Making Math a Delight with Denise Gaskins

Homeschool Better Together with Pam Barnhill

Pam Barnhill

Kids & Family, Christianity, Education, Religion & Spirituality

4.9 • 683 Ratings

🗓️ 25 February 2025

⏱️ 44 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In this episode, I sit down with Denise Gaskins, math educator and author, to talk about how we can transform math from a dreaded subject into something joyful and engaging. Denise shares why so many homeschoolers struggle with math and how shifting our approach can make a huge difference.

She encourages parents to make math playful through games, storytelling, and real-life problem-solving. Whether you have a math-loving child or one who resists every lesson, Denise’s insights will help you bring curiosity and creativity into your homeschool math routine.

Tune in for practical strategies to build math confidence and make learning more enjoyable for the whole family!

Key Takeaways:

Math Should Be Playful – Learning math through games, puzzles, and real-life applications makes it more engaging and less intimidating for kids.
Ditch the Memorization-Only Approach – Understanding why math works is more valuable than rote memorization. Encourage exploration instead of just drilling facts.
Use Stories to Teach Math – Turning math problems into narratives or real-world situations makes them more meaningful and relatable for kids.
Encourage Mathematical Thinking – Instead of giving answers right away, ask your kids questions like “What do you think?” or “How else could we solve this?”
It’s Okay to Change Your Approach – If a curriculum isn’t working, try something new! Hands-on learning, different resources, or adjusting your teaching style can make a big difference.Focus on Confidence, Not Just Correct Answers – Helping kids feel comfortable making mistakes and thinking through problems builds long-term math success.
Math Doesn’t Have to Be a Daily Battle – Shift the focus from completing worksheets to fostering curiosity and discovery.

Links and Resources:

For full show notes and a transcript of today’s episode, head to pambarnhill.com/hsbt32

To join our free homeschool community, you can create an account right here.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Are you ready for homeschooling to feel joyful again?
0:05.4	Do you long for support as you learn alongside your kids?
0:10.3	Welcome to Home School Better Together, a podcast about building a homeschool experience that works for your family.
0:18.2	I'm Pam Barnhill, and it's time to step out of the overwhelm and
0:22.0	into the wonder. Let's do this. Denise Gaskins is a veteran homeschool mom of five who has a
0:34.1	passion to help parents and children see the beauty and wonder of math. She is the author of
0:39.0	a dozen playful math books like Let's Play Math, How Families Can Learn Together and Enjoy it. And her
0:45.0	Math You Can Play series covers various topics across the curriculum. Denise's projects like tabletop math
0:51.9	games and math journaling books make creative math easy. She creates
0:57.7	open and go activities for students from preschool to high school, and you can find her online
1:02.9	at Denise Gaskins.com. Hi, Denise, and welcome back to the podcast. It's good to have you back again.
1:10.7	Hi, Pam. I'm thrilled to be here.
1:13.0	Well, I love to talk to you about math. And the reason I love to talk to you about math is because
1:18.2	I always learn something new, something I never really had thought much about before, never really
1:25.2	considered before. And so you keep me on my toes. And I think
1:30.3	you're going to do that today as well, because we're talking about traditional math instruction
1:35.6	and what might be wrong with it. So go ahead and tell me, explain that a little bit. What's wrong with
1:43.3	traditional math?
1:44.8	Well, you know, our own school experience led most of us to think that what math is all about
1:52.3	is memorizing and following specific procedures so that we can get the right answers.
1:58.3	But really, that kind of math is obsolete in our modern world. We have too many
2:03.4	tools that can get right answers. The math that matters today is our ability to reason about numbers,
	...

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