Math Game Monday: What Two Numbers?

Posted on by Denise Gaskins

Many parents remember struggling to learn math. We hope to provide a better experience for our children.

And one of the best ways for children to enjoy learning is through hands-on play.

In this conversational problem-solving game, students challenge each other to find the secret numbers that fit certain clues.

“What Two Numbers?” is free on this website for one week only. It’s an excerpt from Prealgebra & Geometry: Math Games for Middle School, which is available as an ebook at my publisher’s store (where you get all formats for one low price, and I earn higher no-middleman royalties) or through other online retailers, or by special request through your local library. Read more about my playful math books here.

What Two Numbers?

Math Concepts: addition, multiplication, inverse operations, positive and negative numbers.

Players: two or more.

Equipment: no equipment needed.

Continue reading Math Game Monday: What Two Numbers?

Math Game Monday: Domino Bond

Posted on by Denise Gaskins

This game uses double-6 dominoes to practice simple addition for young children. But it’s also a great strategy game for players of any age.

“Domino Bond” is free on this website for one week only. It’s an excerpt from Math You Can Play Combo: Number Games for Young Learners, which is available as an ebook at my publisher’s store (where you get all formats for one low price, and I earn higher no-middleman royalties) or through other online retailers, or by special request through your local library. Read more about my playful math books here.

The Math Game Monday posts will be available for one week only. If you missed this one, explore the links in the sidebar. There are more than forty free games scattered around the blog. Have fun playing math with your kids!

Math Game Monday: Gomoku

Posted on by Denise Gaskins

Here is one of my all-time favorite strategy games. The instructions below call for a hundred chart, but you can also play it tic-tac-toe-style on any paper.

“Gomoku” is free on this website for one week only. It’s an excerpt from 70+ Things To Do with a Hundred Chart: Number, Shape, and Logic Activities from Preschool to Middle School, which is available as an ebook at my publisher’s store (where you get all formats for one low price, and I earn higher no-middleman royalties) or through other online retailers, or by special request through your local library. Read more about my playful math books here.

The Math Game Monday posts will be available for one week only. If you missed this one, explore the links in the sidebar. There are more than forty free games scattered around the blog. Have fun playing math with your kids!

Math Game Monday: Secret Number Challenge

Posted on by Denise Gaskins

This cooperative “game” is a fun way to play with prealgebra concepts, even with young children.

“Secret Number Challenge” is free on this website for one week only. It’s an excerpt from Let’s Play Math: How Families Can Learn Math Together—and Enjoy It, which is available as an ebook at my publisher’s store (where you get all formats for one low price, and I earn higher no-middleman royalties) or through other online retailers, or by special request through your local library. Read more about my playful math books here.

The Math Game Monday posts will be available for one week only. If you missed this one, explore the links in the sidebar. There are more than forty free games scattered around the blog. Have fun playing math with your kids!

Math Game Monday: Chomp

Posted on by Denise Gaskins

This is a fun strategy game for students of all ages. Who doesn’t like chocolate?

“Chomp” is free on this website for one week only. It’s an excerpt from 312 Things To Do with a Math Journal, which is available for a limited-time preorder through the Playful Math Journaling Kickstarter. Discover how to help your children enjoy learning math through the richly creative exploration of numbers, shapes, and patterns.

The Math Game Monday posts will be available for one week only. If you missed this one, explore the links in the sidebar. There are more than forty free games scattered around the blog. Have fun playing math with your kids!

Playful Math Journaling: Try It for Yourself

Posted on by Denise Gaskins

Math journaling helps students enjoy the adventure of learning math through playful exploration.

In a math journal, children explore their own ideas about numbers, shapes, and patterns through drawing or writing in response to a question. Journaling teaches them to see with mathematical eyes. Not just to remember what we adults tell them, but to create their own math.

All they need is a piece of paper, a pencil, and a good prompt to launch their mathematical journey.

Give It a Try

You can launch your family’s math journaling adventure today. Download the free 16-page printable (pdf) Math Journaling Sampler, which includes:

  • “Five Types of Journaling Prompts,” a short excerpt with example prompts from my new book 312 Things To Do with a Math Journal
  • Four sample task cards from the accompanying series of printable Math Prompt Task Card books
  • And a few pages from my Adventurous Student Journals (also known as the Math Rebel journals) to get kids writing

Click here for the Math Journaling Sampler

Back the Kickstarter

And if you like what you see, I’d love to have your support for my Playful Math Journaling Kickstarter project. Check it out:

Math Game Monday: Jenna’s Skip-Counting Game

Posted on by Denise Gaskins

This game is a great way to build mental math and strategic thinking skills with students of all ages.

“Jenna Laib’s Skip-Counting Game” is free on this website for one week only. It’s an excerpt from 312 Things To Do with a Math Journal, which is available for a limited-time preorder through the Playful Math Journaling Kickstarter. Discover how to help your children enjoy learning math through the richly creative exploration of numbers, shapes, and patterns.

The Math Game Monday posts will be available for one week only. If you missed this one, explore the links in the sidebar. There are more than forty free games scattered around the blog. Have fun playing math with your kids!

Playful Math Journaling with a Cat

Posted on by Denise Gaskins

As queen of the house, Cimorene insists on being involved in anything that happens in her domain. This includes promoting the Playful Math Journaling Kickstarter.

So she created a cat math journaling prompt to help your children experience the fun of playing around with math.

But first, she encourages you to visit the Kickstarter page and download the free 16-page printable Math Journaling Sampler file. Your kids will love solving Cimorene’s puzzle on one of the parchment-style pages!

Visit the Kickstarter

Here is Cimorene’s Puzzle

“The Princess of Cats has a luxuriously soft tail about 12 inches (30 cm) long. Her tail is three times the length of her noble head. Her beautiful, furry body is as long as head and tail together. How long is the Princess from her delicate nose to the tip of her majestic tail?”

So, how does math journaling work? What do children do with a problem like this?

They may want to make a list of the things they know from the story. Perhaps they will draw a picture of the cat and label the proportions. Each will take their own approach to figure it out.

And then the best part of any math journal prompt is when kids make their own math.

  • Can they write a new puzzle about their own pet?
  • Or about their favorite animal?

Encourage your children to share their math creations with their friends and family.

Cimorene would love to read it, too! If you share your story in the comments section below, I will be sure to show it to her.

And remember to back the Playful Math Journaling Kickstarter so your whole family can enjoy the adventure of playing with math!

Playful Math Journaling: Preorder on Kickstarter

Posted on by Denise Gaskins

Are you looking for new ways to explore math with your kids?

Would you like an easy, no-prep resource for creative problem-solving, number play, math art, word problems, mini-essays, math poetry, geometry investigations, research projects, and much more?

I’ve just launched a Kickstarter project for people to preorder my new book, 312 Things To Do with a Math Journal. It just might transform your child’s experience of math.

In a math journal, children explore their own ideas about numbers, shapes, and patterns through drawing or writing in response to a question. Journaling teaches them to see with mathematical eyes. Not just to remember what we adults tell them, but to create their own math.

Scroll down the Kickstarter project page to download the free 16-page printable “Math Journaling Sampler” file. It includes one of my all-time favorite math activities.

If you like what you see, I’d love to have your support. The more people we can get to share the project in the early days, the more likely Kickstarter will join in and promote it to new readers.

Have fun playing math with your kids!

Visit the Playful Math Journaling Kickstarter page