Why I Love Kickstarter

Photo of woman thinking about books

Math Journaling Adventures Kickstarter projectOver the several weeks, you’ll be hearing a lot about Kickstarter and my Math Journaling Adventures project. I’m proud of the books, and I want to spread the news as far and wide as possible.

You’ll appreciate how these books make it easy to weave playful math into your family’s schedule. Just open to any page for a puzzle, activity, game, investigation, or other creative prompt.

But I know there are many readers who don’t know much about crowdfunding. Some people even think that a campaign like this is just online begging.

So I want to share what I totally love about Kickstarter and how much it offers you, the customer:

(1) It’s the “New World” of publishing.

In the old days, traditional publishing companies paid writers in advance to write the books the publisher wanted to see. In this new world, you get to choose and support the writers creating books you want to read.

Continue reading Why I Love Kickstarter

FAQ: My Playful Math Books

Playful math books by Denise Gaskins

Number Neighborhoods game  book by Denise GaskinsIn the weeks since I opened my new Playful Math Store, I’ve been getting a lot of questions about how all the books relate to each other.

For example…

Q: Your books look so interesting! Is the material in the books all different?

    A: There is a bit of overlap between books, but not much in most cases.

Continue reading FAQ: My Playful Math Books

Spring Sale on Let’s Play Math

Let's Play Math book by Denise Gaskins

Spring 2024 Sale: Save 20% off Let’s Play Math: How Families Can Learn Math Together and Enjoy It in ebook or paperback!

Shop Now ❱

As school wraps up for the year in the U.S., many homeschoolers turn their minds to planning for next fall. That makes spring a great time to discover how to transform your child’s experience of math through playful discovery!

Continue reading Spring Sale on Let’s Play Math

Playful Math Store Grand Opening Sale

Family hiking in the mountains

I’ve just launched the Denise Gaskins’ Playful Math Store!

The Grand Opening Sale runs through April 20 — add the discount code GRAND_20 at checkout to save 20% on your first order.

We have plenty of fun mathy goodness on hand, so I hope you’ll take some time to browse our collections. Don’t miss the math art collection, or the journaling resources, or my classic Math You Can Play series. And of course, there’s the merch.

Even better, we have both digital and print books, which is something my previous store couldn’t handle.

So many ways to celebrate the joy of mathematics.

May your family always enjoy the adventure of learning!

Shop Now

Calendar with sale dates marked

You Can’t Find These in Bookstores

Family game night with the Tabletop Math Games Collection books by Denise Gaskins

This is your final notice for the Tabletop Math Games Collection Kickstarter.

Thank you so much to everyone who has backed these fun books. Your encouragement and support keep me going!

For procrastinators, get thee to the Kickstarter:

Order Your Books Now ❯

Sample game pages from the Tabletop Math Games Collection by Denise Gaskins

Regular Bookstores Won’t Carry These Books

Most of my books eventually show up in the regular online bookstores, making it easy to delay purchasing because you know you can find it later.

But these are not typical paperback or hardcover books. Instead, they’re designed to lay flat so players can use the gameboards or easily refer to rules as they play.

The regular online bookstores will only stock standard paperbacks, NOT the saddle-stitch and spiral-bound versions that lay nicely flat.

We’ve got less than 36 hours left on our Tabletop Math Games Collection Kickstarter campaign.

Do you really want to miss out?

Scroll down for a peek at what other people say about my math games.

Then order your copy today, and have fun playing math with your kids!

Continue reading You Can’t Find These in Bookstores

Publication Day: The Tabletop Math Games Collection

Now available on my publisher’s store: The Tabletop Math Games Collection, Volume One!

Tabletop Math Games Collection

So many great games for playing math from preschool through high school, including the Best Math Game Ever and how children can make up their own Creative Nim math and logic games.

These printable (pdf) activity books include instructions and tips for the teacher, math game pages in full-color and ink-saving black-and-white, plus a variety of dot-grid journaling paper. Available with 8 1/2 by 11 (letter size) or A4 pages. For ages 3 to adult.

Have fun playing math with your kids!

Continue reading Publication Day: The Tabletop Math Games Collection

New Fantasy Novel by Homeschooled Teen Author

Hunted600After 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.

Book Updates

letsplaymathcover-mini

My ebook Let’s Play Math has a new cover. Do you like it?

After wrestling with the files for a couple of months, I finally figured out how to add the toc.ncx navigation (the ebook magic that lets you skip ahead to the next chapter). While I was messing around, I added a few more references, expanded a couple of sections, and fixed all the typos that we’ve found so far.

I sent Amazon an email asking them to give everyone who already bought a copy the option to get the latest version. Unfortunately that’s not automatic, but if the powers that be decide that these changes were “major,” you should get an email telling you how to update.

Continue reading Book Updates

Let’s Play Math Book Update

I love math, but had forgotten why I developed a love for math in the first place. This book made me realize how experiences in my childhood lit a spark in me … Denise Gaskins shows us how we can ignite this fire in our own children.

I believe her suggestions are invaluable for homeschoolers, but essential for the many parents whose children are learning to dislike math in school.

— Carrie
Review at Amazon.com, December 1, 2012

If you’ve wavered on whether to pick up my math book, be warned: This is the last month for the introductory sale price. In January, the ebook price will go up to $5.99.

Continue reading Let’s Play Math Book Update

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

Continue reading Reviews for my Daughter’s Book