My publisher, Master Books, recently interviewed me for their podcast about the Big Book of Math. Check it out to learn more about the resource and how to use it–you might pick up a few nuggets from math’s history along the way!
I’m excited to have just finished the draft of a full-color, 8.5 in by 14 in by 15 ft math timeline, on which students will be able to watch math in action throughout history—and see how math points us to the Creator in the process. Below is a sneak peek into just a few of the facts students will learn. Stay tuned for publication information!
Electricity—we take it for granted and use it countless times a day. Turning on lights, using a computer, microwaving those leftovers, looking at a digital clock, cranking down the AC, opening the refrigerator, doing a tub of wash—the list of daily uses of electricity or electrical devices could go on and on.
But did you know it’s math that helps us explore electricity and design devices like lights and computers? A glance back at history reveals a lot of math—and points us to the Creator.
Back in 1785, A man named Charles-Augustin de Coulomb discovered a mathematical relationship between the force and distance between electric charged particles by doing experiments. His result can be expressed algebraically like shown below.
In other words, the force produced by electricity can be described mathematically!
Later, many other men would do experiments and discover more of the ways electricity works. One key discoverer was a man named Michael Faraday, who realized that magnets can generate electricity and invented the first electric generator. Once again, math was used in this design. In fact, the relationship between the electrical voltage, the number of coils of wire, the change in something called magnetic flux, and the time can be described like shown below.
Faraday, like many other great scientists/inventors, saw creation (which math helped them explore) as pointing to God. Faraday wrote,
“The book of nature which we have to read is written by the finger of God.”
Sit back and think about it for a minute. Even at the microscopic level, electricity (which later scientists would realize is the flow of electrons) operates in a consistent enough fashion to describe it with formulas that we can rely on to work to such a degree that devices like light bulbs and computers can be built around it. Why is creation that consistent? Because a faithful, consistent Creator governs all things.
I hope you enjoy this short interview I had on the Master Books Podcast titled “Teaching Math to Help Students See God & Develop Life Skills.” I had fun discussing Revealing Arithmetic and Principles of Mathematics, as well as sharing about the biblical worldview in math. Check out all the show notes on the Master Books Podcast page.
It’s easy in anything we do to forget why we’re doing it. In math especially, it can be easy for students to lose sight of why they’re learning what they’re learning.
As you head back to school this fall, remember to keep bringing math out of a textbook and showing its usefulness. Below are a few ideas.
Students at this level now have the background knowledge to delve into some really cool applications and to see at a deeper level how we use math to describe God’s creation! Pay attention to percentages in the news. Capitalize on different science concepts they’re studying, pointing out the math involved (the Internet is a great resource to research–or have them research). Explore the math used in fields of interest to them. The possibilities are truly endless.
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Need ready-to-go-ideas or a curriculum that already includes lots of practical examples? Check out our math materials.
Looking for ways to keep math fresh during the summer? How about to use the summer to help students grasp some concepts that just haven’t fully sunk in yet?
Summertime can be a great time to really give students a glimpse into math outside of a textbook, to build their biblical worldview of math, or to give some added practice on different skills. Below are a few ideas to help.
I hope you have a fun summer together!
I’m excited to have just finished an eCourse to go alongside Jacob’s Elementary Algebra!
The course, which is now available as part of the Master Book’s Academy, brings in the biblical worldview of math, presents the concepts, walks through examples, and more, offering an easy transition from Principles into high school math.
Learn more and view a sample chapter at the Master Books Academy.
P.S. I’m sorry I’ve not blogged much recently–it’s been a busy time! My husband and I just moved into our first home. We’re also still working on Algebra 2 (we expect it to be finished within a few months)…along with other math projects (stay tuned for more details in the upcoming months).
Well, it’s finally public: I’m working on an eCourse to go alongside Principles of Mathematics: Book 1.
The eCourse will feature a short video to go with every lesson in the textbook. The videos will walk through the material covered in the curriculum, making it a perfect supplement for auditory or visual learners, or any student who needs a little more guidance in math.
Anyway, this video offers a very short overview!
Please leave a comment with your thoughts. The eCourse is also now available for preorder at a special price of $49.99. This price will grant access to the eCourse for the 2016-2017 school year.
[thrive_text_block color=”light” headline=”Bonus: Color, Light, and Math”] I recently posted a blog about Color, Math, & Light over on The Creation Club website. Hope you enjoy! 
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The second book in Principles of Mathematics series is now complete! I’m super excited, not only because it is done, but also because it’s my hope that this material will help students see God’s handiwork in mathematics and realize to a deeper level what an amazing, faithful God we serve. Many students (myself included years ago) wonder why they have to bother learning math (especially when it comes to algebra and other upper-level concepts). This curriculum answers that “why” question, equips students to use math in their own lives, and encourages them that they can trust God completely.
I’ve posted some sample lessons so you can “see” the curriculum.
* View textbook sample.
* View teacher guide/workbook sample.
There are also more details and a way to purchase it at the link below.
The curriculum is designed as a full prealgebra curriculum (grade 7 or 8), but would also work well for older students seeking to understand math’s real purpose.
(If you know of anyone who might be blessed by this curriculum, please pass along the information. I’d also love to hear your thoughts, so please leave a comment below.)
It’s still hard for me to grasp the reality that it’s actually done. Writing this math curriculum has been an amazing journey, fraught with unexpected delays (such as a concussion that left me unable to work much on it for more than a year) and challenges. Yet as I look back, I see God’s provision each step along the way.
Thank you, dear readers, for being a part of that provision—for your prayers and your encouragement. I can’t tell you how much it has meant to me. (And please don’t stop praying! I’m still working on Year 2…which is due to come out late this year/early next.)
We decided to extend our pre-order pricing for a little longer, so you can still grab the curriculum at a reduced price you’d like a copy.
Also, I’ll be speaking at a couple of upcoming conventions and would love to see you there (I’ll be at the Master Books booth).
Here are the details:
Virginia – HEAV’s Virginia Homeschool Convention
June 11-13, 2015
Arizona – AFHE Home Education Convention
July 10-11, 2015
As you begin planning for next fall’s school year, don’t let the thought of math scare you. Math is a way of describing God’s creation—it’s a testimony to His faithfulness, wisdom, and greatness. If you haven’t seen it yet, check out this short video I made a couple years ago for a quick reminder of how math can be seen from a biblical worldview. This version includes an ending I recently added that offers a quick overview of the curriculum too.
You know you might be writing a math curriculum when the sight of silos out the window causes you to think to yourself, “Calculating the volume of a silo would be a great application problem!”
Credit: http://www.goodfreephotos.com
Or when digging out your car from a snowstorm causes you to wonder at the thousands upon thousands of tiny hexagons—each a marvel of God’s creative engineering—that you’re tossing carelessly aside. (See my previous blog post about snowflake math.)
Or when a long drive has you pondering the amazingly consistent way God holds all things together that allows us to algebraically describe the relationships between speed, velocity, acceleration, distance, time, etc.
Or when you spend a snowed-in day researching trigonometry and functions and end up excited to no end at how they help us describe the order God has hidden in sounds!
I continue to be amazed at how math applies literally everywhere, pointing us to God’s faithfulness, creativity, power, care, and wisdom—and helping us with the tasks He’s given us to do. And I’m getting super excited about sharing some of those glimpses with you in my new math curriculum. The curriculum includes lots of these sorts of real-life examples so students can begin seeing math in connection with God’s creation.
While we’re still in the final editing stages, we’re close enough to completion that the curriculum is now available for pre-order (orders will ship later this spring). As a pre-order special, we’re offering the complete curriculum for $42.96 (an $12.02 savings!).
I’d love it if you’d take a look…and tell your friends!
Any questions about the curriculum? Please leave them below.
I’m a sinner saved by grace through Jesus Christ. I’m also a writer—I’ve been writing ever since I could hold a pen. I… Meet Katherine [Loop] Hannon.
