The middle school home arts teacher stressed the fact that the kids need this kind of experience early on. Beside the practical sewing skills, this is an opportunity to be creative and to increase self esteem. Instead of 'I can't sew' , the kids say, 'Hey, I can do that'. They are so surprised when they are successful, and success breeds success. The students learn how two triangles are made into rectangles and squares and learn how to make symmetrical designs and then go on to make tesselations and also how, by using color, the same block can look different.
Most quilts are truly mathematical.
I just completed a sabbatical project that integrated storytelling, personal narrative writing, and quilting. Working with second and fifth grade students, I helped to make two collaborative class quilts that were tied to experiences in storytelling and writing. My project and the curriculum that developed can be found at The Story Quilt Project Web site . This site also contains a variety of activities intended to promote intergenerational family writing. I welcome everyone to visit and borrow from this site.