The folks down at Blinds.com are doing a groovy Roller Shade Design Challenge. When I got wind of it, I begged to participate.

They sent me a small white roller blind to see what I could come up with.

Stained Glass Numbers

Since the 2nd grade, I’ve enjoyed making wax paper and crayon shavings “stained glass.” And since blinds are all about keeping out sunshine – I thought it’d be fun to let a little bit through.

Through my stained glass numbers, that is!

Step 1. Cut your numbers.

First thing to do is cut your shapes from construction paper. I picked numbers, obviously, but you can do equations, letters or even bumblebees.

Step 2. Make some crayon shavings.

I like to do similar colors to each number. So the blue numbers got 2 or 3 different varieties of blue. Orange got orange, dark yellow and light red. Etc.

But you have to be careful here. A little goes a long way.

Step 3. Iron between waxed paper.

I did all 10 numbers at once on a giant piece of waxed paper. I knew that K8 would “help” if I took too long, so I did it as efficiently as I could.

Step 4. Cut out the numbers and the holes.

I dug out my old X-Acto swivel blade and hexagon shapes and got after it.

I cut the numbers one size larger than the holes in the roller blind.

Step 5. Glue, etc.

I used regular craft glue, but I’m not sure how this will hold in the sunshine. Only time will tell.

I thought about putting ribbon or some other embellishments around the numbers. I haven’t decided if I should, so I left it off for now.

Step 6. Mount and enjoy!

Blinds.com sent me the small one, so I’ll be mounting it in the Math Shack.

We might do something similar for K8’s room. If we do, we’ll order the proper size and get her in on the designing and making of it.

Can you do this with your students? What kinds of other math things can you design? Share your thoughts in the comments and tweet it out!

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