There’s just one short week left to go on Gordon Hamilton’s new Kickstarter project, Wiki Histories: Snapshots of world history in mini-games.
Sign up now so you don’t miss out!
Wiki Histories are two-player snapshots of world history and prehistory. They are pencil-and-paper games. Each has a pair of maps, a simple set of standard rules, some unique rules, and a historical paragraph.
Time: 15 minutes. Age: 9+.
Homeschooling families naturally build patterns and routines that help us keep our sanity as we go through our homeschooling day.
No matter what resources we choose or which curriculum packages we buy, we never end up following the book exactly as it is written. So don’t worry if you find yourself wandering away from the lesson plan. You’re not getting behind; you’re just discovering your family’s natural learning style.
If you and your children have fallen into the rut of traditional math lessons, have patience. Give yourself time to adjust to a more relaxed mindset about math.
And when you find the rhythm that fits your family, you’ll discover that math lessons flow so much more smoothly.
Learning mathematics begins with puzzles. As stories are to history or science, puzzles are to math.
In ancient times, math began with puzzles like:
• How can we keep track of our herds, or predict the cycles of the moon, or figure out how much to pay for taxes?
• How can we draw perfect right angles, or make beautifully symmetric designs?
• What are the ratios of harp strings that create the most beautiful sounds?
Math puzzles touch every area of life. Puzzles inspire curiosity and solving them brings joy.
And we can enrich any homeschool math program with puzzles that invite children to think about mathematical concepts.
Even those monster topics that often bring homeschooling families to tears, such as fractions.
After wrestling with some technical issues to connect my book printer to the store, I’m pleased to announce that the new Tabletop Math Games Collection, Volume Two books are now available in digital and print formats on my Playful Math Store.
Visit the New Products page to find everything in the image above:
Or check out the Tabletop Math Games Collection page to see the Volume One books also:
I’m working on getting the paperback and hardcover editions of these books into all the regular online bookstores, but that’s been a slower process than normal. You can purchase ALL versions through my store now, and I’ll let you know whenever I find out the other bookstores have them available…
Continue reading New Math Game Books and a Back-to-School Sale
If there’s one thing common to all new homeschoolers, it’s a feeling of being overwhelmed. One solution is to develop a basic homeschooling rhythm, a daily routine of what you do first, and then next, and then next.
Most new home schoolers try to adopt the rhythm they remember from their own school days, their own classroom experience. But our home is not a classroom, and that pattern can lead to burn-out.
The secret to successful homeschooling is to find a natural rhythm that fits your family. Even in math.
Now’s your chance to promote creative math for kids, with Sue Looney’s new book on Kickstarter: Farzanah and the 17 Camels.
You can order the book in digital or paperback format, get multiple copies for a classroom or book club, or just donate to support the project.
Farzanah and the 17 Camels celebrates the excitement and the rewards of solving a challenging and intriguing math problem. Set against the backdrop of the ancient Silk Road, with bustling markets, stunning carpets, fun characters, and camels, the story draws readers into the magic of Farzanah’s surroundings.
Here is SOOOOO MUCH GREAT MATH!
Each monthly carnival brings you a new collection of ideas for playing math from preschool to high school. It’s like a free online magazine of mathematical adventures, helpful and inspiring no matter when you read them.
Explore with your kids or on your own…
Continue reading Get a Taste of Playful Math with Two Carnivals
My eight-year-old daughter’s first encounter with improper fractions was a bit more intense than she knew how to handle. And I hadn’t learned yet how to use the Notice-Wonder-Create cycle to help kids think about tough problems.
Sometimes I wonder how our children survive their parents’ learning curve. It’s a good thing God made them resilient enough to thrive despite our mistakes!
If you find a free hour this week, you may enjoy listening to my latest Notice & Wonder podcast discussion with Sonya and Della about the power of playful math:
We share plenty of tips, stories, and practical advice for bringing a sense of curiosity and exploration into your math lessons.
Plus, the Best Math Game Ever!
I love this podcast, because it always feels like sitting down to chat over coffee with good friends who love kids and love teaching.
Can your students solve this problem?
There are 20% more girls than boys in the senior class. What percent of the seniors are girls?
This is from an old discussion of the semantics of percent problems and why students have trouble with them, going on over at MathNotations. (Follow-up post here.)
Our homeschool co-op prealgebra class had just finished a chapter on percents, so I thought my son might have a chance at this one. Nope! He leapt without thought to the conclusion that 60% of the class must be girls.
After I explained the significance of the word “than”, he solved the follow-up problem just fine.
