Let's Play Math: How Families Can Learn Math Together and Enjoy It

Transform your child’s experience of math!

Even if you struggled with mathematics in school, you can help your children enjoy learning and prepare them for academic success.

Author Denise Gaskins makes it easy with this mixture of math games, low-prep project ideas, and inspiring coffee-chat advice from a veteran homeschooling mother of five. Filled with stories and illustrations, Let's Play Math offers a practical, activity-filled exploration of what it means to learn math as a family.

Drawing on more than thirty years of teaching experience, Gaskins provides helpful tips for parents with kids from preschool to high school, whether your children learn at home or attend a traditional classroom.

Sections include:

• How to Understand Math: Introduce your children to the thrill of conquering a challenge. Build deep understanding by thinking, playing, and asking questions like a mathematician.
• Playful Problem Solving: Awaken your children’s minds to the beauty and wonder of mathematics. Discover the social side of math, and learn games for players of all ages.
• Math with Living Books: See how mathematical ideas ebb and flow through the centuries with this brief tour through history. Can your kids solve puzzles from China, India, or Ancient Egypt?
• Let’s Get Practical: Fit math into your family’s daily life, help your children develop mental calculation skills, and find out what to try when your child struggles.
• Resources and References: With so many library books and Internet sites, you’ll never run out of playful mathematical adventures.

All parents and teachers share one goal: we want our children to understand and be able to use math. Your children will gain a strong foundation when you approach math as a family game, playing with ideas.

Don’t let your children suffer from the epidemic of math anxiety. Grab a copy of Let’s Play Math, and start enjoying math today.

Denise Gaskins is a veteran homeschooling mother of five who has taught or tutored at every level from preschool to undergraduate physics. She loves math, and she delights in sharing that love with young people. "Math is not just rules and rote memory," Denise says. "Math is like ice cream, with more flavors than you can imagine. And if all you ever do is textbook math, that's like eating broccoli-flavored ice cream!"
As author of the popular blog Let's Play Math, Denise helps parents and teachers open their students' eyes to the variety and richness of mathematics. Her articles and books explore the adventure of learning math as a playful mental game.