We started off the day by doing some planning for our Saturday workshop. Naturally dyeing cloth with buttercups will be the main event. Organizing the event was made easier by assigning everyone different tasks - it’s helpful that there’s six of us!
We then spent the rest of the morning doing mathematics and coding in the garden. Susan taught us about labyrinths, and we constructed our own in the parking lot and took turns walking it.
Erica showed us two activities - one involved a human robot and the other figuring out binary patterns with sticks and buttercups. The beauty of using natural materials to do math struck us all. Programming a human robot allowed us to see the creativity involved with coding! Working in the garden, and navigating a more natural environment introduced new challenges to the task- will my robot trample a plant if I code it wrong?
We will take these activities with us into our own classrooms. As a math teacher, a question that came up for me was, is teaching binary through natural materials more engaging for students? I also wondered if this approach was more appealing for certain demographics of students versus others? (E.g. are girls more likely to engage in math if it’s taught with natural elements out in the garden, rather than in an indoor classroom?)
In the afternoon we worked in the garden with Saul. It was a productive day! An outdoor sink was assembled, an alder tree was cut down and its leaves and branches were harvested, and a trellis was made for the fava beans!
The alder leaves and twigs may make a special appearance at the Saturday workshop (a preliminary search shows they can be used for natural dyeing as well). Wooden templates were made for a weaving activity that we will try tomorrow - stay tuned for the results!
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