Playing With Math: Stories From Math Circles, Homeschoolers, and Passionate Teachers

Sue VanHattum's blog Math Mama Writes was one of the earliest math blogs I frequented. Sue and Shireen, Dan, Kate, and Sam were among the first people who showed me — through their passionate writing — that there was an online community where we may share the teaching and learning of mathematics in the classroom.

When I started this blog, Sue dropped in to leave a comment or two. Or five. We even talked on the phone, and she shared with me how her son got his name. I remember reading someone's post and wanting to leave a comment because I connected with the piece and its author in some small way, and inevitably I would find that Sue had already left a comment. This happened over and over again. I felt we were reading the same stuff; and the same stuff touched us in similar ways.

Then, within a year Sue asked if I would like one of my posts to appear in a book she was putting together.

So, it's with much love and honor that I get to help launch Sue's new book:

Playing With Math: Stories from Math Circles, Homeschoolers, and Passionate Teachers brings together the stories of over thirty authors who share their math enthusiasm with their communities, families, or students. After every chapter is a puzzle, game, or activity to get you and your kids playing with math too.

To know Sue is to know that she loves teaching and learning mathematics, and she loves writing, therefore this book — this work of consummate love - has to happen.

Playing With Math is really a collection of love stories because the authors, including yours truly, want to share something we're pretty crazy about. It's the stuff we do beyond the regular school day — we play with math after hours, at the dinner table, on a napkin at the coffee shop, with our own child or with a neighbor's child, at a family picnic, with our in-laws whom we don't even like.

So, today is the first day of our crowd-funding campaign to cover production costs. We're hoping to find support in our community of teachers and parents and math connoisseurs — a community of people whom I adore and respect. You can contribute anything from $1 to $1 billion. But for a contribution of $25, this wonderful book will be sent to you as soon as it's printed. Please see more details here.

Thank you so very much.