Christmas Tree Math Games: Number Play on a Triangular Hundred Chart features 4 easy-to-learn games and 6 additional activities for primary and middle-grade students.
All you need is a set of dice and a few colorful markers.
Our newest book by Denise Gaskins, Christmas Tree Math Games includes instructions and tips for the teacher, math game pages for handouts or learning centers, plus a variety of dot-grid journaling paper.
These are NOT the typical memory-and-speed-based math games you’ve probably seen online, but true battles of wit and skill (plus a bit of luck).
Perfect ice-breakers for family gatherings, classroom warmups, or for launching a group game night. You’ll be surprised how much fun thinking hard can be!
30-page printable pdf file available with 8 1/2 by 11 (letter size) or A4 pages.
Denise Gaskins put together a great assortment of games for playing math from preschool through high school, including the Best Math Game Ever and how children can make up their own Creative Nim math and logic games.
These printable (pdf) activity books include instructions and tips for the teacher, math game pages in full-color and ink-saving black-and-white, plus a variety of dot-grid journaling paper. Available with 8 1/2 by 11 (letter size) or A4 pages. For ages 3 to adult.
Have fun playing math with your kids!
What About the Paperbacks?
If you missed out Kickstarter earlier this year and have been waiting for the books to show up in paperback through the regular bookstores, it now looks like that’s not going to happen.
Unfortunately, the automatic book servers at Amazon and the other stores we’ve checked don’t seem to like working outside the standard US distribution system. But in order to get the saddle-stitch (stapled) and spiral bindings that would make the books lay flat for playing games, we had to go through a printer in the UK.
You can order the books from our printer through The Great British Book Shop, which ships worldwide:
You’ll also be able to order the Volume One books through next year’s Volume Two Kickstarter, planned for sometime in January.
For now, Denise has a handful of signed books left from fulfilling this year’s Kickstarter orders. If you want one of those, contact her directly.
And one of these days, we’ll figure out a reliable way to connect our online store with the printer, so we can sell paperbacks there. Still working on that…
You can help prevent math anxiety by giving your children the mental tools they need to conquer math problems.
Young children expect to look at a word problem and instantly see the answer. But as they get older, their textbook math problems also grow in difficulty, so this solution-by-intuitive-leap becomes impossible. Too often the frustrated child concludes, “I’m just not good at math.”
With practice, however, any student can learn to master word problems.
Word Problems from Literature features math puzzles for elementary and middle school students inspired by classic books such as Mr. Popper’s Penguins and The Hobbit. Denise Gaskins demonstrates step by step how to solve these problems — and how to build a strong foundation of problem-solving skills that can handle any situation.
And when you finish the puzzles in this book, Denise shows you how to create your own word problems from literature, using your child’s favorite story worlds.
You’ll love this book, because it prepares your children for mathematical success. Order your copy of Word Problems from Literature today.
To have a successful campaign, we need plenty of people to back the project early. The more supporters we get, the more likely the Kickstarter service folks will help spread the news for us.
So we’re offering a special bonus printable activity guide for everyone who joins the campaign at any pledge level during the first week of the campaign:
Geometric Coloring Designs 4: Islamic Patterns is one of Denise’s favorite open-ended math art activities, which works with students from elementary to high school. And adults enjoy it, too!
Other Geometric Coloring Designs books will show up as bonuses in future weeks, and early backers get them all. Whether you pledge on day 1 or day 21, your credit card won’t be charged until the campaign ends, so join early to lock in your bonus perks.
Let’s show the whole world how much fun it can be to play around with math!
We’re trying several new reward options we’ve never done before. (The “rewards” on Kickstarter are all the various things you can buy with your support pledge.)
Here’s a quick peek at a few of the new things to come.
This is going to be so much fun!
Math Games Book Boxes
You can choose from two sizes.
The smaller Math Games Book Box includes one paperback Math Games Booklet at your child’s level: Early Games, Primary Games, or Advanced Games. Plus one enamel pin, and either a set of cards and dice or a small whiteboard with markers.
The Mega Math Games Gift Box includes the spiral-bound Deluxe Omnibus book (which contains all three smaller books and more), plus all unlocked pin designs, and plenty of cards, dice, and other handy supplies shown above. (Colors will vary.)
Enamel Pins
Show your gaming spirit with these cool enamel pins.
By popular request, we have enamel pins in four designs. The first two are available immediately, and two more will unlock as Stretch Goals.
“Let’s Play Math” in cool spring colors
“Let’s Play Math” in warm fall colors
Deck of playing cards (unlocks at Stretch Goal #1)
Penrose triangle of rainbow blocks from the back of the playing cards (unlocks at Stretch Goal #3)
Pins are about 1″ diameter hard enamel, for the perfect combination of durability and fun color. Backed with a metal military-style butterfly clip for extra strength, so it won’t fall off your backpack or bag.
If you choose a reward level that includes pins, or buy them as an add-on to another level, be sure to fill out your post-campaign survey to tell me which design you want.
Limited International Shipping
Digital rewards are available worldwide.
For physical books and merchandise, we can offer shipping to a few countries with small-business-friendly tax laws:
UK, for books only (no merchandise)
European Union
Canada
Australia
New Zealand
South Africa
and the US, as always
You may owe import duties and VAT before you can claim your package. We have no control over the customs clearance process in your country, so you might want to check with your local customs officials or post office for details on what to expect.
Do you want to help your children master problem-solving skills?
Check out our temporary BackerKit preorder store for anyone who missed the Kickstarter.
Through the end of September, you can place a preorder for the early-release edition of Word Problems from Literature, along with the Word Problems Student Workbook and exclusive Audio Commentary (or any of Denise Gaskins’s other books or printable math activity guides).
We’ll lock down the preorder store when we’re ready to send the Kickstarter order to my printer.
Books will be delivered with the Kickstarter orders: Digital items in October, physical books by the end of December.
PLUS, for everyone who supports the project today, you get a free bonus book with one of Denise Gaskins’s best-loved playful math activities for all ages: “How Crazy Can You Make It?”
Do you want your children to enjoy learning math? Teach them how to play!
After the troubles of recent years, it’s even more important for families to play together. So we’ve made the ebook version of Let’s Play Math Sampler: 10 Family-Favorite Games for Learning Math Through Play permanently free.
What a great way to introduce your child to the joy of learning!
With excerpts taken from five of Denise Gaskins’s most popular books, the Let’s Play Math Sampler features ten kid-tested games covering math concepts from counting to prealgebra.
Pick up a copy today, and make math a playful family adventure.
It’s finally here! 312 Things To Do with a Math Journal includes number play prompts, games, math art, story problems, mini-essays, geometry investigations, brainteasers, number patterns, research projects, and much more.
These activities work at any grade level, and most can be enjoyed more than once. It doesn’t matter whether your students are homeschooled or in a classroom, distance-learning, or in person. Everyone can enjoy the experience of playing around with math.
Are you looking for new ways to help your children learn math?
In a math journal, children explore their own ideas about numbers, shapes, and patterns through drawing or writing in response to a question.
Journaling encourages students to develop a rich mathematical mindset. They begin to see connections and make sense of math concepts. They grow confident in their ability to think through new ideas.
All they need is a piece of paper, a pencil, and a good prompt to launch their mathematical journey.
312 Things To Do with a Math Journal by Denise Gaskins includes number play prompts, games, math art, story problems, mini-essays, geometry investigations, brainteasers, number patterns, research projects, and much more.
These activities work at any grade level, and most can be enjoyed more than once. It doesn’t matter whether your students are homeschooled or in a classroom, distance-learning, or in person. Everyone can enjoy the experience of playing around with math.
“I remember doing pages and pages of dull equations with no creativity or puzzle-thinking, but now as a homeschool mom, I’m actually enjoying math for the first time! My daughter’s math skills have skyrocketed and she always asks to start homeschool with math.”
“Thank you for a great intro to Playful Math!”
“All of the kids were excited about their journals. My oldest kept going without prompting and did several more pages on his own.”
“We had a lot of fun doing your math prompts. We had never done any math journaling before, but we will certainly integrate this into our weekly routine from now on.”
Pick up a copy of 312 Things To Do with a Math Journal and begin your family’s math journaling adventure today.
Are you’re looking for new math activities to play with your kids?
Math maven Denise Gaskins just added several new printable activity guides and discount bundles to our online store — including a huge variety of math journaling resources.
And for the next week or so, you can get 15% off anything in our store by using the coupon code TABLETOP15 at checkout.
Our newest book by Denise Gaskins, Christmas Tree Math Games includes instructions and tips for the teacher, math game pages for handouts or learning centers, plus a variety of dot-grid journaling paper.
312 Things To Do with a Math Journal by Denise Gaskins includes number play prompts, games, math art, story problems, mini-essays, geometry investigations, brainteasers, number patterns, research projects, and much more.
Tabletop Academy Press 