Advent Math Activity Calendars

Posted on by Denise Gaskins

Once again, the delightful Nrich Maths website offers a seasonal selection of activities to encourage your children’s (and your own!) mathematical creativity.

Click the images below to visit the corresponding December Math Calendar pages.

For Primary Students

Here are twenty-four activities for elementary and middle school, one for each day in December during the run-up to Christmas.

2021 Primary Advent Calendar

When you get to the Nrich website, click a number to go to that day’s math.

For Secondary Students

Here are twenty-four favorite activities for middle and high school, one for each day in December in the run-up to Christmas.

2021 Secondary Advent Calendar

When you get to the Nrich website, click a number to go to that day’s math.

More Holiday Math

I encourage you also to explore my HUGE holiday math post:

Or check out these pages for more ideas:

Have fun playing math with your kids!

CREDITS: “Peanuts Christmas Panorama” photo [top] by Kevin Dooley via Flicker. (CCBY2.0)

Math Game Monday: The Great Escape

Posted on by Denise Gaskins

UPDATE: Between extended-family trips and all the winter holidays coming way too fast, my blog is taking a bit of hiatus. I’m putting Math Game Monday on pause for the rest of 2021.

    This game post will stay live until January 2022, giving you plenty of time to try it out. And I encourage you also to explore my holiday math posts:

      Meanwhile, back to one of my favorite Math Game Monday games…

      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.

      This cooperative game challenges students to use their number skills in escaping from a WWII prisoner of war camp.

      “The Great Escape” is free on this website for one week only. It’s an excerpt from Prealgebra & Geometry: Math Games for Middle School, which is available as an ebook at my publisher’s store (where you get all formats for one low price, and I earn higher no-middleman royalties) or through other online retailers, or by special request through your local library. Read more about my playful math books here.

      The Great Escape

      Math Concepts: multiplication, division, factors and multiples, odd and even, prime numbers, square numbers, cubic numbers.

      Players: two to four (a cooperative game).

      Equipment: printed hundred chart, playing cards (with jokers), pencils or markers.

      Continue reading Math Game Monday: The Great Escape

      Playful Math Education Carnival 147

      Posted on by Denise Gaskins

      Welcome to the 147th edition of the Playful Math Education Blog Carnival — a smorgasbord of delectable tidbits of mathy fun. It’s like a free online magazine devoted to learning, teaching, and playing around with math from preschool to high school.

      Bookmark this post, so you can take your time browsing. There’s so much playful math to enjoy!

      By tradition, we start the carnival with a puzzle in honor of our 147th edition. But if you’d rather jump straight to our featured blog posts, click here to see the Table of Contents.

      Continue reading Playful Math Education Carnival 147

      Playful Math Carnival 144: Anniversary Edition

      Posted on by Denise Gaskins

      Welcome to the 144th edition of the Playful Math Education Blog Carnival — a smorgasbord of delectable tidbits of mathy fun. It’s like a free online magazine devoted to learning, teaching, and playing around with math from preschool to high school.

      Bookmark this post, so you can take your time browsing.

      There’s so much playful math to enjoy!

      By tradition, we would start the carnival with a puzzle/activity in honor of our 144th edition. But this time, I want to take a peek back at the history of our carnival.

      But if you’d rather jump straight to our featured blog posts, click here to see the Table of Contents.

      Continue reading Playful Math Carnival 144: Anniversary Edition

      What Is Multiplication, Anyway?

      Posted on by Denise Gaskins

      At some point during the process of teaching multiplication to our children, we really need to come to terms with this question:

      What IS multiplication?

      Did your device hide the video? Find it on YouTube here.

      “What’s my answer? It’s not one that society’s going to like. Because society expects — demands, even — that mathematics be concrete, real-world, absolute, having definitive answers.

        I can’t give a definitive answer.

          Multiplication manifests itself in different ways. So maybe the word ‘is’ there is just too absolute. And it’s actually at odds with what mathematicians do.

            Mathematicians do attend to real-world, practical scenarios — by stepping away from them, looking at a bigger picture.”

            —James Tanton, What is Multiplication?

            For Further Study

            You may also enjoy these posts from my blog archive:

            Memorizing the Times Table: A Life Skills Approach

            Posted on by Denise Gaskins

            Continuing on my theme of times table facts, here’s the inimitable James Tanton:

            Did your device hide the video? Find it on YouTube here.

            “If our task is to memorize this table, please make it about mathematics — about thinking your way through a challenge, and what can I do to make my life easier.”

            —James Tanton, Making Memorising Multiplication Facts (if one really must) a meaningful Life Skill Lesson

            For Further Study

            You may also enjoy my blog post series about working through the times tables, paying attention to mathematical relationships (and a bit of prealgebra) along the way.

            Times Tables Series

            Click the button to see the whole series. Scroll down to the first post to go through it in order.

            What Are Mixed Numbers?

            Posted on by Denise Gaskins

            I just discovered a fascinating fact: In some places in the world, mixed numbers apparently don’t exist.

            So that made me curious about my blog readers:

            • Did you learn about mixed numbers in school?
            • Do you ever use mixed numbers in daily life?
            • Are your children learning to work with them?

            And if you DO know mixed numbers, can you simplify this mess:

            [If you enjoy dry math humor, the answer is worth the work.]

            Continue reading What Are Mixed Numbers?

            Exciting New Homeschool Math Program

            Posted on by Denise Gaskins

            Homeschooling friends, check out this new homeschool math program that’s fun, rigorous, and engaging — a delightful, hands-on course that helps parents (and their children) understand math.

            Introduction to Cuisenaire Rod Structures Course

            I had the privilege of previewing this class as Sonya and Lacy put it together. I highly recommend it to anyone who struggles with math, or who wants to take a non-traditional approach.

            By focusing on making sense of number relationships, and by teaching algebra before arithmetic, this course provides a stress-free path to rich mathematical mastery.

            And for all they provide, including weekly live workshops and a slew of printable math journal pages that prompt deep thinking, the price is a steal!

            Continue reading Exciting New Homeschool Math Program

            More Dover Samples

            Posted on by Denise Gaskins

            “Without mathematics you can’t do anything! Everything around you is mathematics. Everything around you is numbers.”

            —Anna Claybourne, I Can Be a Math Magician


            Dover Publications sent out a new email today with fun coloring and craft samples. And several puzzles from I Can Be a Math Magician: Fun STEM Activities for Kids by Anna Claybourne.

            Enjoy!

            If you’d like to receive future Dover Sampler emails, you can sign up here.

            THE FINE PRINT: I am an Amazon affiliate. If you follow the book link above and buy something, I’ll earn a small commission (at no cost to you).