The Harmony Learning Community Blog

News, Updates, Program Recaps, and Homeschooling Information

Math Circle Blog: Infinity, the Prime Directive, and Perplexity

Posted by Rodi Steinig 
· Monday, October 22nd, 2012 

It’s Good to be Perplexed in Math N came up to the board a number of times as we continued last week’s probability problem.*  D had planned to start class with a new approach, but didn’t because his ideas had changed over the week.  N first came up to question the possibility of actually choosing chords randomly.  He suggested an…

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Please Show Me. No, Please DON’T Show Me!

Posted by Rodi Steinig 
· Tuesday, December 6th, 2011 

Geometry is not just the basis of language, but is a language in itself.   “Oh no, now she’s going to ask us the definition of the word flat,” said Z, after the whole group had agreed that a plane can be defined as a “never-ending flat surface without thickness.” I asked, “But aren’t you asking yourselves what flat means?” and the…

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Thinking Like Mathematicians

Posted by Rodi Steinig 
· Tuesday, November 29th, 2011 

The kind of real mathematical thinking that a math circle encourages.   Photos of a Julia Set crop circle and a Cissbury Ring crop circle whetted our appetites for circles this week. Everyone had many questions about how the crop circles got there, particularly how they got to be “so perfect.” Then the kids wanted to continue the process of…

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