Welcome!

If you have a great idea but can't convey it, it doesn't matter if you have a great idea.

Mathematics is not just about moving numeric symbols around but rather is about the learning of a symbolic language which you can use to describe your world. It is a way of focusing your thoughts and provides an orderly way to get from Problem to Solution.

National math standards all contain the phrase "…in a problem-solving environment." As a former theatre major, I felt that math was a language and should be treated as such. For me, math journaling started in the 1990s when I was teaching math in Colorado. I needed something to occupy the students while I did administrivia such as taking attendance and these puzzles, then called "mAthletics," got the students to put their thinking caps on and got them into "math-mode." Each day's puzzle was topical in some way and often required knowledge from "the Real World."

Nowadays as an engineer and college math professor, I find the same math phobias in the students, the same inability to convey mathematical information coherently. The questions contained on this site, lend themselves to not just "doing the math" but journaling about "what the solution means." Some teachers may require the student to write about how they arrived at a solution, some may require the student to analyze feelings, and others may just want the answer, conveyed in a word fashion such as "we should build 7 widgets for maximum profit," and not just the "7."

However you use the puzzles, whether you're a teacher, a student, a parent, or a Home Schooler, welcome. Try the puzzles. A new one is published every weekday except major holidays. If you subscribe to the RSS feed, you will receive the new puzzle each day in your inbox. Feel free to use them in your school activities. If you want my solutions, too, please send a donation through the PayPal link and I will send you a personal login.

No matter how you use the puzzles, get started and connect your problem-solving and creative-solutions sides. Hit the "Today" button above to get started.