Let's Play Math: How Families Can Learn Math Together and Enjoy It
Let's Play Math

Let's Play Math: How Families Can Learn Math Together and Enjoy It

Let’s Play Math is a practical and inspiring guide that helps parents transform math into a playful, meaningful part of everyday life. Rather than following a rigid curriculum, the book offers a flexible framework rooted in exploration, conversation, and hands-on discovery. With chapters that explain key math concepts, offer real-life teaching strategies, and recommend games, puzzles, and literature, Let’s Play Math empowers parents—especially those with math anxiety—to approach the subject with confidence and creativity. Whether you’re new to homeschooling or simply looking to rekindle your child’s curiosity, this book shows that math isn’t just about right answers—it’s about patterns, problem-solving, and wonder.

Recommended Ages

For Teachers & Caregivers of Kids Ages PreK-12th Grade
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Let’s Play Math works by offering parents and kids a flexible framework for learning math through games, puzzles, storytelling, and conversation, with activities organized by concept rather than grade level; families typically integrate it as a supplement to their core curriculum, using short daily or weekly sessions that involve dice, cards, or hands-on challenges, and the emphasis is on reasoning through ideas together rather than getting the “right answer.

Self-Direction
E means highly structured. A is basically unschooled, completely self-guided.
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$18.00 USD
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Let's Play Math: How Families Can Learn Math Together and Enjoy It
$18.00 USD

Skills

What kids will learn
View all collections
Math
Math
Parenting
Parenting
Geometry
Geometry
Algebra
Algebra

Our mission

The mission of Let’s Play Math is to help families cultivate a deep, lasting understanding of math through playful, engaging, real-life problem solving rather than drills or worksheets; it aims to show that math is not just a subject but a way of thinking, and it stands out from traditional resources by prioritizing curiosity, dialogue, and exploration over rigid structure or test prep.

Our story

Let’s Play Math was created by Denise Gaskins, a homeschooling mom and former teacher with a background in mathematics who wanted to help her own children—and others—learn math through joyful exploration rather than fear or rote memorization; she developed the program out of frustration with traditional math instruction, and over time, her blog and book have become trusted resources in the homeschooling community, praised for making math accessible and fun for thousands of families worldwide.

Let's Play Math Demo

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FAQ: Additional Details about Let's Play Math: How Families Can Learn Math Together and Enjoy It

Let’s Play Math is a guidebook by Denise Gaskins designed to transform math into a shared, curiosity-driven experience for families from preschool to high school. A typical math moment unfolds like this: you pick a playful problem or story from the chapter—perhaps exploring patterns with coins or inventing a logic puzzle—gather simple materials like dice, kitchen items, or paper, and the two of you dive in together. Instead of rushing to the right answer, you spend time noticing surprises, asking “What if…?”, and building understanding through games and manipulatives. Along the way, Gaskins offers “math talk” prompts you can post on the fridge, encourages reading living‑book math history, and shows how to build mini-math zines or puzzles as creative extensions. It’s less about drills and more about family wonder, shared discovery, and building confidence through play—every session feels like exploring math as a team rather than completing a worksheet .

The ideal learner for Let’s Play Math is a child who is curious, imaginative, and either struggling with or bored by traditional math instruction; it works especially well for students with ADHD, math anxiety, or non-linear thinking styles who need more play and conceptual depth to stay engaged.

Let’s Play Math is not a good fit for families looking for a complete, scripted math curriculum with daily lesson plans, grade-level pacing, assessments, or heavy digital integration—it won’t serve those who need test prep or rigid structure.

Let’s Play Math is often considered a strong fit for kids with special needs, particularly those with ADHD, dyslexia, and math anxiety. Parents report that the flexible, game-based, and conversational approach helps reduce pressure and keeps their children engaged without the frustration that often comes with traditional curricula. The short, open-ended activities and lack of rigid structure allow kids to work at their own pace and in ways that align with their strengths, making it easier for neurodivergent learners to access and enjoy math without being overwhelmed.

Parents of gifted kids appreciate the open-ended puzzles and logic challenges, recommending increasing complexity and frequency to keep gifted mathematicians engaged.

No prerequisites—can be used from early learners up through teens.

Parents say the best way to use Let’s Play Math is to keep a basket of simple math tools like dice and cards handy, set aside a regular game day or low-pressure time to explore math together, and approach it with genuine curiosity yourself—let your child see you thinking through problems, asking questions, and having fun with it.

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Meet Denise

Denise Gaskins is a veteran homeschooling parent, math enthusiast, and educational author with a gift for making complex ideas accessible and engaging. With a background in mathematics and decades of experience mentoring families across a wide range of educational philosophies, she has written extensively about teaching math through play, conversation, and discovery. Her work is informed by both classic and modern pedagogical thought, drawing on influences from Maria Montessori to contemporary math educators like Jo Boaler. Gaskins is best known for her ability to reframe math as a human and creative endeavor, and her books—alongside her long-running blog—have helped thousands of parents approach math with greater confidence, joy, and flexibility. Her writing continues to be a cornerstone for those seeking child-centered, curiosity-driven math education at home.

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Modulo's thoughts

Our learning specialists give their honest evaluation
ManishaCEO and Founder

I was thrilled to discover this lovely guide to math education through my homeschooling groups. Denise brings a totally unique approach to inspiring kids to love math through hands-on games and activities. It's a great guide for any parent, teacher or caregiver seeking to inspire a love of math in kids - and to teaching math through real-world experience.

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