leonardo fibonacci comes to school

i don't know that i've ever been more excited about school! our art & math unit started this week and the kids are so eager to make designs based on the number pattern discovery of leonardo fibonacci (1170-1250).

basically, if you add one number to itself starting with 0, you get the sequence for the golden ratio. plugging in 1, 2, 3, 5, 8 and 13, you see not only the basis for the nautilus shell spiral, but also the math behind the greek parthenon. (if you've been following my blog, you might remember i wrote a lot about my discoveries of flower petals, sunflowers and beehives this summer.)

now it's hitting the classroom: students as young as first grade already have this concept down after one class and are applying it using their shape blocks and graph paper. since i teach K-8 this year, it is fun to see what they are doing in their age-level math classes and watch their eyes light up when they see that art isn't relegated to just drawing and painting but is alive in everything from science experiments and architecture to cell structures and history class.