Let’s Play Math!

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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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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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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This picture is my all-time favorite LolCat, because it is so true to life. Every time I sit down to read a book or grade homework, one of our kittens plops herself on top of it and starts chewing the corners.

Blog evolution meme

Jonathan tagged me for the blog evolution meme, in which one chooses five posts that represent the development of one’s blog. Hmmm…

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Are you getting ready for the big snowstorm — or is it balmy and nice where you live? For us, the weatherman is predicting 6 to 10 inches, plus drifting. Sounds like a great night to snuggle down with pizza and a movie, assuming the power doesn’t go out.

Major blog changes

January was a month of major and minor changes for Let’s play math! blog. My biggest change was moving my blogroll to a separate page. This move gave me enough room to comment on several of my favorite blogs, and I hope to add more notes over the next few months.

It also freed up space in my sidebar for my new Blog parties for teachers widget. (Scroll down to see it.) I was getting frustrated posting little blurbs every time a new blog carnival came out, only to see the posts become outdated within a week — those announcements were threatening to outnumber my on-topic blog posts. Aargh! Now I can post the latest links where they are easy to find, without diluting my main-column articles.

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Apparently unreachable goal: To tame the tyranny of the urgent and find time to write blog posts.

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It might really help with the 2008 Game. My morning coffee is not doing the job.

Blogging notes

I confess: I am a FlyLady drop-out. Housecleaning has never been my strong point. But I read 50 Tips to Unclutter Your Blog, and I thought Skellie had some good points. I hate crowded sidebars, and moving my blogroll to a separate page sounded like a great way to declutter. If you want to browse some great blogs, the link is at the top of this page.

Now, I suppose, I should put my math notebook away and start clearing off the mess on my desk…

Farewell to 2007. We have snacks on the table so we can munch the night away, and the little ones are giggling over their Barbies, thrilled at the prospect of more sugar than is good for them.

The teenagers have launched their annual movie marathon. This year, it was the girls’ turn to invite friends over, so the men in my life have all found excuses to run into town.

Meanwhile, I am hiding in my den, indulging myself in a sort of blogger’s nostalgia. Some of the following posts got a lot of attention when they were published, others not so much. Topics range from preschool to high school, from kindergarten games to teaching fractions to Shakespearean insults, so I hope there is something to interest everyone.

[The photos are small so this article won't take forever to load. Click on any picture to view a larger image.]

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What makes a great math blog? That depends on who is doing the judging, of course. Your list of Hall of Fame bloggers would surely be different than mine. But since this is my list, the qualifications were:

1. The nominee had to catch my interest. The content couldn’t be too abstract or specialized (since I have forgotten almost all the math I learned in college), but it had to be mathy enough to draw me in.
2. The blogger had to reward my reading time with good stories, thoughtful comments, imaginative puzzles, or really cool pictures — anything that kept me coming back and wishing for more.

So without further ado, the winners, listed alphabetically to avoid playing favorites among my favorites. Here are eleven of the best math-related blogs, the guys and gals who make me think:

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December 6th is the last day to vote for your choice in The Edublog Awards. Click over and give a thumbs-up to dy/dan, nominated in two categories: Best individual edublog and Best new edublog.

Then take the time to browse and vote for some of the other nominees. You are sure to find something interesting. My discovery: Math 12V Outcomes Portfolio, written by a 12th grade Advanced Math class and nominated for Best educational wiki.

Edited to add: dy/dan won Best new edu-blog by a good margin. Congratulations!