Beaded Cube Math Lesson for Kids

Several people have asked me to write a math lesson for kids using beading. The challenge is to make something mathematically interesting with bead weaving that can be completed within a single lesson, under an hour, preferably less.

So I wrote this lesson on beaded cubes (PDF). The lesson begins with some background on what a beaded cube is with lots of drawings and a photo. It uses terms like edge, face, vertex, and graph of a cube. The second section gives step-by-step instructions for how to bead weave a cube with a needle, string, and pony beads. After finishing this lesson, students will have practiced basic sewing skills like measuring thread, threading a needle, and tying square knots. The final section provides several math and spatial reasoning "challenges" to extend learners' thinking about beaded cubes.

This lesson teaches several things, especially spatial reasoning, where the learner has to move back and forth between a 2D representation on paper to the 3D model in their hands. It also teaches the importance of carefully following instructions because every step is laid out, and if you skip one of them, your work won't look like what is on the paper. The challenges encourage students to build different symmetric coloring of a cube, extend the construction to a row of cubes, and think about a minimal thread path.

I taught this lesson at the Julia Robinson Math Festival and another version at MoMath. With just 12 beads, this task is not easy, but it is enticing, approachable, and engaging for children, especially girls, and boys like it too, as do their moms and dads. It seems appropriate for children as young as fourth grade, and most of them generally need a good amount of help, but they can do it with coaching. Fifth and six graders have a bit easier time with it.  Interestingly enough, my experience in teaching this lesson to adults and children is that it is not any easier for a typical adult than it is for a typical fifth or sixth grader. In fact, I watched one man get completely lapped by his fifth grade daughter today. GO GIRL MATH POWER!

Here are the materials you need to teach a group of kids:

Pony beads
Size 18 tapestry needles, one per student
String: Cotton is good.  Something thin enough to fit through the eye of the needle, but thick enough to provide some friction.
Magnetic pin cushion: an easy way to collect the needles
Snips or scissors: I tied them to the end of some crazy yarn so they wouldn't disappear.
Beaded samples
Ruler(s)
Cups or bowls to hold beads
Hand outs: I designed the PDF file to be printed once, and then photocopied onto two sides of a sheet of paper, with one sheet per student.  Print the PDF file for best quality, not the jpgs.

I encourage you to try this lesson with your own students or children. If you have anything meaningful to contribute to making it better, please do not hesitate to send me an email or leave a comment below. If you want to see what else you can do with beaded cubes, you should search for my blog for CRAW or "cubic right angle weave" because a beaded cube forms the basic unit of one of my favorite bead weaving stitches.  Also search Planet Bead to see the many beautiful things that have been beaded with cubes.

If you think this lesson is useful, consider showing your support by perusing my Etsy shop, gwenbeads and buying yourself a little something special. You deserve it.

Thanks for looking. You're awesome. Yes, you!

Edited to add: Emilie Pritchard suggests using long plastic beads, called "spaghetti" beads, to help visualize the edges of the cube. Search the internet to find them for sale.

Color Medallion No. 4 Blue Marine

This is the fourth Color Medallion I made, and this one will be a kit.  If you like playing with color, Color Medallions offer a fun challenge.  I had to do quite a bit of ripping and redoing to get this to blend as I liked, but in the end, I think I got it.  I enjoy working with blue glass beads because blue glass comes in a wide variety of shades including the very intense blues I used here.

If you want one, you should come take our class.  Florence and I will teach this class together at the Bead & Button Show 2013.  Color Medallion kits are now available.  Thanks for looking!

My second Color Medallion Pendant

Since my first Color Medallion was so bright, I decided to use more subdued colors for my second one.  Here it is, in blues with a touch of purple.

Florence and I will teach this class together at the Bead & Button Show 2013. Now that the show is over, we have patterns and kits available.

My First Color Medallion Beaded Pendant

Last week, I went to the Joint Mathematics Meetings in San Diego, California.  There, I had two sets of beadwork in the mathematical art exhibit, which I'll blog about later.  Florence Turnour and I roomed together, and she finally taught me to make her Color Medallion.  We listened to math talks in the day, and beaded together in the evenings.  Needless to say, I had a great time.

This is my first Color Medallion.  Just as I hoped, I had a really fun time playing with the colors. There's so many different beads in this thing, you get to use a lot of colors!  

What I learned: look at the little pink bicone crystals on the edge of the medallion.  They are the same crystals that I used on the bail.  Do you see how the pink crystal in the bail appear darker than the ones on the edge?  (The difference is quite visible in real life.)  The pink bicones on the bail are framed by dark, opaque (bronze) beads.  The pink bicones on the edge are framed by light, translucent (pink) beads.  This demonstrates that a bead's appearance depends upon what beads you put next to it.  That said, Florence was careful to design this color medallion so that the bicone crystals have very little next to them.  This makes their colors bright and clear.  Also, it would make a nice sun catcher, hung in a window because the light shines through the bicones.

Florence chose to design this piece with Swarovski bicones because they are super bright and sparkly, and they are also significantly less expensive than Swarovski's round faceted beads.   The problem with bicones, however, is the corners of the facets are very pointy, they can feel sharp against your skin.  But, Florence did a clever thing in placing the crystals. The crystal bicones are nestled into the two layers of seed beads, so that their sharp edges don't hit your skin when you wear it.  Nice.

Florence and I taught this class together at the Bead & Button Show 2013.  Patterns and kits are now available on our website.

Infinity Ubercube and Other Beaded Cubes

Florence Turnour and I will be teaching two classes on the Infinity Ubercube at the Bead & Button Show 2012.  Lately, I've been working diligently on our kit offerings. The kits each make 11 beaded beads.  This is the complete green kit. (Click on the photos to see them larger).

To make some jewelry, our students will each receive a "Findings Packet" including things like wire, ear wires, crimps, ribbon, etc.  We will not be including larger beads, however, because we want to encourage them to be creative with their beaded beads and make their own jewelry their own.  For example, I added a few extra beads from my own stash including hand made borosilicate glass, a glass button, dichroic glass and a big glossy prehnite.  With these, I made a pair of earrings and a simply strung necklace.

Here is a close-up of the pair of earrings I made with the mini cube beaded beads.

These are the 11 beaded beads in the pink and purple kit,

and this is the necklace I made with the beaded beads. I've had those purple glass roundels for years, and they finally found a home.

Florence designed this kit in juicy fall colors.  Those purple drops just want to be plucked!  

I'm looking forward to seeing what she and all of our students make with their kits. You can now purchase the pattern here: http://www.beadinfinitum.com/Kits/index.html#Ubercube Thanks for looking!

Rivoli Urchin Necklace Kit B&B 2012

Florence Turnour and I will be teaching three classes together this year at the Bead & Button Show 2012, our first year ever going to this show.  This is one of the exact kits we will be offering with our Rivoli Urchin Necklace class.

Here is the sample for the Ubercube Necklace made with Infinity Weave.  This exact color scheme is not a kit, and the lampwork beads won't be included, but this necklace is the kind of thing you will learn to make in the class.  All of the materials will be included to make all of the beaded beads.

Here is a photo for a Bustier Beaded Bead Necklace, but I still have to design a kit or two with specific colors.  I'm hoping to offer at least two different color scheme kits for each class.  I hope to see you there.

Ionic Polyehra Class at Naturally Jennifer's Beads

I will be teaching a class on the Ionic Polyehdra at Naturally Jennifer's Beads in San Luis Obispo, California. 

I will hold classes on Saturday and Sunday, February 19 and 20, 2011.  Students may enroll in either day or both days.  Students will learn how to weave the cube, octahedron and pentagonal dypyramid on the first day, but I don't expect them to finish more than two beaded beads.  Students who wish to learn how to make the more complicated beaded beads should enroll in both days.

Contact Naturally Jennifer's to sign up and get the list of materials.
The class is open to all levels. Prior experience with bead weaving or embroidery is helpful.

Beading Classes at Naturally Jennifer

The good folks down at Naturally Jennifer Beads and Gallery in San Luis Obispo, CA have graciously asked me back to teach some classes.  I have a wonderful and faithful group of students there, which means I have to bring new designs and materials whenever I go there to teach.  Since it's out of town, I always go for two weekend days in a row, and I thought it would be nice to make a two day course instead of entirely different stuff on Saturday and Sunday.  So I'm designing patterns around common themes so students will learn a specific design on Saturday, and how the technique applies to other designs on Sunday. Here are the SLO details.  I'll post photos later this week.

Saturday, March 27: Herringbone Toggle Clasp and Cable 10:30-4
Sunday March 28: Herringbone Advanced Class: Beaded Beads 10:30-4
Canceled: Saturday May 22: Honeycomb Star Weave 10:30-4
Canceled: Sunday May 23: Star Weaves Advanced Class 10:30-4
September 4, 5 TBA

For those of you in the San Francisco Bay Area, here's info on my upcoming workshops at Beaded Bliss.

Here's more info on the March 27/28 classes.

Herringbone is a classic bead weave that is very versatile.  Typically, herringbone is woven with an even number of columns of beads.  This Herringbone Toggle pattern shows how to weave just 3 columns to produce a neat and narrow cable of seed beads.  We show how to add larger beads into the weave, captured and outlined by the 3 columns.  By creating angles at the larger beads, we can close a piece of cable into a square to make the loop for a toggle clasp.  You can weave the toggle directly into a necklace, or add a flat strip of herringbone with just 2 columns to capture a jump ring, and finish the clasp.

The underlying herringbone pattern is very regular, and can be repeated to make triangles, squares, pentagons, and so forth, in any size.   You can also weave long lengths of the herringbone 3-cable into necklaces and bracelets.  The pattern gives detailed instructions for the straight cable with captured gems and  both parts of the toggle clasp.

In the Herringbone Advanced Class on beaded beads, you will see different variations of beaded beads and pendants that can be made with the herringbone 3-cable.  Explicit instructions will be provided for the Hour Glassy beaded bead, but students will be encouraged to try other designs for beaded beads, pendants and earrings shown in the pattern, with the instructor's help, of course.

Upcoming Classes at Beaded Bliss and a Fairy Chrysalis Necklace

I'm going to teach two classes at Beaded Bliss in Danville, CA
Seven Sisters Bead Cluster on March 20, 2010 (note date switched)

Rivoli Sunflower Pendant and Bracelet on February 28, 2010 (note date switched)

Beginners welcome in both classes; some experience with bead weaving or embroidery is helpful.

I was just looking through some old photos to advertise my upcoming classes, and I found this necklace.  The Fairy Chrysalis pendant is made with a big shimmering blue tourmaline and a fire orange cubic zirconia.  The asymmetric necklace is woven with more CZ and peridot.   I made this in March 2008, but I've never posted a photo until now.  I was very happy with the way this piece turned out, and it sold quickly.