SkateLeft Posted December 3, 2011 Share Posted December 3, 2011 For Christmas, my 10 yo son has asked for a graphing calculator and "math problems." The calculator part is easy, but I'm not so sure about the math problem bit. :confused: He's at the algebra-and-beyond level (if that makes sense.) Does anyone have any suggestions for fun mathy stuff for a kid who eats, sleeps and breathes math? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Belacqua Posted December 3, 2011 Share Posted December 3, 2011 Any of the Martin Gardner books might appeal. And the Art of Problem Solving books (especially the originals, Volumes 1 & 2) will delight any math-happy kid. Maybe Arthur Benjamin's book about Mental Math? Also, the Teaching Company has some excellent math lectures. The ones by Prof. Benjamin or Prof. Burger are big favorites around here. Oh, and Prof. Zeitz's dvd about mathematical problem solving is a winner (as is his book, The Art and Craft of Problem Solving). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkateLeft Posted December 3, 2011 Author Share Posted December 3, 2011 Thank you! I'll look into those. We have the AoPS series already, since that's what he uses for math. I also have a few of the Teaching Company math courses (he loved the Joy of Thinking!) But, I hadn't heard of some of the others you mentioned, which is awesome! I'm off to go look them up. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acurtis75 Posted December 3, 2011 Share Posted December 3, 2011 What about the more advanced life of Fred books? Dd considers those to be more of a fun supplement than actual work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krista in LA Posted December 3, 2011 Share Posted December 3, 2011 We gave dd Equate one year - it's like Scrabble but you make equations with it instead. There are different tile sets you can get to go with it too depending on math level. We've had a lot of fun with it. http://www.amazon.com/Equate-The-Equation-Thinking-Game/dp/B00004U1RA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1322938073&sr=8-1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathy in Richmond Posted December 3, 2011 Share Posted December 3, 2011 Mine liked Martin Gardner's Aha! Insight and Gotcha! at his age. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quark Posted December 3, 2011 Share Posted December 3, 2011 I second all the Gardner suggestions. This thread might give you more ideas. See post #19. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted December 4, 2011 Share Posted December 4, 2011 Some fun math gifts: Weapons Of Math Destruction Mug Find X t-shirt Pi in the Sky T-Shirt I'm Right t-shirt Is he a MASH fan? M*A*T*H t-shirt Peace, Love, and Pi t-shirt for Math Hippies Regards, Kareni Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iucounu Posted December 4, 2011 Share Posted December 4, 2011 Martin Gardner is an excellent suggestion. How about "The Moscow Puzzles"? Or some Raymond Smullyan, perhaps "The Lady Or The Tiger?"? Or this, this, or this? Also, have you considered getting him into computer programming and robotics? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyJoy Posted December 4, 2011 Share Posted December 4, 2011 You can order Math League contest books here. My accelerated math students really enjoyed the challenge of these. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkateLeft Posted December 4, 2011 Author Share Posted December 4, 2011 Thank you, thank you, thank you! These are all great suggestions! The Gardner books are TOTALLY up his alley, so I picked up a few of them earlier today. I'll look into the other suggestions too! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beth in SW WA Posted December 4, 2011 Share Posted December 4, 2011 Some fun math gifts: Weapons Of Math Destruction Mug Love this! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted December 4, 2011 Share Posted December 4, 2011 (edited) One more thought -- The Mathematics Calendar 2012 by Theoni Pappas Well, a couple more thoughts -- Math-A-Day: A Book of Days for Your Mathematical Year by Theoni Pappas Regards, Kareni Edited December 4, 2011 by Kareni Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deniseibase Posted December 7, 2011 Share Posted December 7, 2011 Martin Gardner is an excellent suggestion. How about "The Moscow Puzzles"? Or some Raymond Smullyan, perhaps "The Lady Or The Tiger?"? Or this, this, or this? Also, have you considered getting him into computer programming and robotics? Raymond Smullyan was exactly my suggestion, so let me second it :-) Even in AoPS there is not a lot of work with logic, and Smullyan has some amazing logic puzzles. Start with 'What Is the Name of This Book?' and 'The Lady or The Tiger', or if your son likes chess Smullyan has a couple books of 'The Chess Mysteries of ...'. Be aware though that not ALL Smullyan's books are logic puzzles, 'This Book Needs No Title', which you might think is a follow up to his earlier 'What Is The Name of This Book?', is actually about Taoism - it's an interesting book but would be a profound disappointment to a child looking for logic puzzles :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy2BaMom Posted December 7, 2011 Share Posted December 7, 2011 How about one of these? We haven't read them yet, we'll be getting to them after the first of the year, but they were recommended by some of the TJED folks (I don't follow the TJED method but have found their book lists to be excellent) and they are very highly reviewed. I like the fact that they are more 'story' books - e.g. there are no math problems - it adds some dimension to studying math. Journey through Genius: The Great Theorems of Mathematics A Beginner's Guide to Constructing the Universe: Mathematical Archetypes of Nature, Art, and Science Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iucounu Posted December 7, 2011 Share Posted December 7, 2011 Start with 'What Is the Name of This Book?' Ooh, another great one. Just the other night DS6 and I had a great discussion of the problem with the two would-be murderers and the poisoned canteen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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