March 3 - March 9, 2003

Welcome to the third month of the year!  Great time to count to three & celebrate three-sided triangles!  Triangles are fun to play with & easy to find when you are out for a walk.   This summer we will be sharing our Explorer's Club materials for older kids.  You'll get a glimpse with our triangle worksheets -- these are meant for children who have already explored the basics in Butterfly School.  Toddlers can enjoy the challenge of counting to 3 -- they are not expected to master "equilateral" and "isosceles" triangles!  

Quick update from our Butterfly School -- we've been learning great lessons from a furry teacher!  A long-haired gray cat walked up to our front door & into our lives.  He is terrific at teaching lessons in observation, gentleness & in social responsibility (trips to the vet, posting "found" signs, placing an ad in the newspaper).  Weeks like this, we may have shorter Butterfly School mornings, but even as we post signs, we count them & spell out "cat."

From my kitchen table to yours . . . quick tips to share triangles when your Butterfly School is on the go!

Places to find the triangle shape:

1. yield signs

2. roofs

3. dormers

4. hub-cabs

5. inside a capital letter "A" on a large sign!

Related to the triangle, is the wedge or pie shape.  Places to find the wedge shape:

1. pizza:  a slice from a round pizza

2. pie or cake:  one slice!

3. between the spokes of a bicycle

One fun & easy activity to share is to make up your own triangle signs!  Cut out large triangles & write simple words like "sing!" or "jump!"  Hold up your signs & practice following directions.

Another fun idea is to prepare one of our one-page books (this link will open a window at our companion site, www.shininghours.com) -- instead of trimming the book into a kite shape, cut a straight line across to create a triangle book.  These are excellent take-alongs to play Butterfly School on the go!  Draw a triangle on each page, or practice writing the number three!

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You are ready for the Activity Sheets now; you can print them from here (Get Sheets), or go back to the Butterfly School home page.

From Butterfly Central,

-- Jessica Steigerwald

For more great ideas, check out the activities at our parent site www.shininghours.com.  

Triangles for All!

Teacher Tips
from Corinne Steigerwald

We have created special worksheets to add interest to triangle exploration for all ages.

New at triangles? 

When you introduce triangles to beginners, focus on counting the three straight sides:  1, 2, 3.  Touch each side, or trace it with your finger.  Let younger children "ride" your finger as you trace each side, counting out loud.  Use our worksheet to practice counting!  "These are all triangles."

If you already can recognize a triangle, try this:  

Build your own triangle.  Use thin paper strips for your youngest children, toothpicks for older kids.  Draw the three sides of a triangle.  Trace over the sides with glue.  Add paper strips or toothpicks to build your triangle. 

Play a hide & seek game:

Use our worksheet "Find the triangles" as a game of hide & seek.  Find the triangles & color them!

Or, cut out paper triangles to hide around your kitchen!

When identifying and building triangles is 'old hat' -- build on your knowledge:

When your Butterfly School includes older children, or when you want to brush up on your triangle vocabulary, use our "Meet the triangles" worksheet.  Special vocabulary words help us describe the differences between triangles!

Questions for Corinne: corinne@shininghours.com

Coordinated resources:

"These are all triangles."

"Meet the triangles."

"Find the triangles."