The Secret Language of Patterns

Step into the secret world of patterns! How do mathematicians predict what comes next (or figure out what's missing) without even seeing the numbers? In this hands-on math adventure, students will explore the secret structures hidden in shapes, stories, and everyday life. Through games, puzzles, and creative challenges, they'll uncover how patterns grow, how rules work, and how balance keeps equations fair.

This class develops the reasoning and problem-solving skills that form the foundation of algebra, without ever opening an algebra book. Using manipulatives, art, stories, and real-world examples, students will learn to represent unknowns with symbols, invent their own "function machines," and explain their thinking like true mathematicians. The emphasis is on curiosity, collaboration, and discovery: learning to see math not as memorization, but as a language for understanding relationships and change.