Math

A while back I knit this moebius basket out of Manos, then felted it. If you follow the handle around you see that there isn't really an inside or outside -- the entire basket has one side. It's sort of hard to see in the photo -- much easier to trace your fingers around and realize that the inside becomes the outside. Sometime I'm going to knit another, and needle felt a design along part of the handle and base. I think that this will make the moebius-ness of it more apparent.



I really have a "thing" for this moebius knitting. It endlessly amuses me.

The final lesson of RightStart Level E is making a moebius strip. We never did that lesson, though. It seemed pointless, considering how many moebii we have around the house. However, the RightStart lesson does have you cut the moebius into 2 pieces, and also has you cut on a line 1/3 distance from the edge. The kids will not be cutting into my knitting, so I suppose we need to try that out on paper.

The moebius basket pictured filled with long strands of golden beads. These began life as Christmas tree decorations. Earlier this year they began a new life ... I would lay them out on the carpet in the shape of various numerals. KidV2 was having trouble keeping her numbers headed the correct direction -- she kept flipping them around mirror image. So, we made huge numbers out of sparkly golden beads on the carpet, and we walked, hopped, skipped and jumped along them. We also used the Handwriting Without Tears slate and stories. And, mostly importantly, time passed. These days she usually writes them all facing the proper direction.

I've been thinking a lot about math lately. I'd like to capture my thoughts on paper or screen, to have them all tidily in one place. It's funny how much of our math is intertwined with our knitting and crafts. Some days I think I'd like to split this blog into 2 blogs -- one about homeschooling, one about knitting. But, where would the math go? It's part of both aspects of our lives.