Math and Magic in Camelot!

After a long hiatus from blogging, I'm back with a wonderful surprise!  I'm very excited to announce the release of the second book in the Math and Magic Adventures series - "Math and Magic in Camelot"...

When Lulu and Elizabeth find themselves in Camelot, they are expecting to meet King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. Instead, the twins enter the world of the Lily Maidens, an organization of women who travel through legends and time in pursuit of knowledge.  

But dark forces are uniting against the Kingdom; Merlin, the Black Pig, and a vast army of men and mythological beasts are marching for Camelot's gate. Only the magic of science, mathematics, and poetry can preserve honor's code and defend the Kingdom against the impending onslaught of evil.

Book Club Week 4 {Math and Magic in Wonderland}

In chapter 4 of the math adventure novel Math and Magic in Wonderland, we draw circles, find their centers, understand what Pi really represents, and learn about the "rabbit trails" that famous scientist followed.  Kids always do great with geometry because it is so easy to visualize.  I bought my twins new compasses in the "back to school" section of a local store (only about a dollar!) and they spent a lot of time making circle art and investigating the properties of circles...

Book Club Week 2 {Math and Magic in Wonderland}

In Chapter 2 of the math adventure novel Math and Magic in Wonderland, Lulu and Elizabeth solve two puzzles based on "ancient games of skill":  Tangrams and Magic Squares.  A squirrel (who loves to speak in puns) guides them in the right direction.  Were you able to solve the riddles along with the story, or did you go off on a tangent?  Join us for Week 2 of the book club...

Book Club Week 1 and Giveaway {Math and Magic in Wonderland}

Welcome to the Math and Magic in Wonderland Book Club!

Over the next eleven weeks, I'll be hosting a virtual book club based on my math adventure novel Math and Magic in Wonderland.

A copy of the book is all you need to get started on a grand adventure into the world of recreational mathematics (math as entertainment)!

Each week, we'll be playing with the math, language, and logic topics found in a single chapter. I'll be posting ideas for extension activities, videos demonstrating the concepts for the week, and additional resources. I'm really excited for the opportunity to share all the extra ideas that have been floating around my brain which I didn't have room to include in the book (as in Marco Polo's famous words: “I did not tell half of what I saw.”)

Upcoming Book Club and Math Circle {Math and Magic in Wonderland}

There is no Frigate like a Book  

To take us Lands away,  

Nor any Coursers like a Page  

Of prancing Poetry –   

This Traverse may the poorest take         

Without oppress of Toll –   

How frugal is the Chariot  

That bears a Human soul.

                               -Emily Dickinson

Have you ever read a book that you just had to tell all your friends about?  What about an enthralling math problem you just had to share?  If you nodded at the former suggestion and chuckled at the latter one, you are not alone!  One of the reasons I wrote my book, Math and Magic in Wonderland, was to make the world of mathematics as fun and accessible as the world of literature.

My family has been having such a wonderful time playing along with my math adventure novel, that I just have to share it with others.  Today I'm excited to announce the Math and Magic Book Club and Math Circle.  I invite other families to join us as we read through the book and "play math" together...

Inspiring Kids to LOVE Math

It was a warm Saturday afternoon and the smell of fresh tortillas wafted through the Mexican restaurant. Scarcely had the food arrived before I roughly pushed my plate aside and began scribbling on a napkin at a feverish pace.  "What are you doing?" asked my younger sister, raising an eyebrow and swallowing a mouthful of food.  I mumbled something about Pythagoras and the tile floor.  I don't know if my sister shrugged, rolled her eyes, or stuck out her tongue in response; I was too busy writing to look up.  A minute or two later, I slammed my hand on the napkin dramatically.  "Q. E. D.!" I declared aloud.  My parents gave me an inquisitive look before continuing their meal.  I picked up my burrito and took a large triumphant bite.  My entire face glowed with a secret delight.  I was 14 years old, and I had just found a new proof for the Pythagorean Theorem...

Creative Writing Activity {Behold the Bold Umbrellaphant}

The kids and I enjoy Jack Prelutsky's humorous poems. A couple weeks ago, we read (and listened to) his poems from Carnival of the Animals while dancing and making animal masks. This week ,we read Behold the Bold Umbrellaphant and Other Poems, which inspired a creative writing activity...

Homemade Compass Experiment {Where the Mountain Meets the Moon}

L (age 6.5) is currently reading one of my favorite children's books, Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin.  In this novel, the main character, a girl named Minli, makes her own compass using a needle and a bowl of water.  Since we were learning about magnetism and the Earth's poles in science, recreating Minli's invention was a perfect experiment.

Molas craft {South America unit}

In our two-week unit on South America and Mesoamerica, we read a lot of traditional folktales from those regions and made crafts inspired by tradition handiwork from different countries.  The molas (blouses) of the Kuna women are just gorgeous, and the girls enjoyed making their own versions out of paper..

Greek Myths for Kids

The best part of our month-long unit on Ancient Greece was reading Greek myths together.  The kids enjoyed the myths so much that it became an integral part of their dramatic play.  Here's some of what we read...

Titanic Crafts for Kids {Tonight on the Titanic}

The twins (age 5.5) have been in a virtual book club all year as part of their Calvert online school.  Recently they read Tonight on the Titanic by Mary Pope Osborne, and had to present a project related to the book.  I described some ideas for crafts to the kids and then let them create them themselves...

Read Aloud Books for Ages 2-5

I've always enjoyed reading aloud to my children.  When they were young, our reading sessions were more about spending quality time with my little ones and instilling a love of books in them.  Recently, I feel like the kids have not just been passively listening to the stories, but actually living them.  They played Aslan versus The White Witch (from The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe) for weeks.  When one twin is being particularly demanding, the other tells her to stop being "Veruca Salt" (from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory).  The other day, their plastic toy horses were being used to reenact the barn fire in Black Beauty.  I could go on and on (not including all the literature-inspired artwork they have produced).  As a bibliophile myself, it warms my heart to see my children feel such a connection with the books they read.

Three years ago, when I was looking for ideas for read alouds for younger children, I looked to blogs and Facebook for recommendations.  I've been keeping track of the books we've read both for myself and also with the hopes of inspiring other families to create read-aloud traditions with their children.  Here's the list so far...

Miss Rumphius - Painting Lupine Flowers

Nothing makes a picture book more fun than letting the kids do a special activity related to the story.  After reading Miss Rumphius a book by Barbara Cooney about a woman who plants Lupines to make the world more beautiful, the girls painted their own Lupine flowers.  Here's what we did...

A Penny's Worth of Character - Math Lesson Plan

We recently finished A Penny's Worth of Character by Jesse Stuart, which everyone loved.  It was also a wonderful bonus to be able to have a discussion about the importance of honesty.  While we were reading the book, I put together a little math game for the kids to help them learn about the values of coins...

Combinatorics in Kindergarten {What Will Little Bear Wear?}

It's been a bit chilly here lately so the girls and I have been reading plenty of stories about cold and snow.  One of the stories in circulation this week is "What Will Little Bear Wear?" from the book Little Bear by Elsa Holmelund Minarik.  I threw together a fun little math activity related to the book. (It would also go great with the book Jesse Bear What Will You Wear? from Before Five in a Row)...

Rainbow Toast {Painting Bread}

When the girls saw Rainbow Toast in their Highlights High Five Magazine (back-issue from 2007 from Ebay), they begged me to let them try it out... so we did!  This activity was a great way to make a snack using all sorts of Montessori practical life skills and creativity.  Here's how to do it..

Indoor Penguin Snow Play! {Antarctic Antics and My Penguin Osbert}

It snowed this past weekend, but instead of bundling the kids up in layers upon layers of winter clothing, I decided to bring the snow play indoors this time!  And why not integrate it with a mini-unit on penguins?  Here's what we did..

Paper Rainbows Activity {What Makes a Rainbow}

Rainbows seem to be a popular theme in March for St. Patrick's Day, so today the girls and I joined in the fun and made our own paper rainbows.  Our book of the day was What Makes a Rainbow? by Betty Ann Schwartz, and this little activity was a nice way to wrap up our afternoon session of Homeschool Preschool.  Here's how the girls made these lovely rainbows..

Dog Stencils {Hairy Maclary Activity}

I like to take a break from blogging on the weekends so I can spend time with my kids.  We haven't been slacking on our book-a-day challenge for March, though.  Yesterday I read the girls a couple books in the Hairy Maclary series by Lynley Dodd, and our activity was to use make artwork using dog stencils.

Brown Bear Straw Toppers

Aren't these straw toppers / puppets adorable?  Our book of the day was Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? by Eric Carle, and I surprised the kids with these super-cute straw-topper puppets.  They were so much fun to make, and we had a great time retelling the story with them...