Created by teachers for teachers, the Math Academy tools and activities included in this booklet were designed to create hands-on activities and a fun learning environment for the teaching of mathematics to students. This booklet contains the "Math Academy--Can You See It in Nature? Explorations in Patterns & Functions," which a teacher can use to enhance his/her math instruction while staying true to the academic rigor required by the state standards framework. It contains all the activities used for the patterns and functions Math Academy. This Math Academy is designed to help students understand the connection between geometric and numerical patterns (younger students) as well as between patterns and functions (older students). One may choose to implement a grade-level or school-wide Math Academy as the author originally designed it, or one may prefer to implement these activities in one's own classroom. Whichever format one uses, keep in mind that the goal is to help one's students see the relevance of mathematics in real-life contexts.