what they are.

We also learned about one of the greatest beats that God ever did drop…the heartbeat! ❤️ What gives it that sound? What are the main parts of the heart? Does it sleep? What’s it size? What’s difference between arteries & veins, and how do valves work? What’s bpm? How can you find your heartbeat 3 different ways, but for the strongest way, it would require some jumping around!!! How knowing the song’ Stayin’ Alive’ could actually save a life, (Yes, ‘Office’ fans, it’s true!).

For our 2 experiments, we made a homemade 🩺stethoscope and a model to represent the 4 major components of BLOOD🩸 . We even had a super competitive Kahoot review game at the end!!!

🎼🕺🏻❤️I think the biggest surprise to me was how much the kids were into the song the ‘Stayin’ Alive’ while practicing CPR chest compressions to keep the beat at 100bpm!!! I mean they were SO into it, some even started dancing on tables! That was my happy moment!!! (See slide 6🤩)

I did stress that unless you are certified in CPR you should not practice CPR on any person, but as dance moves, it’s totally groovy!

PS- For anyone interested in the Blood Info Links and Blood Myth Posters from Australian Red Cross (circa 2011), they’re available on my website’s homepage to download for FREE!!! Use for extension lessions, in depth science, personal study or family study!!!

#themcnuttyprofessor #hearthealthymonth #thecirculatorysystem #thecardisovasularsystem #stethoscope #heartbeat #heart #blood #bloodminorfractions #heartbeat #droppingbeats #bloodmodel #homemadestethoscope #theofficecpr #stayinalive #cpr

NEW WV KIDS GROUP!!!

Welcome all from West Virginia (some surrounding areas like Maryland, New York & even Puerto Rico!) Last Wednesday, February 16th, we had our Intro Class. We started with a classic, ‘Spaghetti Towers’. 18 kids (and their moms') attended!!! Kids ages 7-15! 

It was a loaded class - with people and great energy! Lots looking for good association, fun hands-on learning and a focus towards Intelligent Design instead of Evolution.

At the end of our intro session, we had a brief Q&A and got great feedback about the class, and I showed my plans for future classes. It was pretty unanimous, they loved the class. I even had 2 young one suggest some areas for classes too! (WHICH I LOVE & WILL DO!!!)

Enjoy the pix and videos! Thank you to Melissa Kidwell for setting up this group! Thank you to all the moms and kids for your smiling faces, willing participation, photos, videos & permission to post!

*If you are interested in starting fun online STEM classes for kids in your area or have questions, contact me here. I am more than happy to work with your group, age levels, scheduling and affordable pricing for groups.*

#themcnuttyprofessor #spaghettitowers #steam #stem #onlinesteamclasses #onlinestemclassesv#onlinesteamclassesforkids #onlinestemclassesforkids #engineeringforkids #engineering #pbl #projectbasedlearning #handsonlearning #physics #geometry #structures #math #building #design#tokyotowerofbabel

​🤩🤩🤩Marquise🤩🤩🤩 is a student of mine. He is full of life, energy and kindness. Whenever he reads, he never needs any prompting to make it sound natural, as he loves to entertain & put on voices!

Being a teenager, he also keeps me on my toes & teaches me many things. Today we were reading from a Miles Morales Spiderman Chapter Book, and we got to this middle section (pic #2 - circled in yellow). I had no idea what it was, and then he said, “I do, these are dance moves. The ‘mop and whoa’, let me show you!” (See videos below)

How many students get so excited by what they’re learning they want to show you kinetically through dance!?! I love it!

Marquise loves Spiderman, Marvel, dancing, acting, comedy, playing drums, and even has his own YouTube channel. Check him out under King Rolling or at his IG @kingrolling20. Click here to see one of my fave videos he did (it's about Alexa not getting things right, 😂) . He is also entering a songwriting contest this Monday with Flocabulary! So watch his space!!!

Anywho, to get students (or anyone really) ‘hooked’ on a subject, you gotta use stuff that they are already inspired or excited by to get them ‘caught up’ in it. Reading is no different!

Thanks Marquise for letting me share about you!!

#themcnuttyprofessor #flocabulary #kineticlearning #readingforpleasure #hookedonreading #onlinereadingtutor #onlinemathtutor #onlinesciencetutor #mopandwhoa #milesmorales #spiderman

🎉🎉🎉I want to celebrate one of my students, Ava.🎉🎉🎉 

Ava is in high school and we’ve been working together for the past 3 semesters. I’ve tutored her in Honors Math 3, College Algebra and now College Trigonometry and Precalculus.

Like most students, Ava wasn’t a fan of Math and didn’t always feel confident. I’m glad I’ve been able to help strengthen her Math foundation, add to her Math vocabulary to express herself, along with continual practice of the the processes needed to solve equations. Explaining and engaging together.

Over time, I’ve witnessed Ava’s confidence and Math skills grow ‘exponentially’. 
Ava texted me yesterday in a celebratory manner, letting me know her current grade is a 96!!! 🎉🎉🎉🎉 LET’S MEDITATE ON THIS!!!
🤩🤩🎉🎉SHE HAS A 96 IN COLLEGE TRIG & PRECAL!!! A 96!!!! 🎉🎉🤩🤩

Also, a few weeks ago she texted about how she got a 95 on her Unit test & actually found trigonometric functions to be “FUN!” What?? WHAT??? WHAT???!!!???
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Ava, you are such a hard worker! I am BEYOND proud to see how far you have come! You are a super example of how being diligent, organized and not afraid to asks questions pays off!!! You have such a bright future ahead! 

❤️LET’S SHOW AVA SOME LOVE, Y’ALL!!!❤️

PS-Thank you for letting me post this, Ava!!! 🎉🎉🤩🤩🙌🏻🙌🏻
#themcnuttyprofessor #onlinetutor #onlinemath #onlinemathtutor #mathisalanguage
#mathisproblemsolving #mathispatterns #hardworkpaysoff #onlinetrigonometrytutors
#precalculus #trigonometry

​Great Scott!!! Yesterday’s TEEN STEAM Class was awesome!!! We learned about Geodesic Domes, the man who gets credit for them “Buckminster Fuller”, and how they are one of the strong structures because of all the triangled surfaces. The more frequency of triangles, the smoother and stronger dome shape.

We also learned about various 'DOMES' around the globe. One that you might’ve seen in the playground growing up (although I don’t see them much anymore), or probably the most famous one (Epcot, a geodesic sphere), or the worlds largest greenhouses in Cornwall, UK at The Eden Project, or the coolest Glass Igloo Hotel in Finland (where the snow falls and because of its strength it won’t break & you can watch northern lights thru the glass too!), there’s loads of glamping tents too.

FYI, these structures are so strong they can withstand hurricanes, tornados and earthquakes as a residential home. And when they are pre-fabricated, a ‘Dome Home’ can be built in about 7 hours!!!

We built our domes in around 1 hour…
I’m so proud of this group!!! And everyone was game to be silly and take a photo with them on our heads and let me post it!!! 

PS-Great Scott, don’t you think these look like Doc Browns Brain Wave headpiece from Back to the Future???? 

#themcnuttyprofessor #teensteam #geodesicdomes #buckyfuller #buckminsterfuller #glampingdomes #epcot #geodesicspheres #geometry #engineering #handsonlearning #onlineteenclasses #math #homeschoolmama #homeschoolactivities #homeschoolstem #homeschoolsteam

‘Pyper's Picks’ … since Pyper is an avid reader in 1st grade, she wanted to share her book recommendations to kids and their parents. So we’re going to see if she gets a positive response, and if so we might make this a regular edition. Here’s her short blurb about this book and why she liked it. Take it away Pyper:

“The Neighbors” by Einat Tsarfati

“This book is inspired by people’s personalities, a creative imagination and questioning how well you know your neighbors’ and even your family. It’s about a little girl who lives in an apartment building and as she takes the 7 flights of stairs to her apartment, she wonders what’s behind each of her neighbors doors. Her imagination runs wild as she climbs the stairs imagining the crazy rooms that are inspired their personalities. How well does she actually know her neighbors? And how well does she actually know her family? Secrets will be revealed!!!” — Pyper, age 7

#themcnuttyprofessor #pyperspicks #kidsbookrecommendations#readingrainbow
#bookit #fortheloveofreading #kids #reading#kidsbooks #illustratedbooksforchildren
#bookrecommendations #kidsreading #phonics #theneighbors #einattsarfati

SPIROLATERALS CLASS:
I apologize!!! I am so behind uploading previous classes from December and January. So I thought I’d do the most recent to feel a little better! 😅

Btw, have you ever seen so many smiles? While doing Math? Yeah, right? It's true...
​Last Friday, we had an awesome class learning about Finding patterns in Math, and using these patterns to create art. Yes, Math isn’t just dry number crunching. Math gets the worst PR!!! If you REALLY want to learn Math and begin to have an open mind, then learn from someone who LOVES IT!!! Like me!!!

Math is problem solving, puzzles, patterns, shapes, sizes, standards, poetry, rhythm, music, art, data, graphs, a way to explain creation & natural phenomena in human terms, an international language (sadly a 'foreign' language to many😆) AND number crunching!.

Math is all around!!! And when you look for it, you’ll see it! This class was all about noticing patterns, especially within the Multiplication tables 1-9. We learned about Spirolaterals and the beautiful patterns that we can create with the times tables. 

I polled this class to see who liked Math, and most of the kids DID NOT LIKE MATH 😝(sadly, no surprise there!). But after seeing math from a different, more creative angle, it helped encourage many kids to keep an open mind & there is a FUN side of Math that can be explored! That was the greatest lesson, helping kids have FUN with Math!!!

Thanks to all kids your participation and sharing!!! Thanks to the parents as well!!!
PS- I feel like the father in “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” who said he can take any word and show that it is Greek. Tell ME anything you are interested in and I’ll show the you Math!!! I know you’re probably thinking, “Why would you kill my joy with something I love?” LOL! What IF instead of ruining your interests, we used your interests to see Math from a different perspective?😳🧐🥴🤪 Do you like money, sports, fast cars, architecture, food, fashion, art? Those are easy. Come on, challenge me!!! 

#themcnuttyprofessor #spirolaterals #vedicsquares #mathpatterns #mathandart #mathisfun #mathisart #ihatemath #ilovemath #onlinemathtutor #homeschoolmama #homeschoolmath #homeschoolart #homeschoolactivities #patterns #timestables #multiplicationtables #timestablesart #mathsequences #mathseries #mathsequenceart