Chasing Vermeer – Early Math Counts

Virtual Pentominoes

Early Math Counts — Wed, 16 Jan 2013 12:00:16 +0000

On Monday, I wrote about pentominoes as a great manipulative for young children. The shapes that make up a pentominoes set are always created by combining 5 squares (pent=5). These can then be manipulated to create larger shapes as well as.

There is a fun website connected to Blue Balliett’s book Chasing Vermeer. Children can manipulate virtual pentominoes right on the computer screen. Give it a try!

Pentominoes

Early Math Counts — Mon, 14 Jan 2013 12:00:06 +0000

When my oldest son was in 4th grade, we started a mom and child book group with a great group of kids who all went to different schools. This was a great way for us to get together on a regular basis so we could talk about books and reconnect with one another.

One of the first books we read was “Chasing Vermeer” by Chicago’s very own Blue Balliett. According to her website…

When a book of unexplainable occurrences brings Petra Andalee and Calder Pillay together, strange things start to happen: seemingly unrelated events connect, an eccentric old woman seeks their company, and an invaluable Vermeer painting disappears. Before they know it, the two find themselves at the center of an international art scandal, where no one — neighbors, parents, teachers — is spared from suspicion. As Petra and Calder are drawn clue by clue into a mysterious labyrinth, they must draw on their powers of intuition, their problem-solving skills, and their knowledge of Vermeer. Can they decipher a crime that has left even the FBI baffled?

One of the tools the children in the book use to solve the mystery is a set of Pentominoes. This book is not meant for very young children, but I would highly recommend it for 3rd-6th graders.

You can also see that each of the shapes also corresponds to a letter of the alphabet. Using those clues, you can help children identify each shape using its corresponding letter. Once we got our first set of Pentominoes, my kids and I would find these shapes all over if we simply looked around. Think bathroom floor tiles and patterns in crossword puzzles.

I found this great website written by an avid fan of Pentominoes.

Oops!

Early Math Counts — Mon, 12 Nov 2012 15:50:11 +0000

This morning I posted “Tangrams” which was look at tangrams, a Chinese puzzle. I thought that my first introduction to tangrams, was through the book Chasing Vermeer, but one of my most avid readers reminded me (at 6:30 AM) that the book was not about tangrams, but about pentominoes. I really did think my memory was right on that one, but alas, the signs of aging are popping out all over the place. I will rewrite the post about tangrams, and I will also write one about Chasing Vermeer and pentominoes. Sorry for the confusion.