Nonagon Song

We are studying polygons and one of our new favorite songs in the Nonagon song by They Might Be Giants. You can read the lyrics below:

Everybody at the party is a many-sided polygon
When a guest arrives, they will count how many sides it has on

Standing by the window over there
There is a shape with four sides so it's a square

And the one who has nine is looking fine

And its name is Nonagon

Everybody turns just in time to see the pentagon arrive

Counting up the sides, it is clear the pentagon has five

Chatting in the kitchen we see

There is a triangle whose sides number three

And is talking to the shape that has nine

Who is known as Nonagon

Nonagon

Nonagon lets in a guest who has shown up late

Its name is Octagon and its sides add up to eight

Turning the music on

Is a six-sided hexagon

And they all get in a line and do

A dance called "The Nonagon"

The Nonagon

The Nonagon

Finishing up our Journey Sticks

On Thursday in the Art Studio we finished up our Journey Sticks. Now we just need to figure out a way to display them and add our writing to actually describe the journey. We are looking forward to sharing these natural works of art with everyone at the Fall Parent Luncheon on October 30th.

The Square Garden Problem

This is the problem we have been working on in math:

You have been asked to design square garden plots for the Richmond Botanical Garden. They have requested that each garden has a square area in the center for plants. Around each garden is a border of tiles so that people can walk around to enjoy the beautiful flowers. Follow the pattern and find the designs for garden plots #4 and #5. You should use pictures to show your designs. How did you know what Garden Plot #4 looked like? After drawing the designs you should use words and numbers to explain the patterns that you notice.  Be specific so that someone else can understand the specific patterns that you noticed.

Some of the patterns we found include:

Do you see any other patterns that we missed?

Some of us are continuing the pattern much further - even on to the 50th garden plot! Because we know the patterns for the inside and outside we don't have to draw them each time. This makes the process much more efficient. We have found that looking for a pattern in math often makes things much easier to solve.

Columbus Video

Today we watched this cartoon of Columbus with a critical eye. Here are some of the questions we asked ourselves:

• Does this video give accurate information about Columbus?
• Whose voice is being left out?
• How are the Native American's pictured?
• Is this a good video to teach kids about Columbus?

Feel free to watch and leave us a comment about your opinion. Some of us left comments today after art. We are learning that history is made up many different perspectives.