Buddy-Style Math: Doing Homework Without Tears

Posted on by Denise Gaskins

My daughter Kitten strongly dislikes math when forced to do it on her own, so I am trying to get back into the habit of doing “Buddy-Style Math” with her. We take turns working the problems in her workbook: mine, hers, mine, hers, and so on down the page. We work each problem out loud, explaining how we got the answer and checking each other as we go.

In a way, it is like Charlotte Mason-style narration applied to math, since my daughter has to process her thoughts in order to explain how she worked the problem, which fixes the math concepts more deeply in her mind.

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April Math Calendar

Posted on by Denise Gaskins

april-math-calendar

My homeschool co-op classes had a lot of fun creating this April calendar to hand out at our end-of-semester party on Friday. It’s not as easy to read as a traditional calendar — it is more like a puzzle. The expression in each square simplifies to that day’s date, so families can treat each day like a mini-review quiz: “Do you remember how to calculate this?”

Download your own copy:

If you’ve been wanting to start your own math club, you will find plenty of helpful ideas here:

Update

Check out my May Math Calendar post for more ideas about how to use these puzzles.

 
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Which I am going to say right now. Thank you!

“April Math Calendar” copyright © 2009 by Denise Gaskins.

Math Game: Logarithm War

Posted on by Denise Gaskins

[Graph created at Draw Function Graphs.]

Kate at f(t) took my popular Math War game to a new level by making a set of Logarithm War cards. Cool! Download a deck for yourself:

Update

Logs and Trig War—Jim Pai extended Kate’s logarithm war to include trig functions. Double the cards, double the fun! Download from Jim’s blog: War: what is it good for?

Math Warm-Up: Today Is February 4×3×2×1

Posted on by Denise Gaskins

[Feature photo above by Tom@HK.]

One of my favorite warm-up exercises for Math Club is “Today is ______.” Each student invents one or more mathematical expressions for today’s date and writes his or her favorite on the board for all to admire. Answers range from lazy (24×1 — at least it’s an excuse to talk about identity elements) to unnecessarily repetitive (1+1+1+…), but we usually get a few gems as well.

Continue reading Math Warm-Up: Today Is February 4×3×2×1

Cute Math Facts for Visual Thinkers

Posted on by Denise Gaskins

numberwalk[Photo by angela7dreams.]

A forum friend posted about her daughter’s adventure in learning the math facts:

“She loves stories and drawing, so I came up with the Math Friends book. She made a little book, and we talked about different numbers that are buddies.”

Continue reading Cute Math Facts for Visual Thinkers

MathNotations Contest for Middle-High School

Posted on by Denise Gaskins

math-team-edit
[Photo by ccarlstead.]

Can you can put together a team of 2-6 middle or high school students for an afternoon of mathematical play? If so, then Dave at MathNotations is running a math competition you just have to check out.

Teachers register by email on or before Thursday, January 29, and will receive the six thought-provoking contest problems and official answer form by return email. Hold the contest at your convenience on Tuesday, February 3, allowing your team up to 90 minutes to complete and electronically submit their answers.

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Free Online Math for Middle School and Up

Posted on by Denise Gaskins

alcumus

The Art of Problem Solving people recently announced their new Alcumus program, which provides online lessons on assorted math topics, including probability and combinatorics, which most math textbooks do not cover well, if at all.

Update October 2011:

Alcumus currently complements our Introduction to Algebra, Introduction to Counting & Probability, Introduction to Number Theory, and Prealgebra textbooks, as well as our Algebra 1, Algebra 2, Introduction to Counting & Probability, Introduction to Number Theory, and Prealgebra 1 online courses. We expect to continue to expand topics in Alcumus.

— AoPS Alcumus information page

I am signing up all my MathCounts students. If you’re a homeschooler, we would love to have you join us!

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2009 Mathematics Game

Posted on by Denise Gaskins

new-year
[Photo by Amanda M Hatfield.]

Have you made a resolution to exercise your mental muscles this year? Then please join us for the 2009 Mathematics Game. Here are the rules:

Use the digits in the year 2009 and the operations +, -, x, ÷, sqrt (square root), ^ (raise to a power), and ! (factorial) — along with parentheses, brackets, or other grouping symbols — to write expressions for the counting numbers 1 through 100.

  • All four digits must be used in each expression.
  • Only the digits 2, 0, 0, 9 may be used.
  • The decimal point may be used, as in .9, .02, etc.
  • Multi-digit numbers such as 29 or 902 may be used, but preference is given to solutions that avoid them.

By definition: 0! = 1 .
[See Dr. Math’s Why does 0 factorial equal 1?]

For this game we will accept: {0}^{0} = 1 .
[See the Dr. Math FAQ 0 to the 0 power.]

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