NatureGlo's eScience - MathArt Online - A Review

Hey there homeschool friends, it's almost Spring, and as the school year begins to wrap up, I have a review from NatureGlo's eScience to share with you, more specifically,  the MathArt Online 4-Class Bundle . For the purpose of this post, our family focused on one of the 4 possible options, Math Connections with the Real World.

Math. There's just something about that subject. Either you excel in it, and maybe even love it, or you struggle through, and detest it. No doubt, there are a few of you that fall somewhere in between that spectrum, but most families that I've talked with, feel strongly about math. When this review opportunity surfaced, I was intrigued by the title - Math Connections with the Real World. Like many others, this is the subject that makes our family's heads ache. We've bounced around here and there, searching for that perfect Math fit. Maybe this would be "it". A program that brings math concepts and real life together? Hey, it was worth a shot.

The Philosophy behind NatureGlo's eScience :

Founder and instructor Gloria Brooks, created these classes with the intention of drawing in students who may otherwise be math phobic. How does she do this? By highlighting connections between art, history, science, and nature. She calls this decompartmentalizing math. While we often see it as a one dimensional thing, Brooks is hoping to revolutionize the way students approach math, by teaching beyond  drills and such, and teaching how and why certain aspects work.

About the courses:

These 6 week group of lessons have and are being developed for approximately ages 12 years and older, but even as young as 10 years old if they are ready.  Live classes are a part of the course, but they are recorded, so families can watch them if schedule conflicts arise. There are slideshows, and activities in pdf . The courses may be used in a variety of ways with your students. You might use it as a refreshing unit study to break up the monotony of your regular curriculum. Or use it as an elective. There are also various projects to work on after a lesson. You can choose a big or small one, depending on interest.

Now for a little closer look at Math Connections with the Real World. This 6 week class includes the following lessons:

* Introduction and History of the Golden Ratio and the Fibonacci Numbers

* The Golden Number and Fibonacci in Art, Architecture, and Nature

* The Fibonacci Numbers in Nature

* The History and the  Golden Ratio of the Great Pyramid

* Phi and Quasicrystals

* The Mathematics of Music

Each lesson is broken down into small sections. As I said above, you can participate in the live class, and have the benefit of interaction with Gloria Brooks, as well as many other homeschool students. Or, you can choose the recorded classes, to fit your schedule. That is what we chose to do. There are introductory videos for each lesson, slideshows, and downloadable pdf's to guide you through (They are colorful and eyecatching, which I like). The end of lessons have quizlets, where you match vocabulary words and definitions. There are little projects throughout the course that may be completed. You have the option of posting your completed project results to the class page to share with Gloria and the other students, but it isn't a recquirement. Here and there, you'll find various extra videos, and information to read about the specific lesson. This is a course (as all that are in the bundle are) where you can adjust your family's pace. As you complete each section, there are boxes to check off to show it as finished. Along the way, your student is awarded digital awards. Upon completion of all 6 weeks, there is a downloadable certificate of completion to print and personalize for your records.

                                                  A few pics of the slideshows/videos:

Template for making a Quasicrystal

The completed crystal

What we liked:

I really like Gloria Brooks' manner. She comes across as down to earth and approachable. If a blip happens in one of her slideshows, she handles it easily and moves on. She listens to the students in the live class, and asks for their feedback. I also appreciate the philosophy of the course as a whole. I feel like it makes math more relatable to connect its concepts to pretty much every other subject. Seeing math in nature, music, art, science, and more kind of eliminates the fear that so many have of it. It's fascinating really. Revealing patterns in nature and music specifically were interesting to us.

What we struggled with:

I'm bummed, because parts of the course had us struggling to understand some of the material. I think it's because we simply don't have very mathematical ways of thinking. It could be that my 12 and 13 year old haven't mastered some of the concepts needed to fully appreciate the material. I would like to have had some of the basics of the lessons expanded on, for example, maybe explaining what Fibonacci numbers are, and more of an introduction of them and what they are,  than what was offered. It felt like we jumped past that a bit even from the first lesson. Some of the equations in subsequent lessons had us feeling lost, because we didn't completely understand where they came from.

Having said that, I can think of several families who would love this program. It would be a great fit for math loving families that appreciate  hands on, think outside of the box, unit study focused material. I will suggest this program to them. Are you considering a new math curriculum? Why don't you drop by NatureGlo's eScience site, and check out the MathArt Online 4-Class Bundle ?

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