kate [loop] hannon - Christian Perspective

Posted on January 20, 2010 by kate [loop] hannon — 1 Comment

Free Digitized 1800 and 1900 Math Books

Several months ago, I felt like I’d hit a goldmine when I first discovered Google has digitized and made available for FREE numerous math books from the 1800s and 1900s, including some of my favorite ones I’d found in old collections. Written back before math was viewed as an intellectual pursuit, many of these old books team with practical word problems!

While they’re not for everyone, as the older English wording and time-period illustrations might confuse some children, these historic math books can be quite helpful! If you’re not sure how to show your child how a concept serves as a useful tool, try looking at some of the word problems offered in one of these books. I wouldn’t necessarily recommend reading through all the presentations, as they’re not easy reads, but many of the word problems are gems! A good place to start is the Table of Contents–the books are also searchable if you want to narrow in on a specific concept.

Below are links to a few of Google’s extensive collection. If you search for these books’ authors, you’ll find other books by them as well (you may want to limit your search to “Full view only” to see all those available on the site in their entirety).

Ray’s New Practical Arithmetic
Adam’s New Arithmetic
Stoddard’s Rudiments of Arithmetic
Practical Arithmetic (upper elementary/high school)

Reminder: Request Week – Next week is request week, so please leave a comment with what you’d like us to discuss!

Posted on January 16, 2010 by kate [loop] hannon — 3 Comments

A New Year, a New Look, a New Schedule…and a New Book!

It has been more than a year since I’ve posted anything–ouch! I think it’s high time for a long-overdo update : ).

First of all, Revealing Arithmetic: Math Concepts from a Biblical Worldview, is finished! The final book ended up being a more-than-200-full-sized page manual offering ideas and inspiration for teaching basic arithmetic (counting through exponents) from a biblical worldview. I can’t tell you how excited and grateful I felt when it went off to the printer…it’s been a long, but blessed journey. Thank you all for your prayers and encouragement along the way! If you’d like to learn more about the book or purchase a copy, it’s now in our online store!

Now that Revealing Arithmetic is finished, it’s my intent to focus more on this blog. I would really like to make it a place where we can explore God’s hand in math together. You may have noticed the blog has a new look and feel–and I’m hoping to add new content to it regularly.

My plan is to post at least once a week, according to the following “tentative” monthly schedule.

Week 1: Specific Concept – Information, ideas, or musings about a specific math concept (concepts will vary each month).
Week 2: A Concept’s History or Applications – An exploration of a portion of math’s history or one of its many applications.
Week 3: Resources – A resource link or review.
Week 4: Requests – Topic will vary based on requests and feedback received. (This is your chance to tell me what you’d like to see us discuss!)

As I try to begin/resume this blog, know that your comments (feedback, ideas, sharing, questions, etc.) will help keep me going : ) I look forward to learning and growing with you!

Posted on August 25, 2008 by kate [loop] hannon — 1 Comment

Math Articles and Tips

A few weeks ago, someone shared a link to www.mathworksheetscenter.com in a comment and I wanted to pass it along to you all, as some of the free articles there looked quite helpful. The articles are located at http://www.mathworksheetscenter.com/mathtips.

I especially liked many of the high school articles, as they gave some practical ideas on math’s applications. You could use each suggestion as a launching pad to have your student explore further.

The site also offers thousands of worksheets for a small membership fee. The lessons on the worksheets basically just explain the concept by offering an example problem worked out. A search online reveals other sites with free worksheets; however, if you’re looking for a wide variety of worksheets and don’t want to hunt all around to find them, the membership might be worth it for you. Be sure to view one of the worksheets first to see if the general quality/layout would work for you.

My prayers are with you all as you gear up for a new year of school. May each day be blessed with a deeper appreciation for God’s faithfulness and power.

In Him,

Katherine

Posted on July 30, 2008 by kate [loop] hannon — Leave a comment

New Math Curricula Reviews

I recently reviewed two math resources—Professor B’s Power Mathematics and Maximum Math, and reorganized my math review page to hopefully make it a bit more user friendly. I always hesitate when posting a review because not every resource or curricula works for every person. We all have different learning styles and specific needs. So please keep in mind that it’s not my intent to endorse any specific resource, but rather to describe some of the options so you can better decide what will work for your family.

My prayers are with you all as you make your plans for next year. It’s easy to get overwhelmed, taking our eyes off the Lord and putting them on the many decisions that need made. Remember to let God carry the burden—He delights in leading, guiding, and teaching you each step of the way.

By His Grace,

Katherine

Posted on May 11, 2008 by kate [loop] hannon — Leave a comment

“Biblical Math” May Not Really Mean Biblical

I was recently reminded of the fact that many people use the term “biblical math” to mean something very different than I do when I use it. So I thought it might be beneficial to take a look at some different ways the term has been used.

Many use the term “biblical math” to refer to using math to unlock some sort of hidden code within the Bible. In fact, there have been numerous books written on this topic. Each one claims to have unraveled a mystery within the Bible’s pages.

If you’ve ever been intrigued by any sort of “biblical numerical code,” I’d encourage you to read the article linked to below by James Nickel. I found this article incredibly helpful in understanding why I felt such a caution and uneasiness in my spirit every time I read anything about these hidden codes. Mr. Nickel explains how these “hidden” codes really have Gnostic roots and are a distortion of the gospel of Christ and the Word of God.

http://www.biblicalchristianworldview.net/Mathematical-Circles/behindBibleCode.pdf

Although many people attempt to use these codes to defend the authority of the Bible or to proclaim some other truth, the whole idea of finding some sort of “hidden” revelation is not true and is actually very dangerous. God’s truth is available to all, not just those who can crack a special code. There’s a harmful elitism and mysticism in saying we need some sort of special knowledge to understand part of God’s message to us. God warns that He has hidden things from the wise and revealed them to babes (Luke 10:21). We’re to use the Bible to help us understand math, not use math to unlock the mysteries of the Bible. God has given us His Spirit, note a code, to help us understand His Word.

Other people use the term “biblical math” to refer to a curriculum that contains Bible verses and Christian morals. Yet although the student is being taught a biblical perspective on morality and learning biblical truth, he’s not necessarily being taught how to look at math itself from a biblical perspective.

I would define the term “biblical math” as an approach to math that leaves the student with an understanding of how math itself is viewed from a biblical worldview. The Bible gives us principles that impact the way we view and approach all aspects of life, including math. God is the creator and sustainer of all things and is a consistent, faithful God; hence, we can expect the universe to be consistent. Man is created in the image of God; hence, we’re able to observe the consistent way God governs all things and record that using math. Man is fallen; hence, we are prone to error and cannot place our faith in our own reason. God gave us the responsibility to work and “subdue” the earth; hence, God has given us math as a useful tool to help us with the tasks He has given us.

The above statements are just a few (and are simplified for the sake of space) of the ways the Bible’s principles should impact the way we approach math. When we take these and other principles and build our approach to math off of them, it completely transforms math from a meaningless exercise to something both meaningful and useful—and something that, above all, points us to the Creator (see Beyond Numbers).

I hope the above explorations of “biblical math” help clarify things a little for you. It’s amazing how differently a phrase can be applied, isn’t it? : )

Posted on May 10, 2008 by kate [loop] hannon — Leave a comment

Balancing, Measuring, and Such

A few weeks ago, I visited a local historic home with my aunt, uncle, and cousins. Something I saw there sparked a little research and has resulted in this post : ).

The chandelier hanging in the hall of the historic house was much too high to light easily using a ladder. But men had used the ingenuity God had given them to design a device whereby the chandelier’s candle COULD be easily lit—by just one person.

The chandelier was hung using a long chain, at one end of which was a cylinder that perfectly balanced out the weight of the chandelier. Since the weight balanced, the chandelier didn’t move unless a person pulled or pushed on the chain. By pulling or pushing on the chain, a single person could easily higher or lower the chandelier, light it, and return it to its former position.

As I looked at the chandelier, I realized this was math in action. Whether or not the original designers weighted the chandelier and the cylinder, I don’t know. But I do know that the weights equaled—and that math has been historically used to help design and use counterbalances for a variety of purposes.

[Photo taken at Sully Historic Site in Chantilly, Virginia.]

Merchants used to use a scale based on the counterbalance principle to weigh their products. On one side of the balance, they’d place the item to be weighed. They’d then add items of which the weight was known to the other side until the scale balanced. The whole process required quite a bit of math.

If you’re working on measurement with your child, consider having him or her build a scale! Easy instructions can be found at the website below. As you build it, thank God for creating us capable of designing devices—like balances—to help us.

http://www.campsite24.ca/balance_scale_eng.pdf

Posted on April 28, 2008 by kate [loop] hannon — Leave a comment

Money Fun

A recent trip reminded me of one practical way math serves as a useful tool–money conversion. On our trip, we saw prices listed in dollars, pounds, euros, forrents, and marks–and needed to use some quick math to figure out how much we were really spending : ). We employed addition, subtraction, division, and round/estimating at various times throughout the trip.

As you study different cultures in history, consider having your child learn about their money systems too. Simply search the Internet for “money” and the country’s name. You should be able to find some pictures and descriptions of the money in that country. Then search for exchange rates and see how the money compares to American money.

If your child is young and just getting used to American money and math facts, you could simply show your child the pictures of the money, explaining that different countries use different money systems just like they use different languages, and that math helps us compare prices. If your child is proficient with math, you could actually have your child pretend to go shopping in the foreign country and figure out how much something marked in that country’s currency would cost in American dollars. You could even set up a pretend shop!

Math is truly a useful tool!

Posted on March 18, 2008 by kate [loop] hannon — Leave a comment

Free Workshop Invite, Book Update, Math Information Online

Things have been piling up to post, so this post will contain quite a few different things.

Free Workshop
First off, I wanted to invite you all to attend a workshop this afternoon (Tuesday, March 18, 2008) at 1:00 p.m. CST I’ll be giving on teaching math biblically. You can attend right from your computers–and it’s free! The workshop is being done through Cindy Rushton’s Ultimate Homeschool Expo as one of their free, pre-conference preview chats. The chat will be archived and available after the conference begins to attendees, but it’s only open to everyone this afternoon. To join, follow the instructions at the bottom of this post. (I apologize for the late notice.)

Math Book Update
Next, after several drafts and a name change, my math book is actually nearing completion! The book is now titled Revealing Arithmetic, and serves as a guide for teaching arithmetic concepts from a biblical worldview. Revealing Arithmetic will walk through teaching basic arithmetic concepts from counting clear through long division, offering an overview, example presentation, reinforcement ideas, and much more. Thank you all for your continual prayers.

Math Information Online
We recently posted an article adapted from Beyond Numbers to our site and reorganized some other math information. I hope you enjoy!

I also recently found an article on biblical math online I think you some of you might find helpful. Vern S. Poythress helpful, although more intellectual, essay titled, “A Biblical View of Mathematics” is available online at www.frame-poythress.org/poythress_articles/1976Biblical.htm.

Please Note: I’ve not had a chance to look at any of the other essays on this site or by Poythress to know their merit or theological content. I mention this particular article because it looked helpful.

Instructions for Joining the Workshop (from Cindy Rushton)
We provide the software download-free. Here is the link:

http://www.cindyrushton.com/Conference.exe

Click to begin download or copy/paste into your internet browser and click ENTER. It will only take a few minutes to download into your computer, but you want to do it ahead of time so you don’t miss a minute in the Conference Room. After it is downloaded on your computer, it will set up an icon on your desktop that says CONFERENCE. Then, you will only have to click it to open up the room. Here are your instructions from there:

When you are ready to enter, you will enter your NAME or EMAIL ADDRESS in the first blank.

Add the following information when prompted:

Name of Room: Talk-a-Latte

Password: letschat (for Preview Chats)

Remember…your password is different for chats and other classes. It only works for the room when the room is open for the study.

Posted on February 16, 2008 by kate [loop] hannon — 5 Comments

The Golden Ratio – The Creator’s Mark Throughout His Creation

Updated 11/13/15

Some time ago, someone wrote and suggested I write something on the golden ratio. I hope to finally post something on the topic today (this post has been in progress now for QUITE some time).

The “golden ratio” is a special name given to describe a ratio that seems to relate indirectly or directly to many aspects of God’s creation. The ratio is approximately 1.618 (see Wikipedia for a more exact definition).

To understand how we observe the ratio 1.618 in God’s creation, we need to take a look at a special sequence called the Fibonacci numbers. This special sequence begins 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, 144…and continues, with each new number formed by adding the previous two numbers together (1 + 2 = 3, 3 + 5 = 8, etc.). The ratio between most numbers in this sequence is very close to the golden ratio. This means that if you were to divide two neighboring numbers in the Fibonacci sequence, you’d get a number close to 1.618!

Since we find neighboring Fibonacci numbers all over creation, it follows that we also find the golden ratio all over too. For example, the seeds in any given sunflower are arranged in two patterns of spirals. If one of the patterns has 55 spirals; the other will have either 34 or 89—the number of spirals in each pattern are always neighboring numbers in the Fibonacci sequence! This also means that the ratio between the two patterns is always very close to the “golden” ratio. No matter how large or small the sunflower, one spiral pattern always contains approximately 1.618 times the number of seeds as the other pattern. Guess what? This ratio allows for the most number of seeds to fit in any given sunflower! God sure thinks of all the details, doesn’t He?

If we were to look at plants, pinecones, or pineapples, we would again find Fibonacci numbers and the golden ratio and be awed again at the Creator (please see the websites listed at the end of this article for a more detailed explanation). Scientists have even found ways where things like the nautilus’ shell relates indirectly to the golden ratio. And artists and architects have discovered that rectangles based on the golden ratio are artistically pleasing (surprise!).

Many marvel over how the golden ratio (and numbers in the Fibonacci sequence) keeps popping up all over creation. As Christians, we know the ratio appears everywhere because God designed the golden ratio to have the properties it has, and then designed each part of His creation with infinite care and wisdom, using this ratio to give sunflowers, pinecones, and more just what they needed. He also created our minds to appreciate this same ratio as something “beautiful”—as testified to by the many buildings and paintings that incorporate this ratio.

Below are four sites that offer more details about the golden ratio. The first two approach the ratio from a biblical perspective; the last two do not have a biblical perspective, but contain some fascinating information and easy-to-understand explanations of the Fibonacci sequence and the Golden Ratio you might find helpful.

Note that one of the sites uses the name “golden mean” instead of “golden ratio” to refer to this ratio. The sites also refer to the “golden rectangle” or “golden section”—this is a rectangle whose sides follow the proportion of the golden ratio (one side is approximately 1.618 times the other side). Most of the sites also discus the Fibonacci sequence—remember that neighboring numbers in this sequence have a ratio that approaches the golden ratio.

I hope you enjoy!

http://creation.com/golden-numbers
http://www.biblicalchristianworldview.net/documents/fibonacci.pdf
http://www.maths.surrey.ac.uk/hosted-sites/R.Knott/Fibonacci/fib.html
http://www.popmath.org.uk/rpamaths/rpampages/sunflower.html

Posted on December 26, 2007 by kate [loop] hannon — 2 Comments

Table Math

“How many math concepts could you teach using just the objects on this table?”

The question came from my brother. We had just finished eating dinner, and I was brainstorming with him about some decisions I needed to make regarding the layout and content of Unveiling Math.

I looked at the objects on the table—our leftover food and an assortment of dirty dishes. These were hardly objects one would ordinarily think to use to teach math concepts.

Yet as I began to answer the question, I realized that one could really teach nearly every math concept using just the items on that table. Addition, a method of recording the way God causes objects to add together can be demonstrated by “adding” the forks or cups on the table! Subtraction, multiplication, and division could be taught in a similar fashion by subtracting, multiplying (adding in sets), or dividing (splitting up) the silverware or plates. Fractions could be presented as one way of recording partial quantities by cutting up the left over food and demonstrating how each part could be represented. Decimals would follow in a similar line. The table itself presented the perfect springboard for presenting shapes and geometry. Since algebra is just a way of generalizing about quantities, we could really use an a or an x to represent the various objects on the table—or about the height of the table. Economics and statistics, as well as linear graphing and calculus, would come into play if we began to talk about the process of growing the food and selling it to the restaurant…

I finally had to stop myself in amazement. Who would have thought that just a simple dinner table could prove the perfect classroom?

Author: kate [loop] hannon