Celebrating Spring with Playful Math Carnival 172

Posted on by Denise Gaskins
Playful Math Carnival 172

Welcome to the 172nd edition of the Playful Math Blog Carnival, a buffet of delectable tidbits of mathy fun. It’s like a free online magazine devoted to learning, teaching, and playing around with math from preschool to high school.

The carnival went on hiatus for a couple of months due to unexpected life issues facing our volunteer hosts. But we’re back now, and ready to celebrate!

By tradition, we start the carnival with a puzzle in honor of our 172nd edition. But if you’d rather jump straight to our featured blog posts, click here for the Table of Contents.

Click here for all the mathy goodness!

Musings: A Common Misconception

Posted on by Denise Gaskins
Father and son thinking together about a math problem

One of my favorite podcasts to listen to is Pam Harris’s Math Is Figure-Out-Able because she puts so many of my thoughts into words.

For example:

“We have a misconception in math education that we think we need to teach methods so that kids can answer the craziest kind of a particular problem.

    “We would be far better served to teach kids to think about the most common kinds of questions WELL, and let the cranky ones go to ChatGPT. Because they’ll recognize the sense of the answer.

      “Let technology handle the crankiest, and REASON about the rest of them.”

      —Pam Harris,
      the Math is Figure-out-able Fractions Challenge

      Well, I do think she’s wrong about the AI chatbot, because ChatGPT comes up with the strangest bald-faced nonsense about math problems. Wolfram Alpha is a much more reliable resource.

      But Harris’s main point stands. This misconception, this math-education myth, drives much of what happens in our classrooms and home schools today.

      Continue reading Musings: A Common Misconception

      Musings: A Philosophy of Education

      Posted on by Denise Gaskins

      I’ve tried a few times over the years to express my philosophy of teaching math. Back when I first started doing workshops for homeschooling parents, I told them:

      “Instead of drudgery, mathematics should be a game of discovery. It should give children the same ‘Eureka!’ thrill that sent Archimedes running through town in his birthday suit. I call this the ‘Aha!’ factor, the delight in solving a challenging puzzle.”

      Continue reading Musings: A Philosophy of Education

      Math Games Kickstarter: It Keeps Getting Better

      Posted on by Denise Gaskins
      Friends playing math games

      Did you know that, with our recent stretch goals, the Tabletop Math Games Kickstarter now features more than 90 amazing ways to play math with your kids?

      And every pledge pushes us closer to the next new bonus, which means more new games and playful math goodies for every backer.

      Don’t miss out on the excitement. Order your copy today:

      Visit the Math Games Kickstarter ❱

      How Are These Books Different?

      I love how the challenge of a well-fought math game pushes players of all ages to think more creatively and build fluency.

      So my Tabletop Math Games Collection is designed to make it easier than ever for busy families and over-stressed teachers to play with math.

      All you need are common household supplies like cards, dice, and scratch paper. Children can open a Tabletop Math Games Collection book to any page and start playing right away, and the digital files make great classroom handouts or learning center games.

      Continue reading Math Games Kickstarter: It Keeps Getting Better