I recently set up a simple DIY Geoboard provocation. It is a tray containing two cork boards, few jumbo push pins and few rubber bands.
A normal geoboard is a mathematical manipulative consisting of a board with certain number of nails half way driven in.
A DIY geoboard gives the kids an independence to set the nails/pins at their will and explore the shapes that pin arrangement makes. Another advantage of setting out individual boards and pins is that it helps in good fine motor skill practice.
When working on this provocation, Sid declared he wanted to make a square and figured out that he needed four pins for the vertices and that he had to place them in particular fashion to achieve his square. Till now, all he knew about a square was that it has four equal sides. But this provocation helped him to get introduced to vertices and angles.
In his quest to make square he figured out pin placement for rhombus and rectangles. Triangles were the easiest.
He then wanted to make a star and almost succeeded in pin placement but placing rubber bands for the sides was too confusing for him.
Nidhi wanted to try making a circle. She set off by placing the pins along the edge of the board and because the number of pins were limited she had to settle for semicircle.
She wasn't happy and insisted that she wanted to make a circle. I suggested that she spread out the pins along the whole board and when she did it, exclaimed "But Mom, this is an octagon. Not a circle".
I explained to her that she needs more pins to make a better circle. "But I don't want a better circle, I want a perfect circle" , she insisted. "Well if you need a perfect circle then you need infinite number of tiny pins." Though she could not understand my response, I wondered "Is circle a polygon with infinite number of vertices with infinitesimally small sides?"
One little discussion with a three year old trigger such wonderings! I explored more and learnt a lot. The power of inquiry is amazing.
Curiosity is contagious!
PS: Please use discretion in offering young children with sharp small objects.Sid and Nidhi are under careful adult supervision when using objects such as jumbo pins.
A normal geoboard is a mathematical manipulative consisting of a board with certain number of nails half way driven in.
A DIY geoboard gives the kids an independence to set the nails/pins at their will and explore the shapes that pin arrangement makes. Another advantage of setting out individual boards and pins is that it helps in good fine motor skill practice.
When working on this provocation, Sid declared he wanted to make a square and figured out that he needed four pins for the vertices and that he had to place them in particular fashion to achieve his square. Till now, all he knew about a square was that it has four equal sides. But this provocation helped him to get introduced to vertices and angles.
In his quest to make square he figured out pin placement for rhombus and rectangles. Triangles were the easiest.
He then wanted to make a star and almost succeeded in pin placement but placing rubber bands for the sides was too confusing for him.
Nidhi wanted to try making a circle. She set off by placing the pins along the edge of the board and because the number of pins were limited she had to settle for semicircle.
She wasn't happy and insisted that she wanted to make a circle. I suggested that she spread out the pins along the whole board and when she did it, exclaimed "But Mom, this is an octagon. Not a circle".
I explained to her that she needs more pins to make a better circle. "But I don't want a better circle, I want a perfect circle" , she insisted. "Well if you need a perfect circle then you need infinite number of tiny pins." Though she could not understand my response, I wondered "Is circle a polygon with infinite number of vertices with infinitesimally small sides?"
One little discussion with a three year old trigger such wonderings! I explored more and learnt a lot. The power of inquiry is amazing.
Curiosity is contagious!
PS: Please use discretion in offering young children with sharp small objects.Sid and Nidhi are under careful adult supervision when using objects such as jumbo pins.
