Another Maths Game

2 players

Items needed to play:

2 packs playing cards (each with a different colour back)

1 dice (6 – sided)

Take 2 packs of playing cards and remove the K, Q, J, and As from them.

Shuffle the K Q J As (both packs together) and put in a separate pile – now shuffle the other cards but only in their own colour – e.g. all the blue back cards together and all the red back cards together) and put them in 2 separate piles. Now each player takes it in turns to pick up one blue card and one red one. After they’ve picked it up the other player rolls the dice to determine what happens:

1-2 = Add them together

3-4 = Double them and add together

5-6 = Pick up a card from the KQJA pile and follow the instructions below:

K ♠ ♣ = Add the numbers together and double the answer

Q ♠ ♣ = Multiply the smaller number by 5 then add (if both numbers are the same – multiply both by 5 then add together)

J ♠ ♣ = Subtract them                                             

A ♠ ♣ = Add 4 zeros to the end of both numbers and add

K ♥ ♦ = If the answer is even divide by 2 – if it’s odd, add 19
Q ♥ ♦ = Take the larger number and subtract 3 then add together. If both numbers are 2 then miss a go
J ♥ ♦ = multiply both numbers by 10 then subtract them
A ♥ ♦ = Add enough zeros to make up to the nearest million

 © Carolyn Davison

Maths Game using Playing Cards

This is a game I made up to teach my youngest son some maths principles. using basic playing cards

K = 13            Q = 12  J = 11 A = 1

♥ = add zero to both numbers

♠ = Multiply answer by 5

♣ = subtract instead of add

♦ = Double the numbers

♥ & ♥ = Add 2 zeros to both numbers e.g. 10 ♥ + J ♥ = 1000 + 1100

♥ & ♦ = Add 1 zero to each number then double them e.g. 5 ♥ + 10 ♦ 100 (50 x 2) + 200                 (100 x 2)

♥ & ♠ = Add a zero to each number, add them together and then multiply the answer by 5

♥ & ♣ = Add a zero to the numbers and take away e.g. 4 ♥ + K ♣ = 40 – 130 (can it be done? Play about moving the numbers around to see what works!

♠ & ♠ = Just multiply the answer by 5

♠ & ♦ = Double the numbers and multiply the answer by 5

♦ & ♦ = Double both numbers and double the answer too!

If you have 2 A’s together add 2 zeros and follow the other rules

e.g. A ♥ & A ♦ = 1,000 (don’t forget to add the zero as there’s a heart) + 1,000 – now double them both and add them together – 2,000 + 2,000 = 4,000

Can you make up new rules? Play around and have fun!

© Carolyn Davison

Any Parent who is sending their child to school this week

Just had a thought for all you parents whose littlies (or biggies) are going back to school this week.

Spare a thought for the teachers - they have 30 or so littlies (or biggies) of the same age, in a classroom, they didn't give birth to that many all in one go - YOU didn't give birth to that many in one go! Those poor teachers have no means of disciplining the rabble, they are criticised by the government, they are criticised by some parents, they work with a limited/narrow curriculum, are expected to teach children the social skills parents should be teaching them, they have to wipe noses, clean up unimaginable stuff, (in the younger classes), deal with fights and squabbles etc! They have to deal with this 190 or so days from 09:00-15:00 (ish)

 YOU have you kids for 140 (or so days)! 

I was thinking of going in for teaching NO THANKS - after parenting, this must be the second hardest job... Although I am a home educator - I lift my hat up to all teachers starting back this week!

Questions I was asked when I first started home educating

Was thinking today about the questions people used to ask me (or the statements the would make), when I started home educating! (Been HEing since June 2000). Here are some of the things I was asked and the response I would have loved to say, but was too polite...

Q1 - (after the initial shock of hearing I HE) Is it legal?
A - No, not really, my husband and I felt like breaking the law

Q2 - But what about socialisation?
A - Well after we take them out of the cupboard they are allowed to mix with other kids

Q3 - But they won't learn to live in the real world...
A - Where in the 'real' world is one incarcerated in a room with their peers. When you go for a job, one isn't placed with all 18 year olds (or whatever age).
At least outside of school we visited real libraries, used real money to pay for things, cooked using real weights etc. 

Q4 - They are being isolated
A - Isolated from what? Bullying, swearing, blasphemy, riot control in the classroom etc - Praise the Lord they didn't go to school!

Speech given by A Hitler in 1937

"The youth of today is ever the people of tomorrow. For this reason we have set before ourselves the task of inoculating our youth with the spirit of this community of the people at a very early age, at an age when human beings are still unperverted and therefore unspoiled. This Reich stands, and it is building itself up for the future, upon its youth. And this new Reich will give its youth to no one, but will itself take youth and give to youth its own education and its own upbringing."

 Part of a speech given by Adolf Hitler in 1937 before he banned home education. 

Germany has never repealed this law. 

It is convenient for our governments to undermine parenting, make parents feel like they're not doing a good job, by bringing in 'experts' to tell parents how they should be bringing up their offspring. A lot of 'experts' haven't even had their own children so what do they know?

Parents don't hand your responsibility of raising your children over to schools (I don't mean home educate, if you can't do that, but be aware of what they are being taught in the classroom)!

Mnemonics to remember circle of fifths

I love Mnemonics because they help me to learn. They can be as silly as you want. 

Remember in an earlier post the ditty to remember the order of sharps and flats:

Flats:
Battle End And Down Goes Charles Father

Sharps:
Father Charles Goes Down And Ends Battle

How about something to remember the circle of fifths?

Major scales - sharps (starting with no sharps or flats ie C)

Carolyn Goes Down And Eats Bread Fast (just remember the F is F# Major)

Major scales with flats:

Carolyn Flattens BEADs Good (the BEAD - Bb, Eb, Ab, Db) Don't forget G is Gb

Now for the Minor Scales (sharps):

Always (0#) Emily (1#) Beats (2#) Four (3#) Cymbals (4#) Gongs (5#) Drums (6#)  (don't forget the FCGD are all sharps)

BUT go the other way and start with 6bs after the A

Emily (6b) Beats (5b) Four (4b) Cymbals (3b) Gongs (2b) Drums (1b) Always (0b) (don't forget the E and B are Eb and Bb)

Below is the Circle of Fifths

More Chords (Major scales)

I will try and explain making up chords on here BUT there is a fabulous video on YouTube called 'How to Make Chords from a Scale' presented by Karen Ramirez.

Let's take the scale of C Major (again - I keep choosing that because there are no sharps or flats :) ) and look at each note to make up the chords.

C D E F G A B C

C
E = Major chord (I)
G

D
F = minor chord (II) 
A

How do I know it's a minor chord? If the key signature was D Major, then the F would be F# but as it isn't it must be a D Minor chord (D minor has 1b in the key signature)

E
G = minor chord (III) (E Major scale would have a G#)
B

F
A = Major chord (IV)
C

G
B = Major chord (V)
D

A
C = minor chord (VI)
E

B
D = diminished chord (VII)
F

I think Karen Ramirez explains these really well (although she doesn't explain the diminshed chord VII)! BUT I have been looking at it! 

I was wondering what made it a diminished chord? I looked at my circle of fifths to check this out! Well this is the conclusion I've come to:

It can't be B Major - because the B Major chord would have a D# and an F# in it.
Ah-ha, I thought, it must be a B Minor - oh not it's not (I hear you cry)! It can't be a B Minor either because the F would have to be sharpened (F#).

a diminished chord is made up of 2 stacked minor 3rd chord! (i think i have that correct!)

If anyone can explain it more thoroughly - feel free to use the comment box below :)