I’m delighted once again to be presenting a really cool range of math related blog posts and articles. This month, you’ll get to savor math posts related to McDonalds, Dexter, war, an ancient game, an inventor and more!

Do bookmark this page so you can come back and read any of the posts you don’t get time to read right now!

3 Cool facts about the number 43:

1) In a survey conducted by AskKids in 2008, 43% of parents admitted to having done their kids’ homework at least once to ease the strain!

2) From Wikipedia, 43 is the largest natural number that is not a McNugget Number.

photo credit: Calgary Reviews

• you cannot buy 43 McNuggets at McDonald’s by combining multiples of the original packages of 6, 9, and 20 McNuggets.
• you can get 44, 45, 46, … and all larger numbers of McNuggets.
• 44 = 20 + 24 = 20 + 6×4, so you can order four packages of 6 McNuggets, and 1 pack of 20,to get 44.
• 45 is five 9-packs,
• 46 is a 6-pack and two 20s.
• But if you need to purchase exactly 43 McNuggets, you’re out of luck!

3) Also from Wikipedia, 43 is the smallest prime number expressible as the sum of 2, 3, 4, or 5 different primes:

• 43 = 41 + 2
• 43 = 11 + 13 + 19
• 43 = 2 + 11 + 13 + 17
• 43 = 3 + 5 + 7 + 11 + 17

About teaching

photo credit: giulia.forsythe

Rebecca Zook is insightful as always in Five tips for a happy math year  at Triangle Suitcase – Rebecca Zook’s Blog About Learning, saying, “As we head back into the swing of things, many parents realize that they want to help their kid with math, but aren’t quite sure where to start. Here are five tips you can use throughout the entire coming year — no matter what you’re working on or how old your kid is.”

Dan MacKinnon shares a way of teaching youngsters about functions in grade one functions posted at mathrecreation.

Alexander Bogomolny answers the question, When am I ever going to use this? Why do we need to learn this? posted at CTK Insights.

Bon Crowder presents Are You Teaching Math Through Motivation or Inspiration?posted at Math is Not A Four Letter Word, saying, “This is a discussion of the difference between motivating a child to learn and inspiring them – and how teachers can get those confused.”

Maria Miller explains about Math Mammoth for school teachers posted at Homeschool Math Blog.

AnnieKate comes up with some Questions for Math Students after Finishing a Problem posted at Tea Time with Annie Kate.

David Ginsburg campaigns against misleading mnemonics in Foiled by the FOIL Method posted at Coach G’s Teaching Tips.

Here, on Maths Insider I interviewed the Shuba Swaminathan, the math mom founder of Lexx Learn: A Cool and Free Maths Tool to Track Your Child’s Achievement and also featured a guest post by Troy Edwards: 5 Fun and Mathematical Ways to Teach Your Child About Money

Algebra & geometry

photo credit: widdowquinn

Guillermo Bautista share a multimedia approach to Pi and the Circle posted at Mathematics and Multimedia.

Ryan O’Grady presents some “Dexter” inspired math in Blood Spatter posted at Maths at SBHS.

John Golden starts a war in Area Battle posted at Math Hombre, saying, “A game for upper el to middle school to compare area and perimeter.”

John Cook admits that Latitude does not exactly mean what I thought posted at The Endeavour.

Terrance Banks shares More Math Sprints or is that Relay Race? posted at So I Teach Math and Coach?.

Arithmetic

photo credit: fernando neves

brian presents Problem For The Weekend — Math at the Fair posted at Math 66.

Jennifer investigates Cuisenaire Rods for Big(ger) Kids posted at Adventures in Mama-Land, saying, “A simple application of Cuisenaire Rods – and the implications, for one homeschooler, of early familiarity with rods.”

Puzzles

photo credit: Haddhar

Alice discovers Mathematical Puzzles posted at Derivative Diary, saying, “Three fun puzzles from “Professor Stewart’s Hoard of Mathematical Treasures””

Denise investigates 3-D geometry in Leonhard’s Block Puzzles posted at Let’s Play Math!, saying, “How can we cut, organize, and paint these blocks?”

Natasha presents a Q&A with the designer of Thinkfun’s Chocolate Fix IMACS Alumni Profile: Mark Engelberg, Game and Puzzle Inventor posted at IMACS Blog, saying, “This is a great game for learning mathematical logic.”

Early Learners

photo credit: Pink Sherbet Photography

Kristen plays an Ancient Roman math game in Math Play Day posted at Teaching Stars, saying, “A fun (and did I mention FREE) math game to play with your early learners! You already have everything you need to play- literally!” and she also plays with Cuisenaire Rods + Chopsticks = Even More Mathematical Fun | Teaching Stars , saying, “Building a strong foundation in math and utilizing lots of manipulatives for my early learners.”

Rodi Steinig describes a story-based Math Circle for 6 and 7 year olds in Math Circle at Talking Stick (Animal Voting Plan) posted at Math Circle at Talking Stick

Karyn Tripp gets crafty with Place Values posted at Teach Beside Me.

Jennifer Bardsley posts a Beast Academy Review” at Teaching My Baby To Read, saying, “Yes, I was one of the lucky recipients of the sample chapters from the Art of Problem Solving folks. Please don’t hate me!”

photo credit: Robby Ryke

I hope you enjoyed this 43rd edition of the Math Teachers at Play Carnival!

If you have a math teaching article you’d like to share at the next edition of Math Teachers at Play, you can submit it using the carnival submission form. Past carnivals and future hosts can be found on the blog carnival index page.

Don’t forget to invite your friends to the carnival by sharing this post!