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Charlotte Mason Math: Wrong Answers and Slovenly Teaching – Denise Gaskins' Let's Play Math
The second place where a surface-level reading of Charlotte Mason’s books can lead to misunderstanding involves the treatment of wrong answers. Mason wrote: “... quite as bad as these is the habit of allowing that a sum is nearly right, two figures wrong, and so on, and letting the child work it over again. Pronounce a…
Gratis Games and Playful Math News – Denise Gaskins' Let's Play Math
Do you want to help your children learn math? Teach them to play. Grab a free copy of my Let's Play Math Sampler: 10 Family-Favorite Games for Learning Math Through Play, which contains short excerpts from my most popular titles. It’s a great way to get started with playful math. 😍 As a bonus, I'll…
Math Game Monday: Radar – Denise Gaskins' Let's Play Math
In this game players race around a circular gameboard. But watch out! The player who finishes the race loses the game. 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. Radar Math…
Thinking Thursday: Familiar Math – Denise Gaskins' Let's Play Math
Writing to Learn Math: Writing helps students stretch their thinking and make sense of new ideas. Do you want your children to develop the ability to reason creatively and figure out things on their own? Help kids practice slowing down and taking the time to fully comprehend a math topic or problem-solving situation with these…
Celebrate Fibonacci Day with Playful Math Carnival 176 – Denise Gaskins' Let's Play Math
Fibonacci Day is November 23rd (11/23 in the American date style), and this year it falls on a Saturday. But that's no excuse not to celebrate! We can do math on the weekend, you know. Or we can just play in advance of the day itself. In fact, we could take a whole Fibonacci Week…
Charlotte Mason Math: The Trouble with Manipulatives – Denise Gaskins' Let's Play Math
Two passages in Charlotte Mason’s writing about math are in my opinion widely misunderstood. The first relates to the proper use of manipulatives. Mason believed strongly in the importance of physical objects and oral work (mental math) in early math education. In her priorities, the use of written calculation fell in distant third place. “A…
Math Game Monday: Coin Chain – Denise Gaskins' Let's Play Math
This game helps young children master the value of coins, while also providing a delightful strategic challenge to players of any age. 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. Coin…
Thinking Thursday: Sierpinski Triangle – Denise Gaskins' Let's Play Math
Writing to Learn Math: At its heart, geometry is all about seeing connections and relationships. Do you want your children to develop the ability to reason creatively and figure out things on their own? Help kids practice slowing down and taking the time to fully comprehend a math topic or problem-solving situation with these classic…
Charlotte Mason Math: Finding Time for Big Ideas – Denise Gaskins' Let's Play Math
“Teachers have seldom time to give the inspiring ideas, what Coleridge calls, the ‘Captain’ ideas, which should quicken imagination. How living would Geometry become in the light of the discoveries of Euclid as he made them!” — Charlotte Mason, Towards a Philosophy of Education The Captain ideas are the great Truths of a subject, the…
Math Game Monday: Mystery Number Challenge – Denise Gaskins' Let's Play Math
This cooperative "game" is a fun way to play with prealgebra concepts, even with young children. 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. Mystery Number Challenge Math Concepts: arithmetic operations…
Oh, Internet, Thou Fickle Friend! – Denise Gaskins' Let's Play Math
Whew! I just finished going through ALL of my massive Internet Math Resources pages and fixing the links that had broken since the (too long ago) last time I checked. Way too many broken links. Pages lost to the ether: fun old hobby sites of a teacher who retired and lost their school-sponsored page, sites…
Charlotte Mason Math: How Shall We Teach? – Denise Gaskins' Let's Play Math
Even in Mason’s day, testing drove much of educational policy, but we must not allow ourselves to fall into the trap of teaching for a test. Just as we do not study history in order to win a trivia contest, so we do not study math merely to produce answers on an exam. “Arithmetic, Mathematics,…
Thinking Thursday: Erlina Ronda – Denise Gaskins' Let's Play Math
Writing to Learn Math: What did the author mean? Put the thought in your own words. Do you agree or disagree? Why? Do you want your children to develop the ability to reason creatively and figure out things on their own? Help kids practice slowing down and taking the time to fully comprehend a math…
Math Game Monday: Fight for the Center – Denise Gaskins' Let's Play Math
This game helps students practice working with data and the different types of averages. 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. So what are you waiting for? Let's play some…
Thinking Thursday: Interior Decorating – Denise Gaskins' Let's Play Math
Writing to Learn Math: Measurement is our way of connecting numbers to the things we find in the world, in daily life. Do you want your children to develop the ability to reason creatively and figure out things on their own? Help kids practice slowing down and taking the time to fully comprehend a math…
Charlotte Mason Math: Our Educational Tools – Denise Gaskins' Let's Play Math
“Therefore, we are limited to three educational instruments––the atmosphere of environment, the discipline of habit, and the presentation of living ideas. The P.N.E.U.* Motto is: Education is an atmosphere, a discipline, and a life.” — Charlotte Mason, Principle 5 This principle is the key to a Charlotte Mason education. Most of her books consist of…
Podcast: The Beauty of Math in the Charlotte Mason Paradigm – Denise Gaskins' Let's Play Math
I have a new podcast interview, and I think you'll enjoy it! Check out Cindy Rollins's The New Mason Jar (Season 7, Episode 93) on your favorite podcast app, or listen on the website: Go to the podcast ❱ Here's a couple of excerpts... The Foundation of Mathematics More than anything else, Mason wanted her…
Don’t Miss Playful Math Carnival 175 via The Beauty of Play – Denise Gaskins' Let's Play Math
Della Parker hosted the Playful Math Carnival with a delicious spread of math delicacies. Check out all the mathy inspiration, games, and hands-on activity ideas: Playful Math Carnival 175 The blog carnival is like a free online extravaganza of mathematical play, a virtual map to articles by teachers and bloggers all around the world. I…
Math Game Monday: Spill the Beans – Denise Gaskins' Let's Play Math
This game offers a hands-on reason for children to practice adding numbers up to 1,000 --- or whatever target you wish. 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. Spill the…
Math Game Monday: Math Model War – Denise Gaskins' Let's Play Math
This game helps children develop a strong foundation for understanding multiplication and fractions. Play it frequently until your students become so familiar with the pictures that they can use them to model any problem they encounter. Many parents remember struggling to learn math. We hope to provide a better experience for our children. And one…
Charlotte Mason Math: Practice Your Principles – Denise Gaskins' Let's Play Math
In our search for a Charlotte Mason math education, we must take into consideration Mason’s approach to all learning, not just the things she said about math. We must be guided by the core principles of her philosophy, even in math “We hold that the child’s mind is no mere sac to hold ideas; but…
Thinking Thursday: Games – Denise Gaskins' Let's Play Math
Writing to Learn Math: You can spark creative thought by removing any need to worry about spelling or punctuation rules. Do you want your children to develop the ability to reason creatively and figure out things on their own? Help kids practice slowing down and taking the time to fully comprehend a math topic or…
Thinking Thursday: Sam Vandervelde’s Criss-Cross – Denise Gaskins' Let's Play Math
Writing to Learn Math: Games are the ultimate re-playable activity prompts. Do you want your children to develop the ability to reason creatively and figure out things on their own? Help kids practice slowing down and taking the time to fully comprehend a math topic or problem-solving situation with these classic tools of learning: Notice.…
Charlotte Mason Math: Reason and Proof – Denise Gaskins' Let's Play Math
The two ideas that Mason considered important in math --- rightness and reason --- are connected. It is our reasoning that convinces us an answer is right or wrong. How do we know we got a sum correct? We can take the numbers apart and add them another way, to see if we get the same answer.…
Math Game Monday: The Great Escape – Denise Gaskins' Let's Play Math
This cooperative game challenges students to use their number skills in escaping from a WWII prisoner of war camp. 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. The Great Escape Math…
Thinking Thursday: Henri Poincare – Denise Gaskins' Let's Play Math
Writing to Learn Math: What did the author mean? Put the thought in your own words. Do you agree or disagree? Why? Do you want your children to develop the ability to reason creatively and figure out things on their own? Help kids practice slowing down and taking the time to fully comprehend a math…
Introduction to Charlotte Mason Math – Denise Gaskins' Let's Play Math
“The Principality of Mathematics is a mountainous land, but the air is very fine and health-giving. People who seek their work or play in this principality find themselves braced by effort and satisfied with truth.” — Charlotte Mason, Ourselves Charlotte Mason (1842-1923) was a British school reformer at the turn of the twentieth century, a…
Math Game Monday: The Ten Cards – Denise Gaskins' Let's Play Math
This strategy game is fun for all ages. It's a classic, from the imaginative mind of H. E. Dudeney. 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. The Ten Cards Math Concepts: logic,…
Thinking Thursday: Reinvent Your Homework 1 – Denise Gaskins' Let's Play Math
Writing to Learn Math: When students create their own math, they forge a personal connection to mathematical concepts and relationships. And it’s fun! Do you want your children to develop the ability to reason creatively and figure out things on their own? Help kids practice slowing down and taking the time to fully comprehend a…
The Rhythm of Math Games – Denise Gaskins' Let's Play Math
The art of homeschooling math begins with the rhythm of puzzle play. It continues with games, which are social puzzles. Games are fun, building a positive attitude toward math. They give students a refreshing break from textbook work and make kids willing to practice their math. But more important than the fun, math games push…
Limited Time: A New Set of History Strategy Games – Denise Gaskins' Let's Play Math
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…
Math Game Monday: Fifteen – Denise Gaskins' Let's Play Math
This strategy-based card game challenges players to make a simple sum. Can you find three cards that add up to 15? 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. Fifteen Math…
Thinking Thursday: Exponential Halves – Denise Gaskins' Let's Play Math
Writing to Learn Math: People learn math by playing with ideas. A math journal can be like a science lab book. Do you want your children to develop the ability to reason creatively and figure out things on their own? Help kids practice slowing down and taking the time to fully comprehend a math topic…
The Rhythm of Math Puzzles – Denise Gaskins' Let's Play Math
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…
Math Game Monday: Operations – Denise Gaskins' Let's Play Math
This game offers students in upper-elementary and beyond plenty of practice with mental math and the order of operations. 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. Operations Math Concepts: addition,…
Thinking Thursday: Which One Doesn’t Belong? – Denise Gaskins' Let's Play Math
Writing to Learn Math: Problem-solving cares less about whether an answer is right and more about whether a solution makes sense. Do you want your children to develop the ability to reason creatively and figure out things on their own? Help kids practice slowing down and taking the time to fully comprehend a math topic…
Learning Math with Puzzles – Denise Gaskins' Let's Play Math
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…
New Math Game Books and a Back-to-School Sale – Denise Gaskins' Let's Play Math
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: See What's…
Math Game Monday: Domino Bond – Denise Gaskins' Let's Play Math
This game uses double-6 dominoes to practice simple addition for young children. But it's also a great strategy game for players of any age. 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…
Thinking Thursday: Tom Bodett – Denise Gaskins' Let's Play Math
Writing to Learn Math: What did the author mean? Put the thought in your own words. Do you agree or disagree? Why? Do you want your children to develop the ability to reason creatively and figure out things on their own? Help kids practice slowing down and taking the time to fully comprehend a math…