One of my favorite things about homeschooling is the ability to learn from what’s happening around us, and that includes the weather. It’s snowed several times in the past two weeks, which is pretty rare here in the Carolinas, and so we make the most of it.
We don’t take the day off from school for snow; instead, we declare ‘Snow School is in Session’ and make our school day all about the snow.
One way to do that is to head outside and search for fractals.
Fractals are irregular patterns frequently found in nature. They involve unusual and similar shapes that make up patterns. Think snowflakes. Each stem of the snowflake is the same as the other stems, with smaller stems branching off from the main one and then smaller stems off of that one. Each of those repeating, identical stems make the flake a fractal.
Humans tend to put easily recognizable shapes in patterns, like squares and triangles and circles, but God uses the beauty and symmetry of fractals in His, and finding them makes for a very fun Snow School day.
So send your kids outside in the snow or the sunshine with a camera or a notepad and pencil to find as many fractals as they can.
Can you find mine?
Want to know more about fractals? Check out these resources:
This is such a great way to learn from nature. How fun to take learning outdoors!