Playful Math Snacks for February 2015

Posted on by Denise Gaskins

My February Tabletop Academy Press Updates newsletter went out this morning to everyone who signed up for math updates. If you signed up for Teresa’s fiction updates, please be patient. She writes much slower than an adult author, but we’re hoping to get her second book published in late spring.

I noticed a couple of people who joined the mailing list but neglected to ask for either the math or fantasy fiction updates — and we won’t send you any updates unless you ask for them! If you thought you signed up, but you didn’t receive this morning’s email (and it’s not in your spam folder by mistake), then leave me a comment here or just go sign up again.

If you’re not on the mailing list, you can still join in the fun:

A Preview

by Ξ at 360 blog
photo by Ξ at 360 blog

Math Snack: Fractal Valentines

What better way to say “I love you forever!” than with a pop-up fractal Valentine? My math club kids made these a couple years back, and they turned out great.

To make your card, choose two colors of construction paper or card stock. One color will make the pop-up hearts on the inside of your card. The other color will be the front and back of the card, and will also peek through the cut areas between the hearts. Fold the papers in half and cut them to card size.

Set the outer card aside and focus on the inside. The fractal cutting pattern is simple: press the fold, cut a curve, tuck inside, repeat…

Join My Mailing List for Math Tips and Book Updates

Posted on by Denise Gaskins
Tabletop Academy Press
Tabletop Academy Press:
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

BanishedKindleCover

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:

And Be Thankful

Posted on by Denise Gaskins

[Feature photo (above) by alicepopkorn via Flickr (CC BY 2.0).]

Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved,
clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness,
humility, gentleness and patience.
Bear with each other and forgive
whatever grievances you may have against one another.
Forgive as the Lord forgave you.
And over all these virtues put on love,
which binds them all together in perfect unity.

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts,
since as members of one body you were called to peace.
And be thankful.
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly
as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom,
and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs
with gratitude in your hearts to God.

And whatever you do,
whether in word or deed,
do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus,
giving thanks to God the Father through him.

— Colossians 3:12-17

[Taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version, (c)1973, 1978, 1984 by the International Bible Society, used by permission of Zondervan Bible Publishers.]

Math Storytelling Day: The Hospital Floor

Posted on by Denise Gaskins

[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:

My Math Story

tiles2

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.

tiles1

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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Are you looking for more creative ways to play math with your kids? Check out all my books, printable activities, and cool mathy merch at Denise Gaskins’ Playful Math Store. Or join my email newsletter.

This blog is reader-supported. If you’d like to help fund the blog on an ongoing basis, then please join me on Patreon (or choose the paid level on Substack) for mathy inspiration, tips, and an ever-growing archive of printable activities.

“Math Storytelling Day: The Hospital Floor” copyright © 2014 by Denise Gaskins.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Posted on by Denise Gaskins

Thanksgiving at the Trolls

Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good;
His love endures forever.
Let the redeemed of the Lord say this —
those He redeemed from the hand of the foe,
those He gathered from the lands,
frome east and west, from north and south.
…
Whoever is wise, let him heed these things
and consider the great love of the Lord.

— Psalm 107:1-3 and 43

[Feature photo above by Martha_chapa95 (CC BY 2.0) via Flickr. Quotation from Holy Bible, New International Version, (c)1973, 1978, 1984 by the International Bible Society, used by permission of Zondervan Bible Publishers.]

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.

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