Let’s Play Math!

Photo by jaycoxfilm.

Math concepts: mental calculations, math vocabulary, and anything else you want to include
Number of players: any number, but I think it works best with two players who alternate asking questions
Equipment: imagination and, if necessary, scratch paper

Many years ago, I read a magazine article by mathematical music critic Edward Rothstein, wherein he described a game he invented for his daughter:

“What number am I? If you add me to myself, you get four.”

Rather than explaining the rules of the game, let me tell you a story…

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Photo by Niner.

My yard, my life! This was our front yard and driveway last weekend, as we rushed through our last-minute preparations for the County Fair. Niner, too old for 4-H, was determined to get her photos entered in the open competition before Saturday afternoon’s deadline. She rolled up her pants legs and waded through the drink, using her feet to feel out the edges of the driveway and marking the path with red-flagged fence posts so the Jeep could make it through.

Just in case you were wondering why there were no new posts this week.

It took 4+ years of practice and one solid hour of sweating — which included punching and kicking his dad as hard as he could (holding the karate pad is no easy job!) and the breaking of two boards — but it was worth it. Last night, Chickenfoot received his black belt, being presented in the photo by his instructor, Sir John.

Congatulations, son!

[Disclaimer: I gave in to blogger's poetic license for a catchy title. To tell the truth, I am sure Chickenfoot wouldn't consider himself a math geek at all. Math is far from being his favorite subject, even though he is good at it.]

Photo by ninjapoodles.

As if I didn’t have enough things to do, I have started a new blog: Frugal Homeschooling, inspired by the popularity of my math resource page. For months, I have been wanting to write a similar page about homeschooling, but it always seemed like too big a chore even to get started.

On the new blog, however, I can enter links one post at a time — check out the latest Frugal posts in the sidebar widget, just under my Popular Posts list. Bit by bit, I hope it will grow into a helpful resource list for homeschoolers.

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Photo by Niner.

The daughter who supplies my header photos has started a blog to show off her pictures:

Niner’s SnapFair
[It's pronounced "NEE-ner."]

Her photography skills continue to improve, and her sense of humor comes through in the stories that accompany each photo. I’m sure she’d love to have you stop by and visit!

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Two blog posts that brightened a stormy afternoon:

New Element
At The Common Room.

Severe Weather Testing Protocols
At Fractions speak louder than nerds…

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Those who study such things estimate that only 5-6% of Internet users take advantage of RSS feeds. That’s a shame, because RSS can make life so much simpler. Why visit all the interesting blogs and news sites individually, when you could get the latest information on a single site?

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Photo by Clearly Ambiguous.

If you blog about MathCounts, beware that they recently overhauled their website — which made almost everyone’s links to them obsolete. I ran a routine check for dead links and found quite a few on my blog. I hope that I’ve caught most of them, but if you stumble across one of those nasty “Page not found” messages when you click a link on my blog, I hope you will report it in the comments section.

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Photo by Complicated.

Princess Kitten is recovering from her cold and getting some energy back. She came to me and said wistfully, “I wish I could do backwards math.”

I looked up from my keyboard. “Backwards math? What do you mean?”

“Umm. It’s kinda hard to explain, but I can show you.”

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At our house, we’re fighting persistent colds, and I think these “new and improved” Puffs would be just the thing to cheer up my 9yo! Now that the season has officially turned, I need to put my talented photographer daughter to work on spring pictures for my header. Meanwhile, here is a round-up of the happenings at Let’s play math! blog this month…

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Photo by joiseyshowaa.

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!
In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope
through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade
— kept in heaven for you,
who through faith are shielded by God’s power
until the coming of the salvation
that is ready to be revealed in the last time.

In this you greatly rejoice,
though now for a little while
you may have had to suffer grief
in all kinds of trials.

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Photo by dengski.

Who has believed our message
and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?

He grew up before him like a tender shoot,
and like a root out of dry ground.
He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,
nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.

He was despised and rejected by men,
a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering.
Like one from whom men hide their faces
he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

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