All About Math – Page 4 – Denise Gaskins' Let's Play Math

Math Game Monday: Bowling

Posted on July 27, 2026August 26, 2026 by Denise Gaskins

Learn a new math game every week, for free

This game builds calculations skills and helps develop fluency.

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.

So what are you waiting for? Let’s play some math!

Bowling

Math Concepts: addition, subtraction, multistep calculation, column addition (for final score).

Players: any number.

Equipment: one deck of playing cards (face cards and jokers removed), game board, ten tokens for covering numbers, pencil or pen, and (optional) scratch paper for adding up the scores.

Continue reading Math Game Monday: Bowling

Thinking Thursday: W.S. Anglin

Posted on July 23, 2026May 21, 2026 by Denise Gaskins

Writing to Learn Math: What did the author mean? Put the thought in your own words. Do you agree or disagree? Why?

Do you want your children to develop the ability to reason creatively and figure out things on their own?

Help kids practice slowing down and taking the time to fully comprehend a math topic or problem-solving situation with these classic tools of learning: Notice. Wonder. Create.

Continue reading Thinking Thursday: W.S. Anglin

Probability Puzzles with Obsolete Coins

Posted on July 22, 2026July 16, 2026 by Denise Gaskins

I love math puzzles, and Henry Ernest Dudeney is the foremost puzzlemeister of all time.

Whenever I need a diversion from the pressing day-to-day busyness of life, I like to crack open one of his books. And get humbled. He stumps me as often as not, but I enjoy the challenge.

Today, I’ve got two of his somewhat-easier puzzles from Amusements in Mathematics, dealing with the probability of obsolete coins tossed or pulled from a bag.

Okay, so the penny isn’t obsolete quite yet, even though the US government quit making them. But the “penny” in these puzzles is the old British pence, which went out of date seemingly ages ago, along with all the other non-decimal coins that made old math puzzles so confusing.

Probability puzzles are great for middle school students because the arithmetic itself is simple. The challenge is in figuring out exactly what calculation to do.

Have fun playing math with your kids!

Continue reading Probability Puzzles with Obsolete Coins

Math Game Monday: Area Battle

Posted on July 20, 2026May 21, 2026 by Denise Gaskins

This game pushes students to consider area and perimeter beyond the basic shapes.

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.

So what are you waiting for? Let’s play some math!

Area Battle

Math Concepts: area, square units, perimeter, regular and irregular polygons.

Players: two to four.

Equipment: homemade game cards, pencils or markers.

Continue reading Math Game Monday: Area Battle

Thinking Thursday: Number Race

Posted on July 16, 2026May 21, 2026 by Denise Gaskins

Writing to Learn Math: Measurement is our way of connecting numbers to the things we find in the world, in daily life.

Do you want your children to develop the ability to reason creatively and figure out things on their own?

Help kids practice slowing down and taking the time to fully comprehend a math topic or problem-solving situation with these classic tools of learning: Notice. Wonder. Create.

Continue reading Thinking Thursday: Number Race

Dragons, Gryphons, and Math Mistakes

Posted on July 15, 2026September 19, 2026 by Denise Gaskins

This post is adapted from my book Let’s Play Math: How Families Can Learn Math Together—and Enjoy It.

Do you ever take your kids’ math tests? It helps me remember what it is like to be a student. I push myself to work quickly, trying to finish in about 1/3 the allotted time, to mimic the pressure students feel. And whenever I do this, I find myself prone to the same stupid mistakes that students make.

Even teachers are human.

Continue reading Dragons, Gryphons, and Math Mistakes

Thinking Thursday: Success

Posted on July 9, 2026May 21, 2026 by Denise Gaskins

Writing to Learn Math: You can spark creative thought by removing any need to worry about spelling or punctuation rules.

Do you want your children to develop the ability to reason creatively and figure out things on their own?

Help kids practice slowing down and taking the time to fully comprehend a math topic or problem-solving situation with these classic tools of learning: Notice. Wonder. Create.

Continue reading Thinking Thursday: Success

Conversion Factors: How Old Are You in Nanoseconds?

Posted on July 8, 2026September 19, 2026 by Denise Gaskins

Homeschool Memories

[Based on a problem I made up for my co-op students, once upon a time…]

Conversion factors are special fractions that contain problem-solving information. Why are they called conversion factors?

“Conversion” means change, and conversion factors help you change the numbers and units in your problem.

“Factors” are things you multiply with. So to use a conversion factor, you will multiply it by something.

Continue reading Conversion Factors: How Old Are You in Nanoseconds?

Podcast: Charlotte Mason’s Living Math

Posted on July 3, 2026September 19, 2026 by Denise Gaskins

Cindy Rollins, Dawn Duran, and I had a delightful chat about my new book, Charlotte Mason’s Living Math, which is now available in ebook (print editions coming soon!) at my Playful Math Store.

We talked about how math is a whole world full of big, living ideas that we can explore with our children. What it means to have a living education in math, opening our children’s minds to big ideas about the relationships of numbers, shapes, and patterns. And how to tell if our kids really understand what they are doing, or if they’re just parroting back the steps we taught them.

And lots more — listen for yourself…