Journaling – Page 2 – Denise Gaskins' Let's Play Math

FAQ: The Value of Math Rebellion

Posted on December 3, 2025November 11, 2025 by Denise Gaskins

$Math Rebels fight for truth, justice, and creative reasoning$

I’ve been getting questions about my Math Journaling Adventures books:

“I’m so excited to try math journaling! We bought your Logbook Alpha, and my 11-year-old math-averse son is trying to be a math rebel at every turn.

“But I feel uncomfortable with the idea of rebellion. Doesn’t he need to learn how to solve math problems the right way?”

One of my favorite things about math is that there really is no “right” way to solve math problems.

As I pointed out in my ongoing Mental Math series, even a problem as basic as 6+8 can be approached from many directions. So perhaps I should say, the “right” way is however the student wants to make sense of the problem.

In math, sense-making and reasoning are always the most important things.

Continue reading FAQ: The Value of Math Rebellion

FAQ: Playful Math Journaling

Posted on November 19, 2025November 11, 2025 by Denise Gaskins

Girl student thinking about her math journal prompt

Ever since the school year started, I’ve been getting questions about how to use my new Math Journaling Adventures logbooks.

[SIDE NOTE: These logbooks are included in this month’s Thanksgiving Sale! You’ll get an automatic 10% discount off all print books, applied at checkout, no special code required.]

“I love the way your math books get my children thinking.

“Finally, they are having fun with math!

“But sometimes I have no idea what the journaling prompt is all about or how to teach it. Where can I buy a solutions manual?”

Um, that’s not how math journals work.

The cool thing about journaling prompts is that they have no “right” answer. They are explorations into different parts of the world of math, nature walks in the land of numbers, shapes, and patterns. Springboards into whatever our children want to investigate, whatever sparks their interest.

A few of the problem-solving prompts may have specific answers, but it really doesn’t matter if our kids find the exact solution a math professional might give. If they write what makes sense to them, they’ve accomplished the goal.

If later, they think of something they hadn’t noticed, or they want to change their answer — well, that is mathematical thinking, too.

Continue reading FAQ: Playful Math Journaling

Happy Pythagorean Triple Day!

Posted on July 22, 2025July 28, 2025 by Denise Gaskins

Pythagorean Theorem demonstrated with tangrams

Thursday is Pythagorean Triple Day, one of the rarest math holidays.

The numbers of Thursday’s date: 7/24/25 or 24/7/25, fit the pattern of the Pythagorean Theorem: 7 squared + 24 squared = 25 squared.

Any three numbers that fit the a² + b² = c² pattern form a Pythagorean Triple.

Continue reading Happy Pythagorean Triple Day!

Morning Coffee: What Is Mathematics?

Posted on May 7, 2025March 27, 2025 by Denise Gaskins

Morning Coffee Lifelong Learning for Parents

One of the best ways we can help our children learn mathematics (or anything else) is to be lifelong learners ourselves.

Here are a few stories to read as you sip your morning brew. . .

Download your printable Morning Coffee journal

This week’s rabbit hole started with a thought-provoking blog post by Sara Van Der Werf…

“We are all mathematicians. We all have the power to notice, describe, and generalize patterns. You have all had this ability since birth.

“If we believe this then every day we must plan lessons that allow students to act as mathematicians. We must put something in front of our students to notice. We must put something in front of our students to describe, to generalize.”

—Sara Van Der Werf

Read more about how to develop mathematical thinking in this fourth installment of professional development for homeschooling parents.

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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 on-going basis, then please join me on Patreon for mathy inspiration, tips, and an ever-growing archive of printable activities.

“Morning Coffee: What Is Mathematics?” copyright © 2025 by Denise Gaskins. Image at the top of post copyright © Kira auf der Heide / Unsplash.

Morning Coffee: Anyone Can Learn Math

Posted on April 2, 2025February 24, 2025 by Denise Gaskins

One of the best ways we can help our children learn mathematics (or anything else) is to be lifelong learners ourselves.

Here are a few stories to read as you sip your morning brew:

Download your printable Morning Coffee journal.

Once again, my rabbit hole started with a thought-provoking blog post from Dan Finkel…

“Not everyone can become a great artist — but a great artist can come from anywhere.”
—Ego, from Ratatouille

“Ego’s parsing of the phrase anyone can cook is not obvious, and it’s not really the primary meaning of the phrase. The truth is, there are really three meanings all wrapped up there: anyone can learn to have the joy and pleasure of cooking in their life, even if they don’t become a master chef. Some people will get serious about it. And the visionaries who change the way we think about the art can come from anywhere — lock them out of the field and we all suffer.”
—Dan Finkel

Read more about how anyone can learn math in this third installment of professional development for homeschooling parents.

* * *

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 on-going basis, then please join me on Patreon for mathy inspiration, tips, and an ever-growing archive of printable activities.

“Morning Coffee: Anyone Can Learn Math” copyright © 2025 by Denise Gaskins. Image at the top of post copyright © Kira auf der Heide / Unsplash.

Math Journal: The 1-2-3 Puzzle

Posted on March 26, 2025February 24, 2025 by Denise Gaskins

There’s still time to check out my Math Journaling Adventures project and discover how playful writing activities will help your students learn mathematics. Preorder your books today!

Meanwhile, here’s a math puzzle to share with your kids…

Write down any whole number. It can be a single-digit number, or as big as you like. For example:

64,861,287,124,425,928

Now, count up the number of even digits (including zeros), the number of odd digits, and the total number of digits your number contains. Write those counted numbers down in order, like this:

64,861,287,124,425,928
even 12, odd 5, total 17

Continue reading Math Journal: The 1-2-3 Puzzle

Only Two Days Left for Math Journaling Adventures

Posted on March 25, 2025July 12, 2025 by Denise Gaskins

Math Journaling Adventures series by Denise Gaskins

If you’re a parent trying to help your child learn math…
Or a teacher looking for creative ideas for your classroom…
Or a homeschooling parent hoping to enrich your student’s understanding…

Then you’ll love the Math Journaling Adventures series because these logbooks guide your children to explore mathematics at a deeper level, building a strong foundation to support future learning.

It’s a fun way to enrich any math curriculum, and great for unschoolers, too.

But you have to ACT FAST: The Kickstarter campaign ends in 2 days!

Order Your Copy Today ❯

Continue reading Only Two Days Left for Math Journaling Adventures

Podcast: Using Math Journals and Games

Posted on March 21, 2025March 18, 2025 by Denise Gaskins

$mother and daughter math journaling$

I have a new podcast interview, and I think you’ll enjoy it!

Check out Cindy Rollins’s The New Mason Jar on your favorite podcast app, or listen on the website:

Go to the podcast ❱

Here’s an excerpt…

Writing to Learn

Just as a nature journal records our children’s explorations and discoveries in nature, so a math journal tracks our children’s explorations in the world of mathematics.

In a math journal, children record their experiences with numbers, shapes, and patterns through drawing or writing. Journaling teaches them to see with mathematical eyes — not just to remember what we adults tell them, but to create their own math.

The process of writing forces children to pin down their thoughts, to transform nebulous concepts into firm ideas, to struggle with vagueness and build understanding.

As William Zinsser says in his book Writing to Learn: “Writing is how we think our way into a subject and make it our own. Writing enables us to find out what we know, and what we don’t know.”

Through journaling, children develop a richer mathematical mindset. They begin to see connections and grow confident in their ability to think through new problems.

We had a great discussion! Listen to the whole thing:

Go to the podcast ❱

* * *

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 free email newsletter.

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

“Podcast: Using Math Journals and Games” copyright © 2025 by Denise Gaskins. Image at the top of the post copyright © AntonLozovoy / Depositphotos.

Math Journal: Three Quick Number Games

Posted on March 19, 2025February 24, 2025 by Denise Gaskins

Here are three quick math games you can fit in whenever you have a few minutes’ free time. Have fun playing math with your kids!

And if you enjoy these games, check out my Math Journaling Adventures project to discover how similar playful writing activities can help your students learn mathematics. Preorder your books today!

Continue reading Math Journal: Three Quick Number Games

Math Journal: Playing with My Own Ignorance

Posted on March 12, 2025February 24, 2025 by Denise Gaskins

Mary Everest Boole, wife of English mathematician George Boole, once described algebra as “thinking logically about the fact of our own ignorance.”

This definition made me chuckle. Like any human being, I am ignorant on many things, but I usually avoid thinking about that.

So I wondered what would happen if I took Mrs. Boole’s advice and tried thinking logically about my ignorance.

How far could I go?

Perhaps you’d like to try this experiment with your children. All you need is a pen and paper or a whiteboard and markers and a bit of curiosity.

And if you enjoy this exploration, check out my Math Journaling Adventures project to discover how playful writing activities can help your students learn mathematics. Preorder your books today!

Continue reading Math Journal: Playing with My Own Ignorance