"What is Geometry? The basics!"

The word geometry means “Earth Measurement”. It is the study of both two dimensional (2d) and three dimensional (3d) shapes and the relationship between them.

When beginning geometry your child will study attributes such as perimeter, area, surface area and volume of many shapes.

I truly love geometry! For me it is one of the most interesting and fascinating areas of math a child can learn during their elementary studies.

So, in answering the question - What is Geometry, I would say -geometry is the mathematical key to our world. It is the key to understanding how our world is put together.

My father (who is a math teacher) always says, if there is a god, he must be a mathematician. Geometry is not only in existence in man made objects, but can be found in abundance in all of nature.

It produces itself in perfect symmetry in butterflies and snowflakes. It appears as spirals in the way plants grow and seashells are formed. It truly is everywhere!

Geometry is the one area of math where you will have no problems showing your child examples from your own home. Everything you touch and see required geometry to create. Discovering geometry can be done with something as simple as a juice box!

It is used by people from all walks of life, including but not limited to:

• Artists
• Architects
• Mathematicians
• Artisans
• Astronomers
• Engineers

Understanding geometry not only requires a specific series of steps of learning, but also requires practical applications from other areas of elementary math – namely numbers and operations as well as measurement.

Now that you have a clear idea on how to answer the question -"What is geometry" when it is posed by your child; it is time to move on to Step 2 of our series in Mastering Basic Geometry.

This will encourage your child to look beyond text book math and perhaps broaden their horizons, and with luck, their love of mathematics.