Math Recess: Playful Learning in an Age of Disruption

“Let’s play math!”

In the theme of recess, where a treasure chest of balls, ropes, and toys would be kept for children to play with, this book holds a deep and imaginative collection of fun mathematical ideas, puzzles, and problems. Written for anyone interested in or actively engaged in schools—parents, teachers, administrators, school board members—Math Recess by Sunil Singh and Chris Brownell shows math as a playful, fun, and wonderfully human activity that everyone can enjoy… for a lifetime!

“Math Recess is a breathless ride!” —Kimberly Morrow-Leong, NCSM 2018 program chair, author of Mathematize It! 

“I absolutely adore this book. With clarity, power, and exuberance, Chris and Sunil spell out and make concrete what it means to play.” —James Tanton, PhD, founder of the Global Math Project

“Here’s to the dabblers. The tinkerers. The fantasizers. The curious ones who believe math education can and should be about play. Here’s to the humanity of friendships that lead to mathematical love. Sunil Singh and Christopher S. Brownell are bold. Go, be bold with them. All are welcome.” —Mary Kemper, president of the Texas Association of Supervisors of Mathematics

“Through rich storytelling and powerful examples, Singh and Brownell make the clear case for upending math education as we know it and replacing it with an ideology we can all embrace: Mathematics is and can be deeply learned through play.” —Denis Sheeran, author, Instant Relevance and Hacking Math

“Disruption begins with ‘Re.’ Rather than trying to fix a broken system, it is time to reimagine a new one, and Math Recess completely satisfies my appetite for destruction.” —Brian Aspinall, educator, author of Code Breaker and Block Breaker