It’s been a busy day, though I haven’t gotten much work done on my book. We welcomed a new member to our family: Mariah.
Isn’t she beautiful?
And she’s just a sweet as she looks!
New Family Member: Mariah
Even a Math Workbook Can Be a Game
Homeschool Memories…
My youngest daughter wanted to do Singapore math. Miquon Red was her main math text at the time, but we added a bit of Singapore Primary Math 1B whenever she was in the mood.
We turned to the lesson on subtracting with numbers in the 30-somethings.
Rabbit Trails and Fibonacci Poetry
Homeschool Memories…
Well, I hadn’t planned on spending my day that way. But one of the great things about homeschooling is the freedom to follow rabbit trails.
While browsing the Carnival of Homeschooling, I found a link to Farm School blog’s article Fib Foolery, which sent me to Gotta Book for his articles The Fib and More Fibbery (read the comments on both threads, but be warned that some are crude) and several other posts, all of which set me off on a morning of poetic fun.
A “Fib” is a Fibonacci poem. It’s based on syllable count, like a haiku, but the lines follow the Fibonacci counting series: 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8… Each number is the sum of the previous two numbers.
I knew what I was going to share at our Tuesday Teatime and Poetry Reading that afternoon.
New Fantasy Adventure Novel by Homeschooled Teen Author
If you or your children enjoy clean fantasy tales, check out the new installment in my daughter’s serial quest adventure The Riddled Stone, now available at many online bookstores.
Click here to see the whole series.
How Can a Knight Fight Magic?
Trained by the greatest knight in North Raec, Sir Arnold Fredrico dreamed of valiant deeds. Save the damsel. Serve the king.
Dreams change. Now the land teeters at the brink of war. As a fugitive with a price on his head, Arnold struggles to protect his friends.
But his enemy wields more power than the young knight can imagine.
238 pages, ebook: $3.99, paperback: $14.99.
Buy now at:
Continue reading New Fantasy Adventure Novel by Homeschooled Teen Author
A Review for my Daughter’s Novel
“… a captivating fantasy story with a well-thought-out plot … people who like medieval-style fantasies with wraiths, spirits, and even an attacking swamp tree will enjoy the story. I certainly did, and the excitement, adventure, and suspense will easily keep the reader’s attention …”
— Wayne S. Walker
Home School Book Review
Thank you, Mr. Walker!
As a fantasy fan myself, I agree that Teresa did a great job on this book. She improved in every way from Book #1 — more world building, more complex plotting, and a deeper emotional identification with the characters. I can’t wait to see what she writes next.
Check it out for yourself:
- Read an excerpt: the first five chapters of Hunted.
- Buy the ebook:
- Hunted ebook at Amazon worldwide
[Members of Kindle Unlimited can read for free.] - Or pick up the paperback at:
- Amazon worldwide
- Book Depository
- Barnes & Noble
- CreateSpace
Find out how the adventure began:
- Read an excerpt: the first four chapters of Banished.
- Buy the ebook:
- Banished ebook at Amazon worldwide
[Members of Kindle Unlimited can read for free.] - Or pick up the paperback at:
- Amazon worldwide
- Book Depository
- Barnes & Noble
- CreateSpace
New Internet Math Reference Pages
The Internet boasts a wide-ranging assortment of math websites, and for years I maintained (or mostly neglected) a huge page of reference links. This spring I’ve been working on the paperback edition of my book—with its appendix of favorite books and internet sites—and I decided to revise my blog links to match.
So this week, I’m in Jeju, South Korea, visiting my daughter who teaches English there. In between seeing touristy sites and gorging ourselves on amazingly delicious food, she took me to a beautiful coffee shop that overlooks the beach in Aewol.
Great place to work on my blog!
The long monster list morphed into eight topical pages. I hope you find something useful.
- Internet Math Resources Home Page—with tips for viewing Java and Flash websites
- Math Adventures for All Ages
- Elementary and Middle School Fun Stuff
- Playing with Algebra and Beyond
- Links for Parents and Other Teachers
- Worksheets, Lessons, and Full Curriculum
- Math Contests, Grades 4–12
- Forums Where You Can Ask for Help
- Math History on the Internet
I will try to keep these pages up to date, but the Internet is volatile. If you find a broken link, you can search for the website by name or enter the defunct URL into the Internet Wayback Machine at Archive.org.
And if you know of a fantastic website I’ve missed, please send me an email (LetsPlayMath@gmail.com, or use the comment form on my “About” page). I appreciate your help.
Feature photo above by Fractal Ken via Flickr (CC BY 2.0). Korea photos ©2015 Denise Gaskins, all rights reserved. For more math resource suggestions, check out my Math with Living Books pages. They’re not finished yet, but I’ll be working on them next.
New Fantasy Novel by Homeschooled Teen Author
After months of editing, formatting, proofreading, sweat, and tears:
Teresa Gaskins’s new ebook Hunted: The Riddled Stone ~ Book Two is available now at Amazon worldwide.
You can download the first five chapters here:
To celebrate the release of Hunted, the ebook version of Banished—the first book in the Riddled Stone series—will be on sale for 99 cents for the next few weeks.
Join My Mailing List for Math Tips and Book Updates
Learning is a lifelong adventure.
Are you looking for playful ways to help your children learn math? Now you can get math tips and activity ideas by email, as well as find out when I put out a new book or revise an old one.
I hope to send out a “Math Snack” (no-preparation math activity idea) at least once a month. In the meantime, your sign-up bonuses include a 4-page article on solving word problems and a pre-publication peek at my new Math You Can Play book series of games for preschool to prealgebra.
Free This Weekend
Our Christmas gift to you: my daughter’s fantasy adventure Banished will be FREE for Kindle on Amazon.com this weekend only, December 11-15.
I don’t know whether the other Amazons (UK, CA, AU, IN, etc.) will also run the sale, but I hope so.
As I type, the paperback edition is also on sale at a 10% discount, though we have no control over how long Amazon will be offering that price. Banished is part of the Kindle Matchbook program, so if you buy a copy of the paperback, you can get the ebook for free — even after our weekend sale runs out.
Read an excerpt: the first four chapters of Banished
Don’t have a Kindle? You can get a Kindle app that will let you read Teresa’s book on almost any device.
Watch for Upcoming Books
The second book in The Riddled Stone series is scheduled for publication in Spring 2015, and so are the first two volumes of my Math You Can Play series. If you want a head’s-up when these books arrive, be sure to join my Tabletop Academy Press Updates email list:
Math Storytelling Day: The Hospital Floor
[Feature photo above by Christiaan Triebert via flickr (CC BY 2.0).]
Have you ever heard of Math Storytelling Day? On September 25, people around the world celebrate mathematics by telling stories together. The stories can be real — like my story below — or fictional like the tale of Wizard Mathys from Fantasia and his crystal ball communication system.
Check out these posts for more information:
- Happy Math Storytelling Day
- Math Storytelling Day resources
- Moebius Noodles: Math Storytelling Day archive
My Math Story
My story begins with an unexpected adventure in pain. Appendicitis sidewhacked my life last week, but that’s not the story. It’s just the setting. During my recovery, I spent a lot of time in the smaller room of my hospital suite. I noticed this semi-random pattern in the floor tile, which made me wonder:
- Did they choose the pattern to keep their customers from getting bored while they were … occupied?
- Is the randomness real? Or can I find a line of symmetry or a set of tiles that repeat?
- If I take pictures from enough different angles, could I transfer the whole floor to graph paper for further study?
- And if the nurse finds me doing this, will she send me to a different ward of the hospital? Do hospitals have psychiatric wards, or is that only in the movies?
- What is the biggest chunk of squares I could “break out” from this pattern that would create the illusion of a regular, repeating tessellation?
I gave up on the graph paper idea (for now) and printed the pictures to play with. By my definition, “broken” pattern chunks need to be contiguous along the sides of the tiles, like pentominoes. Also, the edge of the chunk must be a clean break along the mortar lines. The piece can zigzag all over the place, but it isn’t allowed to come back and touch itself anywhere, even at a corner. No holes allowed.
I’m counting the plain squares as the unit and each of the smaller rectangles as a half square. So far, the biggest chunk of repeating tiles I’ve managed to break out is 283 squares.
What Math Stories Will You Tell?
Have you and your children created any mathematical stories this year? I’d love to hear them! Please share your links in the comments section below.
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If you’d like to help fund the blog on an on-going basis, then please head to my Patreon page.
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Which I am going to say right now. Thank you!
“Math Storytelling Day: The Hospital Floor” copyright © 2014 by Denise Gaskins.
Reviews for my Daughter’s Book
I cleaned up the clutter on my other blog, and so I decided to make a page about my daughter’s book, which meant taking the time to pull out excerpts from her reviews. And since I hadn’t posted anything about her on this blog for a couple of months, I thought I’d brag a bit to you all, too.
Reviews of Banished
Banished is a captivating fantasy story with a well-thought-out plot that would be a credit to any writer. But it is especially remarkable coming from a thirteen-year-old student who has been homeschooled all her life.
Teresa Gaskins actually wrote this book as a project for the National Novel Writing Month program. One noteworthy thing about the book is that there is no sexuality or bad language (the euphemistic interjection “Blasted” is used once), so, other than those who object to the presence of any kind of magic in books, parents can let their kids read the novel with no reservations.
However, be forewarned. When you reach the final page and find the words, “Not the End…,” you will cry, “Oh! No!” The story does not resolve itself at the end and then pick up in a sequel. Rather, the plot is left hanging at the end and will continue in another book. I for one feel as if I simply can’t wait to read the next installment to find out what happens to Chris and his friends. It’s that good!
— Wayne at Home School Book Review
Denise Gaskins' Let's Play Math 