The Rhythm of Math Puzzles

Homeschooling families naturally build patterns and routines that help us keep our sanity as we go through our homeschooling day.

No matter what resources we choose or which curriculum packages we buy, we never end up following the book exactly as it is written. So don’t worry if you find yourself wandering away from the lesson plan. You’re not getting behind; you’re just discovering your family’s natural learning style.

If you and your children have fallen into the rut of traditional math lessons, have patience. Give yourself time to adjust to a more relaxed mindset about math.

And when you find the rhythm that fits your family, you’ll discover that math lessons flow so much more smoothly.

Ponder, Create, Repeat

There is a cyclic rhythm in using math puzzles to encourage creative thinking:

1. Pose the question.

2. Come up with an answer, if you can. (If not, don’t worry. You can cycle back to this after the next step.)

3. Notice things about your puzzle. Notice things about your solution. Wonder about extensions of the puzzle, or about different approaches to thinking about it.

4. Create a puzzle of your own.

5. Share the puzzle you created, cycling back to step one.

The cycle can run through several days or make several short loops in a single lesson. Either way, don’t rush those middle stages.

Where do you find good math puzzles?

You can find (or create) math puzzles for any topic you want your children to study. There are plenty of online resources.

If you’d like a printable activity guide to lead you through this cycle for a rich geometry investigation, check out my digital book Star Polygons: A Math Art Project.

But you can also find puzzles in your math textbook:

• Instead of teaching a math lesson straight through, skip to one of the harder problems. Introduce it as a puzzle, without instructions. How can we use the things we know to figure this out?

• Or find a sample calculation and think of a puzzle story you could wrap around it. Where might that story lead?

What puzzle stories might your child create?

To Be Continued…

This series began with the post, Homeschooling: The Rhythm of a Math Lesson, and continued in Learning Math with Puzzles.

Watch for the final post in this series:

• The Rhythm of Math Games