Our youngest child turns 9 today. Time shoots by at rocket speed, doesn’t it? Every year, the older kids complain that their baby sister isn’t allowed to grow up — they still feel like being nine years old themselves!
I have mentioned before our family tradition of the “hidden present.” [See this post and that.] Every year, one birthday present is hidden somewhere in the house, with the clue placed in an envelope to be opened after all the other gifts are unwrapped.
Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!
How unsearchable his judgments,
and his paths beyond tracing out!
Who has known the mind of the Lord?
Or who has been his counselor?
Who has ever given to God,
that God should repay him?
For from him
and through him
and to him are all things.
To him be the glory forever!
Amen.
Farewell to 2007. We have snacks on the table so we can munch the night away, and the little ones are giggling over their Barbies, thrilled at the prospect of more sugar than is good for them.
The teenagers have launched their annual movie marathon. This year, it was the girls’ turn to invite friends over, so the men in my life have all found excuses to run into town.
Meanwhile, I am hiding in my den, indulging myself in a sort of blogger’s nostalgia. Some of the following posts got a lot of attention when they were published, others not so much. Topics range from preschool to high school, 
from kindergarten games to teaching fractions to Shakespearean insults, so I hope there is something to interest everyone.
[The photos are small so this article won’t take forever to load. Click on any picture to view a larger image.]
Remember the Math Adventurer’s Rule: Figure it out for yourself! Whenever I give a problem in an Alexandria Jones story, I will try to post the answer soon afterward. But don’t peek! If I tell you the answer, you miss out on the fun of solving the puzzle. So if you haven’t worked these problems yet, go back to the original post. Figure them out for yourself — and then check the answers just to prove that you got them right.
Alex handed her brother Leonhard a box wrapped in the rocket tessellation paper, with air holes carefully punched in two sides.
“Merry Christmas, Leon!” she said.
He ripped open the gift. Alex winced. Boys have no artistic appreciation, she thought.
“Oh, cool! Thanks,” Leon said.
“His name is Lo-shu,” said Alex. “But be careful. I used non-toxic tempera paint. The design will was off.”
Leon turned the turtle and studied the back of its shell. “Oh, that’s just like in the legend! I’ll copy it down before I let him near any water.”
For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
Wonderful Counselor,
Mighty God,
Everlasting Father,
Prince of Peace.Of the increase of his government and peace
there will be no end.
He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom,
establishing and upholding it
with justice and righteousness
from that time on and forever.The zeal of the Lord Almighty
will accomplish this.— Isaiah 9:6-9
[Taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version, (c)1973, 1978, 1984 by the International Bible Society, used by permission of Zondervan Bible Publishers.]
Here is the simplest puzzle from the November/December 1998 issue of Alexandria Jones stories. The answer (and more puzzles) will follow.
Christmas gift for Leon (pdf, 68KB)
More puzzles are now here:
Answers are also posted:
Read all the posts from the November/December 1998 issue of my Mathematical Adventures of Alexandria Jones newsletter.
Last time, Alexandria Jones and her family were on their way to Uncle William’s tree farm to find the perfect Christmas tree, and Dr. Jones taught us about the Golden Section:
|———————A———————|————B————|
I gave you three algebra puzzles to solve. Did you try them?
Whenever I give a problem in an Alexandria Jones story, I will try to post the answer soon afterward. But don’t peek! If I tell you the answer, you miss out on the fun of solving the puzzle. So if you have not worked these problems yet, go back to the original post. Figure them out for yourself — and then check the answers just to prove that you got them right.
What makes a great math blog? That depends on who is doing the judging, of course. Your list of Hall of Fame bloggers would surely be different than mine. But since this is my list, the qualifications were:
So without further ado, the winners, listed alphabetically to avoid playing favorites among my favorites. Here are eleven of the best math-related blogs, the guys and gals who make me think:
UPDATE: Some of the links below have gone missing, as internet sites tend to do. Check out my *huge* new blog post:
We interrupt our regularly scheduled math program to bring you the following Christmas links…
First, A to Z Home’s Cool offers some fun for older students and teachers:
Also check out the annual Price of Christmas Index to see what the “12 Days of Christmas” gifts would cost you this year. Or explore the Nrich Advent Math Calendars to play with a new math activity every day until Christmas.
You can find just the song here: http://vihart.com/music/gauss12days.mp3.
Denise Gaskins' Let's Play Math 