Counting & Number Bonds (PAPERBACK)

When it comes to math, I agree with Gaskins that so many kids are not a lover of the subject. I myself found it difficult and so I have been on a missing to make it fun again. This book is just what I needed to bring back the math fun.I love how each game is set up.

The game starts off with a set of skills learned as well as what is needed to play. We had most of the tools like dice, cards, and dominoes. Some games needed a printables, but they were easy to print. Not all games used a template so not worries if you cannot print.

What I loved about this book, is the selection of games. They were all very easy to play. They are not time-consuming. Best part, you can customize it for your child. These games are great to have both in a classroom and home setting. It is never to late to make math fun again.

I received this book in exchange for an honest review. All reviews are mine and were in no way influenced by outside sources. I am a professional blogger at Little Lady Plays

Lots of great ideas that will be used to enhance my math instruction.

To be honest, math was never my favorite subject in school. However, I was fairly good at it through grade four. Then in grade five, we got hit with the “new math.” The poor teachers, who were used to instructing the old way, seemed at a loss, and I was fairly stumped until seventh grade when we had a math teacher who really knew his stuff. As a result, though I still did not care for math that much, I was able to negotiate it through high school and college. Because learning math is so important, homeschooling parents are always looking for the “right” curriculum—Saxon Math, Singapore Math, Math-U-See, etc. Maybe the curriculum would not matter so much if the students could just see that math can be fun.In this Volume 1 of her “Math You Can Play” series, author Denise Gaskins, a veteran homeschooling mother of five who has taught or tutored mathematics at every level from preschool to undergraduate physics, provides kid-tested games which offer a variety of challenges for preschool and early-elementary learners. Young children can play with counting and number recognition, while older students explore place value, build number sense, and begin learning the basics of addition, using common, everyday objects such as playing cards, dominoes, and dice. Denise says, “I encourage parents to look beyond the textbook–a useful tool, but such a limited one. We want to explore the adventure of learning real mathematics, math as mental play, the essence of creative problem solving. This is what we need to teach our children: Mathematics is not just rules and rote memory. Math is a game, playing with ideas.”There are four main sections in the book. “A Strategy for Learning” contains introductory material. “Counting and Number Bond Games” has four chapters: “Early Counting: Practice;” “Childhood Classics;” “Number Bonds;” and “Bigger Numbers,” with a total of 21 math games which will help students to develop familiarity with numbers and promote strategic thinking skills. Classroom teachers can use them as warm-ups or for review day at the end of a term. Homeschoolers can make games a regular part of their lesson plans to build the students’ mental math skills. “Playing to Learn Math” offers some teaching philosophy. The final section contains “Resources and References.” And there is an index. Parents whose young ones are struggling with math should find this book useful. The next book in the series is Addition and Subtraction: Math Games for Elementary Students, Grades K-4.

My oldest son is 3.5, and we're planning to homeschool. The idea of choosing a math curriculum is daunting, and researching all of the different options and philosophies can be overwhelming. This is why I'm so grateful to have come across Denise Gaskin's Lets Play Math series. I appreciated her insight - sprinkled throughout the book in the form of personal anecdotes and quotations from Plato to Charlotte Mason - into the idea that math should be fun. And I'm glad my son's introduction to math will be in the form of games and not a dry workbook.While many of the games in this book are too advanced for my three year old, many of them are age appropriate. I look forward to incorporating some of them in to our newly instituted weekly family game night. The author very clearly outlines the materials needed (most of which are just playing cards, dominoes and dice - though there are some very helpful suggestions for creating kid-friendly decks of cards and card holders), and the games described include a history of the game, along with visual diagrams of how to play them. I also appreciate the use of actual math terms and the inclusion of a comprehensive resource list at the end.

Easy to read, well-written math games my kids enjoy playing! I enjoy playing with them, too!