S8E106: Using Math Journals and Games with Denise Gaskins
School and society teach us to view mathematics as a race. You run as fast as you can from one topic to the next. But let me give you a new vision of mathematics. I want you to think of math as a nature walk. There’s a whole wide, wild world of interesting things — more ideas, more patterns, more concepts than you and your children would ever have time to study. And everywhere you look, there’s something cool to discover.
Denise Gaskins, 312 Things To Do with a Math Journal
Show Summary:
- On this week’s episode of The New Mason Jar, Cindy and Dawn are joined by Denise Gaskins, veteran homeschool mom and math coach and tutor
- What are math logbooks, and why are they a helpful learning tool?
- Would Charlotte Mason have encouraged math games?
- How can math games progress as students gain proficiency with them?
- What is wrong with traditional math curricula, and do we need to change it?
- Denise gives Cindy and Dawn a math game prompt to show how these practices can work
- What are some ideas for students with math anxiety?
Listen Now:
Books and Links Mentioned:
Mathematical Adventures: Playful Math Logbooks Sample by Denise Gaskins
Math Journaling Adventures Kickstarter Campaign
Episode 93: The Beauty of Math in the Charlotte Mason Paradigm with Denise Gaskins
Math and Magic in Wonderland by Lilac Mohr
Find Cindy and Denise:
Cindy’s Patreon Discipleship Group
Mere Motherhood Facebook Group
Subscribe:
This is how mathematics works. Mathematicians notice something interesting about certain numbers, shapes, or ideas. They play around and explore how those relate to other ideas. After collecting a set of interesting things, they think about ways to organize them. They wonder about patterns and connections. They make conjectures and try to imagine ways to test them. And mathematicians talk with one another and compare their ideas. In real life, math is a very social game.
Denise Gaskins, Prealgebra & Geometry: Math Games for Middle School
