Math

My First Number Book

Book cover: 'My First Number Book'
Author(s): 
Marie Heinst
This delightful picture book introduces many math concepts to preschoolers. We have enjoyed working through concepts such as counting, matching, sorting, sets, and sequencing. The illustrated pages make it fun for my son to discover more, less, and equal, addition and subtraction, geometric solids, and more. For example, matching begins with familiar matching pairs such as handprints, shoes, and earrings.

The Dot and the Line

Author(s): 
Norton Juster

"Freedom is not a license for chaos" is my son's signature below his email messages. It was written by Norton Juster, of The Phantom Toolbooth fame, and it comes from our almost-17-year-old's favorite book.

Doing Simple Math in Your Head

Book cover: Doing Simple Math in Your Head
Author(s): 
W.J. Howard

What fun! Doing Simple Math in Your Head compiles all sorts of amazing mathematical tricks into one diaper-bag-sized book, ready for those odd moments spent in waiting rooms and restaurants. Have you ever needed to figure a tip quickly, without resorting to writing on the napkin? Have you ever wondered how others can convert fractions to decimals so quickly? Have you ever worried that your receipt was not computed correctly but didn't have a calculator available to check it quickly?

Smath: The Game that Makes Math Fun

Book cover: 'Smath: The Game that Makes Math Fun'

Smath is a very similar game to Equate. It comes with a game board, 4 plastic tile racks and plastic tiles with a bag for the tiles. Tiles: 6 each of numbers 0-12, 10 blanks, 36 equal signs, 9 each of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division signs, and 12 clear parentheses that stack over another tile when used. There are no fractions or decimal points. Each player draws 10 tiles per turn. Game play is similar to Scrabble, but equals sign and parentheses tiles are kept separate and can be used as needed. This prevents game play from stalling.

Little Folks' Number Practice

Book cover: 'Little Folks' Number Practice'
Author(s): 
Nancy Nicholson
"A Pre-K to Kindergarten Math Readiness Workbook for Catholic Children."

This simple workbook provides practice for preschool and kindergarten aged children in writing numbers, counting objects and considering religious ideas associated with each number (one God, two natures: human and divine, three Divine Persons, four marks of the Church: One - Holy - Catholic - Apostolic, five Sacred Wounds, etc.).

Math-U-See

Book cover: 'Math-U-See'
Author(s): 
Steve Demme

Math-U-See is a fairly new Math program, designed especially for homeschoolers, which runs from Kindergarten all the way through high school. The author is a former high school Math teacher who has attempted to balance a solid conceptual understanding of math with enough practice to let it "sink in." The program consists of a student text (workbook format), a teacher's manual, and optional practice sheets, special Math-U-See blocks and a teacher training DVD. I am very impressed with this program.

Math Talk

Book cover: Math Talk
Author(s): 
Theoni Pappas
Sherman K. Stein

I have long been a fan of the poems for two voices books by Paul Fleischman. This book puts a twist on the idea by covering math topics in poems. It's a really unique and engaging way to memorize a math concept, reciting it as a poem.

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