G is for Geometry (Making Pentominoes) - A to Z April Challenge

When I was in elementary school, I enjoyed geometry. It was one of the subjects that the teachers made enjoyable by doing hands-on activities, crafts, and puzzles.

So, when I saw Janice VanCleave's Geometry for Every Kid - Easy Activities that Make Learning Geometry Fun, I was eager to see how Sophia and Olivia would respond to learning geometry for part of their homeschooling math curriculum.

The topic we focused on making Pentominoes. What is a pentomino? It is a figure made from five congruent squares. The squares must be arranged so that the entire side of one square lines up with the whole side of the square it touches.

Sophia and Cooper.

This is Sophia's first pentomino that she created.

A square cannot be halfway next to one square and the adjacent one; nor can only the corners touch. For example, these are not pentominoes below:

These are not pentominoes.

For example, these are some pentominoes that Sophia created:

Sophia's pentominoes.

Pentominoes are almost like little puzzles. Perhaps that is why Olivia seemed particularly interested in them since she enjoys doing puzzles.

Olivia working on creating a pentomino.

These are some pentominoes that Olivia created.

Olivia's pentominoes.

There are 12 possible pentomino arrangements.

 

These are five pentominoes.

The girls each did four pentominoes before they became progressively trickier for them to figure out. It was an interesting, hands-on lesson for them to do; and definitely a way to bring math to life.