“Reading one of Gaskins’ books is like going to a really great teacher workshop — part philosophy, part practical ideas, and all excellent. She just oozes expertise and enthusiasm.”
—Amy at Hope Is the Word
Click Here to Shop Our Ebooks & Printable Activities
(Our authors earn 50% more royalties when you choose to cut out the middleman and buy direct.)
Find Out More About Our Books
- New to playful math? Start with the Sampler
- Or go directly to Let’s Play Math
- Then explore the Math You Can Play series
- Try Denise’s newest series, the Playful Math Singles
- Join the Math Rebellion with Journals for Adventurous Students
- Or explore math topics with a Printable Activity Guide
- Record your discoveries in Dot Grid Journals for children and adults
Brand New — Limited Time Only!
My new book, 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.
Through journaling, children come to realize that learning is more than memorizing facts and procedures, and they develop a richer mathematical mindset. They begin to see connections and make sense of math concepts. They grow confident in their ability to think through new ideas.
Check out the Kickstarter page, download the free 16-page printable Math Journaling Sampler file, and launch your family’s math journaling adventure today.
Visit the Playful Math Journaling Kickstarter
“Denise Gaskins is that sound voice of reason that comes into my head when I get agitated teaching. This isn’t performance — this is play. My kids aren’t on trial, they are learning to learn.”
—Sonya Post, online reader review
New to Playful Math? Start Here
Do you want your children to enjoy learning math? Teach them how to play!
In this time of pandemic crisis, 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 free for the duration.
With excerpts taken from author 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.
Or shop your favorite online store:
… and other online retailers, or request a paperback copy from your local bookshop.
“Math is so many things — beauty, structure, problem solving, communication, language, creativity — but here’s what I’ve learned as I’ve tried to help my children develop positive relationships with math: It All Begins With Play. Anything by Denise Gaskins is a fantastic place to start. These books are filled with the perfect combination of perspective and practicality.”
—Michele Johnson, Instagram post
Transform Your Child’s Experience of Math
Filled with stories and illustrations, Let’s Play Math: How Families Can Learn Math Together and Enjoy It features activities for preschool to high school students. It’s a treasure trove of helpful tips for all families, whether your children are homeschooling, unschooling, or attending a traditional classroom.
Even if you struggled with math in school, you can help your kids practice mental math skills, master the basic facts, and ask the kind of questions that encourage deeper thought.
Don’t let your kids suffer from the epidemic of math anxiety. Grab a copy of Let’s Play Math, and start enjoying math today.
Or shop your favorite online store:
… and other online retailers, or request a paperback copy from your local bookshop.
“This is the math helper I wish I’d had years ago.”
—Anne White, author of Minds More Awake
Math Your Kids WANT to Do
You’ll love these math games because they give your child a strong foundation for mathematical success.
By playing these games, you strengthen your child’s intuitive understanding of numbers and build problem-solving strategies. Mastering a math game can be hard work. But kids do it willingly because it’s fun.
Each book in the Math You Can Play series features twenty or more kid-tested math games, offering a variety of challenges for all ages.
- Read detailed descriptions and reviews.
- Download the Math Game Printables Packs companion files.
Or shop your favorite online store:
Amazon.com (and Amazon UK, Amazon CA, Amazon AU, Amazon IN, and other Amazon stores worldwide)
… or request a paperback copy from your local bookshop.
“It revolutionized our homeschool this year.”
—Caitlin Fitzpatrick Curley, author of My Little Poppies
Under construction: the Playful Math Singles series
The Playful Math Singles from Tabletop Academy Press are short, topical books featuring clear explanations and ready-to-play activities. More titles coming soon…
Word Problems from Literature: An Introduction to Bar Model Diagrams
You can help prevent math anxiety by giving your children the mental tools they need to conquer the toughest story problems.
The main book is a teacher’s guide with explanations and answers. You may also want the companion student workbook featuring just the word problems (with extra room for children to create their own puzzles).
Get the ebook from your favorite online store, or request a paperback copy from your local bookshop.
70+ Things To Do with a Hundred Chart: Number, Shape, and Logic Activities from Preschool to Middle School
We love easy activities that require minimal preparation so we can pull something out and play when we’re having one of those no-energy days.
Take your child on a mathematical adventure with these playful, practical activities. Who knew math could be so much fun?
Get the ebook from your favorite online store, or request a paperback copy from your local bookshop.
Let’s Play Math Sampler: 10 Family-Favorite Games for Learning Math Through Play
Do you want your children to enjoy learning math? Teach them how to play!
In excerpts from author 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 of the Let’s Play Math Sampler today, and make math a playful family adventure.
Get the ebook from your favorite online store, or request a paperback copy from your local bookshop.
Shop for the Playful Math Singles in Paperback
Amazon.com (and Amazon UK, Amazon CA, Amazon IN, and in the other Amazons worldwide)
…or by special request at your favorite local bookseller.
“I feel like I’ve been ambling in the woods — enjoying the journey but a bit anxious about where we’re going to end up and whether we’re going to reach our ‘destination’ ‘on time’ (whatever that means!).
“I knew the well-travelled road (maths curricula) wasn’t for us, but I lacked confidence in my ability to guide my children through uncharted territory. Let’s Play Math is the map and the guidebook I’ve been looking for. With it in my hand I can’t wait to take my children by the hand and head off to explore the wonderful world of maths.”
—Lucinda Leo, Navigating by Joy
Explore Math as a Creative Adventure
Amazon Exclusive: Sorry, these books are currently available only through Amazon.
Are you looking for new ways to explore math with your kids? Would you like an easy, no-prep resource for creative problem-solving, number play, math art, word problems, mini-essays, brainteasers, patterns, research projects, and much more?
Buy Now:
- Math Rebel: Creative Problem-Solving for Adventurous Students
- Odyssey: The Adventure of Learning
- Reflections of Infinity: The Adventure of Learning Mathematics
You can read all about the journals at the Make 100 Math Rebels Kickstarter project page. The Kickstarter campaign has ended, but the free 10-page How To Be a Math Rebel sampler download remains available.
“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.”
—Denise Gaskins
Printable Activity Guides
Now that we’ve got an online store of our own, Denise Gaskins has been filling it with playful math activities.
These games, worksheets, discussion prompts, and lesson guides spring from more than three decades of math club and homeschool coop enrichment classes. It’s a great collection of low- or no-prep ideas for playing math with your kids.
The first two Geometric Coloring Designs books are permafree. And we’ve kept all the other prices as low as possible to fit struggling family budgets.
Just go to our online store and click the “Printable Activity Guides” button to check out all the mathy fun.
Do you prefer a different store? Most of the titles are also available from Teachers Pay Teachers, and I’m in the process of getting them uploaded to Amazon.com Ignite.
Click Each Title for a Detailed Description
Free Books:
- Geometric Coloring Designs 1: Doodling with Shapes
- Geometric Coloring Designs 2: Create Your Own Art
- Let’s Play Math Sampler: 10 Family-Favorite Games for Learning Math Through Play
Math Art:
- Geometric Coloring Designs 3: Isometric Drafting
- Geometric Coloring Designs 4: Islamic Patterns
- Geometric Coloring Designs 5: Advanced Tessellations
- Star Polygons: A Math Art Project
- Prime Factor Art: Playing with Multiplication
Games and Puzzles:
- Math You Can Play Sample Games: Playful Math from Preschool to Prealgebra
- Launch It: Nim Games for All Ages
- Skyscrapers: A Hands-On Logic Puzzle for Kids
Math Facts and Number Play:
- Diffy Inception: Subtraction Puzzles with Whole Numbers
- Diffy Inception: Subtraction Puzzles with Fractions, Decimals
- Diffy Inception: Subtraction Puzzles with Integers
- Diffy Inception Bundle: Subtraction Puzzles from Primary Math to Prealgebra
- Prime Factor Art: Playing with Multiplication
Problem-Solving Skills:
- The Gerrymander Project: Math in the World of Politics
- Join the Math Rebellion: Creative Problem-Solving Tips for Adventurous Students
“It’s a crime, really, that school makes math so boring, when there are so many ways to do the opposite, for anyone who wants to. Denise Gaskins’s book is full of ideas.”
—Sasha Alyson, Online reader review
Dot Grid Journals for Children and Adults
Learning is a great adventure for elementary and middle-school students.
And for their parents, too!
These Dot Grid Journals provide a great place for children and adults to keep track of our discoveries.
The roomy pages offer plenty of space to record memories, plan projects, and keep track of tasks. Your children can solve challenge problems, write explanations, or design their own puzzles. Brainstorm for reports, jot down ideas, work out homework, copy your favorite quotations, or doodle to your heart’s content.
Perfect for use as a commonplace book or to help your child master Bullet Journaling. The paperback binding provides strength without adding weight. Tough enough to withstand a crowded purse or schoolbag.
Order a Dot Grid Journal today, and launch your child (or yourself!) on a voyage of educational exploration.
For more information:
- Read the story behind the journals.
- Try these math journaling prompts.
- Get ideas for mathematical doodling.
Available only through Amazon:
Amazon.com (and Amazon UK, Amazon CA, and other Amazon stores worldwide)
when will the books be available? I hope soon, my 13 yr old daughter is struggling badly with doing adding, subtracting, multiply of fractions and other pre algebra work and so am I, we really need some help! 2 people tried to tutor her but the next day she would forget what she learned, I hope this book can help her.
Hi, Cindy, and thank you for dropping by! I hope to get the Multiplication & Fractions book out next year, in 2016, but I’m sure you want something sooner than that for helping your daughter.
James Tanton has an interestingly different approach to learning fractions — perhaps it will click with her.
And John Golden recently collected a nice set of free algebra resources that you can try (scroll down to the bullet-point list).
Finally, please check out Jo Boaler’s YouCubed website for inspiration and advice on learning math. And sign up for her free How to Learn Math course for students and parents.
I guess some of your books are useful in my research. Life is a mathematical problem. To pick up the most, you need to realize how to change over negatives into positives. I have to purchase one of them soon. Thanks!
Hi, Jerry, I hope you find something interesting!