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Math Teachers at Play #66

Posted on by Denise Gaskins

[Feature photo above by Franz & P via flickr. Route 66 sign by Sam Howzit via flickr. (CC BY 2.0)]
Route 66 Sign

Welcome to the Math Teachers At Play blog carnival — which is not just for math teachers! If you like to learn new things and play around with ideas, you are sure to find something of interest.

By tradition, we start the carnival with a couple of puzzles in honor of our 66th edition.

Let the mathematical fun begin!

Puzzle 1

how crazy 66

Our first puzzle is based on one of my favorite playsheets from the Miquon Math workbook series. Fill each shape with an expression that equals the target number. Can you make some cool, creative math?

Click the image to download the pdf playsheet set: one page has the target number 66, and a second page is blank so you can set your own target number.

Continue reading Math Teachers at Play #66

Sample Chapter from Let’s Play Math Book

Posted on by Denise Gaskins

As I’ve been working on the layout for the paperback edition of Let’s Play Math: How Homeschooling Families Can Learn Math Together, and Enjoy It!, I thought, “Why not post an excerpt?” So here is the introduction and first chapter, free to download:

This excerpt isn’t exactly how the paperback will look, because it’s based on the current ebook edition. For the paperback, I’ll be adding plenty of new illustrations — not quite a picture on every page, but close. (Yes, that’s one reason it’s taking soooo long to finish!)

For Example …

Here is one of the new illustrations, along with its caption:

Fractals are self-similar, which means that subsections of the object look like smaller versions of the whole thing. Your children may enjoy making a Sierpinski triangle with tortilla chips.

Sierpinski-tortillas

Want To Buy the Book?

Let’s Play Math should be available wherever you usually buy books.

WOW – Multiplication! An Open Online Course for Parents and Teachers

Posted on by Denise Gaskins

CombinationsModel

Once again, the authors of Moebius Noodles are teaming up to offer a free course for families, math clubs, playgroups, and others who want to explore adventurous mathematics with kids of any age.

This short course will last only two weeks, and the topic is multiplication:

Both of my homeschool math circles (one with preschool-1st grade, and one with teens) thoroughly enjoyed the month-long problem solving course this summer, and we expect the new one to be just as much fun. Will you join us?

As with most of the Moebius Noodles courses, Maria and Yelena have adapted the activities for all ages from toddlers to adults. Where young ones go on a scavenger hunt for pretty snowflakes and cool truck wheels, older kids build bridges from multiplication to symmetry, spatial transformations, and proportions.

Visit the registration page to sign up no later than September 8. The main course activities will happen September 9th through 22nd. Expect to spend about two hours a week.

Continue reading WOW – Multiplication! An Open Online Course for Parents and Teachers

Back to School Sale

Posted on by Denise Gaskins
Princess Kitten, way back in the beginning.
Princess Kitten, way back in the beginning.

Our homeschool runs a bit off-schedule from the rest of the U.S. school system, as we are still finishing up last year’s work. Even so, we’re calling this month the “beginning” of Kitten’s high school years, which seems to me like something to celebrate.

Therefore, I’m launching a one-week sale on my math book:

Please feel free to share the coupon code with your friends.

Update: I’ve just opened up a Ganxy showcase with the sale price, for anyone who would prefer to buy the ebook (in pdf, mobi, and epub) directly from me:

Continue reading Back to School Sale

Puzzle: Algebra on Rectangles

Posted on by Denise Gaskins

Gordon Hamilton of Math Pickle recently posted these videos on how to make algebra 1 puzzles on rectangles. As I was watching, Kitten came in and looked over my shoulder. She said, “Those look like fun!”

They look like fun to me, too, and I bet your beginning algebra students will enjoy them:

Continue reading Puzzle: Algebra on Rectangles

Math Teachers at Play #65 via Mathematics and Multimedia

Posted on by Denise Gaskins

photo by Martin Pettitt via flickr (CC BY 2.0)

The new Math Teachers at Play blog carnival is up for your browsing pleasure. Featured articles include activities and enrichment from preschool through high school:

Welcome to the 65th edition of Math Teachers at Play. First let us have some trivia about 65.

  • First, 65 is the smallest integer that can be expressed as the sum of two distinct positive squares in two ways:
    65 = 82 + 12
    = 72 + 42.
  • Second, 65 is the length of the hypotenuse of 4 different Pythagorean Triangles:
    652 = 162 + 632
    = 332 + 562
    = 392 + 522
    = 252 + 602.
  • Third, 65 = 15 + 24 + 33 + 42 + 51.
  • Lastly, 65 is the traditional age for retirement in the United States, the United Kingdom, and other countries including my beloved Philippines.

And now, let the math carnival begin! …

Click here to go read Math Teachers at Play 65: Teach, Learn and Enjoy.

A Pretty Math Problem?

Posted on by Denise Gaskins

As we were doing Buddy Math (taking turns through the homework exercises) today, my daughter said, “Oooo! I want to do this one. It’s pretty!”

CodeCogsEqn

She has always loved seeing patterns in math. I remember once, years ago, when she insisted that we change the problems on a worksheet to make the answers come out symmetrical. 🙂

Math Teachers at Play #64 via Mathematical Mischief

Posted on by Denise Gaskins

The Math Teachers at Play blog carnival is a monthly blogging round-up shared at a different blog each month, featuring posts from parents, teachers, homeschoolers, and students — anyone who is interested in playing around with school-level (preschool to pre-college) or recreational math.

This month’s edition is ready for your browsing pleasure:

Enjoy!


Welcome to my humble online abode! Take a seat – I’ve lost the carnival number under a chunk of paperwork. Whoops…
Wait, you might be able to help me out! Would you like to help me out?
The following sequences contain the missing carnival number – I’m a bit stuck, and I need your help!
Can you tell me what the next number is? There’s a prize!

16, 32, 48, …
100, 81, … , 49, 36
103, 90, 77, …
2, 4, 8, 16, 32, …

Click here to read the math carnival post.

Do You Want More Ways to Play with Math?

Past carnivals are still full of mathy treasure. See them all on Pinterest:

Math That Is Fun: Infinite Primes

Posted on by Denise Gaskins

Oh, my! Ben Orlin over at Math with Bad Drawings just published my new favorite math proof ever:

I had a fight with Euclid on the nature of the primes.
It got a little heated – you know how the tension climbs.

It started out most civil, with a honeyed cup of tea;
we traded tales of scholars, like Descartes and Ptolemy.
But as the tea began to cool, our chatter did as well.
We’d had our fill of gossip. We sat silent for a spell.
That’s when Euclid turned to me, and said, “Hear this, my friend:
did you know the primes go on forever, with no end?” …

15-eu-must-be-clidding

Click here to read the whole post at Math with Bad Drawings.

Summer Problem Solving for the Young, the Very Young, and the Young at Heart

Posted on by Denise Gaskins

Here is yet another wonderful summer math opportunity for homeschoolers or anyone who works with kids: a free, 3-week mini-course on math problem solving for all ages.

The course is being organized by Dr. James Tanton, Dr. Maria Droujkova, and Yelena McManaman. The course participants include families, math clubs, playgroups, and other small circles casually exploring adventurous mathematics with kids of any age.

Would you like to join us? Check out the mpsMOOC13 home page for instructions. The deadline for joining is July 7 July 3.

And then the real fun begins!

Continue reading Summer Problem Solving for the Young, the Very Young, and the Young at Heart