[math-fun] math puzzles for very young enthusiasts
One of my daughters writes, One of my co-workers recently bought Smullyan's Lady or the Tiger book for his daughters, but he said that it seems to be too difficult so far. (To be fair, his oldest daughter is only 8 years old.) His kids seem to love mind-bending puzzles though - do you know of any logic books that would be better for really young kids? Any suggestions? Probably "logic" could be broadly interpreted. Thanks, Fred Kochman
I tried Amazon.com <http://amazon.com/>, searching on math puzzles ages x-y for various values of x and y. You get a bunch of plausible candidates. I also loved Martin Gardner collections, which are generally written so as to be understandable to bright 8-year-olds, though the puzzles might be hard for kids that young. Such as the first book, now with an absurdly long title: http://www.amazon.com/Hexaflexagons-Probability-Paradoxes-Tower-Hanoi/dp/052... <http://www.amazon.com/Hexaflexagons-Probability-Paradoxes-Tower-Hanoi/dp/0521735254/ref=la_B000AP8X8G_1_9/177-3981617-6736423?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1456256933&sr=1-9> or for more of his: http://www.amazon.com/Martin-Gardner/e/B000AP8X8G <http://www.amazon.com/Martin-Gardner/e/B000AP8X8G> —Dan
On Feb 23, 2016, at 7:43 AM, Fred Kochman <kochman@idaccr.org> wrote:
One of my daughters writes,
One of my co-workers recently bought Smullyan's Lady or the Tiger book for his daughters, but he said that it seems to be too difficult so far. (To be fair, his oldest daughter is only 8 years old.) His kids seem to love mind-bending puzzles though - do you know of any logic books that would be better for really young kids?
Any suggestions? Probably "logic" could be broadly interpreted.
Here's a book that looks good: http://www.amazon.com/Math-Logic-Puzzles-Think-Grades/dp/1593634161/ref=sr_1... I'm in the business of designing logic puzzles for kids these days — they will come out in about a year. On Tue, Feb 23, 2016 at 11:51 AM, Dan Asimov <asimov@msri.org> wrote:
I tried Amazon.com <http://amazon.com/>, searching on
math puzzles ages x-y
for various values of x and y. You get a bunch of plausible candidates.
I also loved Martin Gardner collections, which are generally written so as to be understandable to bright 8-year-olds, though the puzzles might be hard for kids that young. Such as the first book, now with an absurdly long title:
http://www.amazon.com/Hexaflexagons-Probability-Paradoxes-Tower-Hanoi/dp/052... < http://www.amazon.com/Hexaflexagons-Probability-Paradoxes-Tower-Hanoi/dp/052...
or for more of his: http://www.amazon.com/Martin-Gardner/e/B000AP8X8G < http://www.amazon.com/Martin-Gardner/e/B000AP8X8G>
—Dan
On Feb 23, 2016, at 7:43 AM, Fred Kochman <kochman@idaccr.org> wrote:
One of my daughters writes,
One of my co-workers recently bought Smullyan's Lady or the Tiger book for his daughters, but he said that it seems to be too difficult so far. (To be fair, his oldest daughter is only 8 years old.) His kids seem to love mind-bending puzzles though - do you know of any logic books that would be better for really young kids?
Any suggestions? Probably "logic" could be broadly interpreted.
math-fun mailing list math-fun@mailman.xmission.com https://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/math-fun
I remember a number of little brain teaser puzzles that I enjoyed as a kid. Here are a few that come to mind, all very old: o You have a 3x3 grid of dots. Draw 4 straight line segments that connect them all without lifting your pencil. o Various triangle-counting puzzles. These are a good exercise for kids to help them learn how to be thorough and not to miss solutions that might not be immediately obvious. o Plant 10 trees in 5 rows of 4 each. o The Königsberg bridge problem. This is readily understandable by kids. There are other simlar problems, e.g. draw a square with diagonals connecting opposite corners (not possible), or the same problem with a triangular "roof" added (possible). o There's a classic puzzle where you have three utility companies and three houses, and the problem is to connect all three utilities to all three houses without crossing any lines. I don't think there's a solution to this one, unless you allow one of the lines to pass under a house. o Tangrams are good for kids, although of course they're a physical puzzle. o When I was a little kid, the Soma Cube was a fad, and trying to build the different shapes from the booklet was a lot of fun (but again, this is a physical puzzle). Those are just a few that come to mind. Tom Dan Asimov writes:
I tried Amazon.com <http://amazon.com/>, searching on
math puzzles ages x-y
for various values of x and y. You get a bunch of plausible candidates.
I also loved Martin Gardner collections, which are generally written so as to be understandable to bright 8-year-olds, though the puzzles might be hard for kids that young. Such as the first book, now with an absurdly long title:
http://www.amazon.com/Hexaflexagons-Probability-Paradoxes-Tower-Hanoi/dp/052... <http://www.amazon.com/Hexaflexagons-Probability-Paradoxes-Tower-Hanoi/dp/0521735254/ref=la_B000AP8X8G_1_9/177-3981617-6736423?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1456256933&sr=1-9>
or for more of his: http://www.amazon.com/Martin-Gardner/e/B000AP8X8G <http://www.amazon.com/Martin-Gardner/e/B000AP8X8G>
—Dan
On Feb 23, 2016, at 7:43 AM, Fred Kochman <kochman@idaccr.org> wrote:
One of my daughters writes,
One of my co-workers recently bought Smullyan's Lady or the Tiger book for his daughters, but he said that it seems to be too difficult so far. (To be fair, his oldest daughter is only 8 years old.) His kids seem to love mind-bending puzzles though - do you know of any logic books that would be better for really young kids?
Any suggestions? Probably "logic" could be broadly interpreted.
math-fun mailing list math-fun@mailman.xmission.com https://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/math-fun
Oh, and some other good problems for kids are the various bridge-crossing problems (involving priests/cannibals, animals that want to eat each other, etc. etc.) Tom Tom Karzes writes:
I remember a number of little brain teaser puzzles that I enjoyed as a kid. Here are a few that come to mind, all very old:
o You have a 3x3 grid of dots. Draw 4 straight line segments that connect them all without lifting your pencil.
o Various triangle-counting puzzles. These are a good exercise for kids to help them learn how to be thorough and not to miss solutions that might not be immediately obvious.
o Plant 10 trees in 5 rows of 4 each.
o The Königsberg bridge problem. This is readily understandable by kids. There are other simlar problems, e.g. draw a square with diagonals connecting opposite corners (not possible), or the same problem with a triangular "roof" added (possible).
o There's a classic puzzle where you have three utility companies and three houses, and the problem is to connect all three utilities to all three houses without crossing any lines. I don't think there's a solution to this one, unless you allow one of the lines to pass under a house.
o Tangrams are good for kids, although of course they're a physical puzzle.
o When I was a little kid, the Soma Cube was a fad, and trying to build the different shapes from the booklet was a lot of fun (but again, this is a physical puzzle).
Those are just a few that come to mind.
Tom
Dan Asimov writes:
I tried Amazon.com <http://amazon.com/>, searching on
math puzzles ages x-y
for various values of x and y. You get a bunch of plausible candidates.
I also loved Martin Gardner collections, which are generally written so as to be understandable to bright 8-year-olds, though the puzzles might be hard for kids that young. Such as the first book, now with an absurdly long title:
http://www.amazon.com/Hexaflexagons-Probability-Paradoxes-Tower-Hanoi/dp/052... <http://www.amazon.com/Hexaflexagons-Probability-Paradoxes-Tower-Hanoi/dp/0521735254/ref=la_B000AP8X8G_1_9/177-3981617-6736423?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1456256933&sr=1-9>
or for more of his: http://www.amazon.com/Martin-Gardner/e/B000AP8X8G <http://www.amazon.com/Martin-Gardner/e/B000AP8X8G>
—Dan
On Feb 23, 2016, at 7:43 AM, Fred Kochman <kochman@idaccr.org> wrote:
One of my daughters writes,
One of my co-workers recently bought Smullyan's Lady or the Tiger book for his daughters, but he said that it seems to be too difficult so far. (To be fair, his oldest daughter is only 8 years old.) His kids seem to love mind-bending puzzles though - do you know of any logic books that would be better for really young kids?
Any suggestions? Probably "logic" could be broadly interpreted.
math-fun mailing list math-fun@mailman.xmission.com https://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/math-fun
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Sigh. I meant river-crossing puzzles, not bridge-crossing: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/River_crossing_puzzle Tom Tom Karzes writes:
Oh, and some other good problems for kids are the various bridge-crossing problems (involving priests/cannibals, animals that want to eat each other, etc. etc.)
Tom
Tom Karzes writes:
I remember a number of little brain teaser puzzles that I enjoyed as a kid. Here are a few that come to mind, all very old:
o You have a 3x3 grid of dots. Draw 4 straight line segments that connect them all without lifting your pencil.
o Various triangle-counting puzzles. These are a good exercise for kids to help them learn how to be thorough and not to miss solutions that might not be immediately obvious.
o Plant 10 trees in 5 rows of 4 each.
o The Königsberg bridge problem. This is readily understandable by kids. There are other simlar problems, e.g. draw a square with diagonals connecting opposite corners (not possible), or the same problem with a triangular "roof" added (possible).
o There's a classic puzzle where you have three utility companies and three houses, and the problem is to connect all three utilities to all three houses without crossing any lines. I don't think there's a solution to this one, unless you allow one of the lines to pass under a house.
o Tangrams are good for kids, although of course they're a physical puzzle.
o When I was a little kid, the Soma Cube was a fad, and trying to build the different shapes from the booklet was a lot of fun (but again, this is a physical puzzle).
Those are just a few that come to mind.
Tom
Dan Asimov writes:
I tried Amazon.com <http://amazon.com/>, searching on
math puzzles ages x-y
for various values of x and y. You get a bunch of plausible candidates.
I also loved Martin Gardner collections, which are generally written so as to be understandable to bright 8-year-olds, though the puzzles might be hard for kids that young. Such as the first book, now with an absurdly long title:
http://www.amazon.com/Hexaflexagons-Probability-Paradoxes-Tower-Hanoi/dp/052... <http://www.amazon.com/Hexaflexagons-Probability-Paradoxes-Tower-Hanoi/dp/0521735254/ref=la_B000AP8X8G_1_9/177-3981617-6736423?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1456256933&sr=1-9>
or for more of his: http://www.amazon.com/Martin-Gardner/e/B000AP8X8G <http://www.amazon.com/Martin-Gardner/e/B000AP8X8G>
—Dan
On Feb 23, 2016, at 7:43 AM, Fred Kochman <kochman@idaccr.org> wrote:
One of my daughters writes,
One of my co-workers recently bought Smullyan's Lady or the Tiger book for his daughters, but he said that it seems to be too difficult so far. (To be fair, his oldest daughter is only 8 years old.) His kids seem to love mind-bending puzzles though - do you know of any logic books that would be better for really young kids?
Any suggestions? Probably "logic" could be broadly interpreted.
math-fun mailing list math-fun@mailman.xmission.com https://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/math-fun
_______________________________________________ math-fun mailing list math-fun@mailman.xmission.com https://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/math-fun
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Bridge-crossing puzzles tend to be considerably easier: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pons_asinorum
Sent: Wednesday, February 24, 2016 at 6:31 AM From: "Tom Karzes" <karzes@sonic.net> To: math-fun <math-fun@mailman.xmission.com> Subject: Re: [math-fun] math puzzles for very young enthusiasts
Sigh. I meant river-crossing puzzles, not bridge-crossing:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/River_crossing_puzzle
Tom
Tom Karzes writes:
Oh, and some other good problems for kids are the various bridge-crossing problems (involving priests/cannibals, animals that want to eat each other, etc. etc.)
Tom
Tom Karzes writes:
I remember a number of little brain teaser puzzles that I enjoyed as a kid. Here are a few that come to mind, all very old:
o You have a 3x3 grid of dots. Draw 4 straight line segments that connect them all without lifting your pencil.
o Various triangle-counting puzzles. These are a good exercise for kids to help them learn how to be thorough and not to miss solutions that might not be immediately obvious.
o Plant 10 trees in 5 rows of 4 each.
o The Königsberg bridge problem. This is readily understandable by kids. There are other simlar problems, e.g. draw a square with diagonals connecting opposite corners (not possible), or the same problem with a triangular "roof" added (possible).
o There's a classic puzzle where you have three utility companies and three houses, and the problem is to connect all three utilities to all three houses without crossing any lines. I don't think there's a solution to this one, unless you allow one of the lines to pass under a house.
o Tangrams are good for kids, although of course they're a physical puzzle.
o When I was a little kid, the Soma Cube was a fad, and trying to build the different shapes from the booklet was a lot of fun (but again, this is a physical puzzle).
Those are just a few that come to mind.
Tom
Dan Asimov writes:
I tried Amazon.com <http://amazon.com/>, searching on
math puzzles ages x-y
for various values of x and y. You get a bunch of plausible candidates.
I also loved Martin Gardner collections, which are generally written so as to be understandable to bright 8-year-olds, though the puzzles might be hard for kids that young. Such as the first book, now with an absurdly long title:
http://www.amazon.com/Hexaflexagons-Probability-Paradoxes-Tower-Hanoi/dp/052... <http://www.amazon.com/Hexaflexagons-Probability-Paradoxes-Tower-Hanoi/dp/0521735254/ref=la_B000AP8X8G_1_9/177-3981617-6736423?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1456256933&sr=1-9>
or for more of his: http://www.amazon.com/Martin-Gardner/e/B000AP8X8G <http://www.amazon.com/Martin-Gardner/e/B000AP8X8G>
—Dan
On Feb 23, 2016, at 7:43 AM, Fred Kochman <kochman@idaccr.org> wrote:
One of my daughters writes,
One of my co-workers recently bought Smullyan's Lady or the Tiger book for his daughters, but he said that it seems to be too difficult so far. (To be fair, his oldest daughter is only 8 years old.) His kids seem to love mind-bending puzzles though - do you know of any logic books that would be better for really young kids?
Any suggestions? Probably "logic" could be broadly interpreted.
math-fun mailing list math-fun@mailman.xmission.com https://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/math-fun
_______________________________________________ math-fun mailing list math-fun@mailman.xmission.com https://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/math-fun
_______________________________________________ math-fun mailing list math-fun@mailman.xmission.com https://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/math-fun
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Yes, the classics are classics for a good reason! A good next question to ask kids is to make up a variation on the puzzle. It can be easier, harder, or just different. And you don't even have to know if the new puzzle is solvable. Just start by having fun asking different versions of the question. I recently set myself the challenge of designing a simpler Soma Cube, and came up with this: http://www.scottkim.com.previewc40.carrierzone.com/blockbyblockjr/ -- Scott On Tue, Feb 23, 2016 at 9:50 PM, Tom Karzes <karzes@sonic.net> wrote:
Oh, and some other good problems for kids are the various bridge-crossing problems (involving priests/cannibals, animals that want to eat each other, etc. etc.)
Tom
Tom Karzes writes:
I remember a number of little brain teaser puzzles that I enjoyed as a kid. Here are a few that come to mind, all very old:
o You have a 3x3 grid of dots. Draw 4 straight line segments that connect them all without lifting your pencil.
o Various triangle-counting puzzles. These are a good exercise for kids to help them learn how to be thorough and not to miss solutions that might not be immediately obvious.
o Plant 10 trees in 5 rows of 4 each.
o The Königsberg bridge problem. This is readily understandable by kids. There are other simlar problems, e.g. draw a square with diagonals connecting opposite corners (not possible), or the same problem with a triangular "roof" added (possible).
o There's a classic puzzle where you have three utility companies and three houses, and the problem is to connect all three utilities to all three houses without crossing any lines. I don't think there's a solution to this one, unless you allow one of the lines to pass under a house.
o Tangrams are good for kids, although of course they're a physical puzzle.
o When I was a little kid, the Soma Cube was a fad, and trying to build the different shapes from the booklet was a lot of fun (but again, this is a physical puzzle).
Those are just a few that come to mind.
Tom
Dan Asimov writes:
I tried Amazon.com <http://amazon.com/>, searching on
math puzzles ages x-y
for various values of x and y. You get a bunch of plausible candidates.
I also loved Martin Gardner collections, which are generally written so as to be understandable to bright 8-year-olds, though the puzzles might be hard for kids that young. Such as the first book, now with an absurdly long title:
http://www.amazon.com/Hexaflexagons-Probability-Paradoxes-Tower-Hanoi/dp/052... < http://www.amazon.com/Hexaflexagons-Probability-Paradoxes-Tower-Hanoi/dp/052...
or for more of his:
http://www.amazon.com/Martin-Gardner/e/B000AP8X8G < http://www.amazon.com/Martin-Gardner/e/B000AP8X8G>
—Dan
On Feb 23, 2016, at 7:43 AM, Fred Kochman <kochman@idaccr.org>
wrote:
One of my daughters writes,
One of my co-workers recently bought Smullyan's Lady or the Tiger
book for his daughters, but he said that it seems to be too difficult so far. (To be fair, his oldest daughter is only 8 years old.) His kids seem to love mind-bending puzzles though - do you know of any logic books that would be better for really young kids?
Any suggestions? Probably "logic" could be broadly interpreted.
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Hi Scott, I like your idea to make a simpler puzzle related to SOMA, but don't be scared to let young kids try the real SOMA also. I've done the giant cardboard box version SOMA with people of all ages, including first and second graders, who are surprisingly persistent in solving the puzzles. If they also make a version from wood cubes that they can keep, that gives them good insight into the puzzle. There's a recent write-up of the activity (targeted towards teachers who want to replicate it in their classrooms) here: http://makingmathvisible.com George http://georgehart.com/ On 2/24/2016 1:36 AM, Scott Kim wrote:
Yes, the classics are classics for a good reason!
A good next question to ask kids is to make up a variation on the puzzle. It can be easier, harder, or just different. And you don't even have to know if the new puzzle is solvable. Just start by having fun asking different versions of the question. I recently set myself the challenge of designing a simpler Soma Cube, and came up with this: http://www.scottkim.com.previewc40.carrierzone.com/blockbyblockjr/
-- Scott
...
Puzzles are not the same as games, but still, the book "Camp Logic: A Week of Logic Games and Activities for Young People" might be of interest. Likewise for "Moebius Noodles: Adventurous Math for the Playground Crowd". I just learned about these while perusing the March 2016 issue of the Notices (page 316). If some of you actually have a copy of either book, I'd be curious to know what you think. (I have a mathematically-inclined 7-year-old and a less-mathemaically-inclined 9-year-old.) Jim Propp On Wed, Feb 24, 2016 at 10:36 PM, George Hart <george@georgehart.com> wrote:
Hi Scott,
I like your idea to make a simpler puzzle related to SOMA, but don't be scared to let young kids try the real SOMA also. I've done the giant cardboard box version SOMA with people of all ages, including first and second graders, who are surprisingly persistent in solving the puzzles. If they also make a version from wood cubes that they can keep, that gives them good insight into the puzzle. There's a recent write-up of the activity (targeted towards teachers who want to replicate it in their classrooms) here:
George http://georgehart.com/
On 2/24/2016 1:36 AM, Scott Kim wrote:
Yes, the classics are classics for a good reason!
A good next question to ask kids is to make up a variation on the puzzle. It can be easier, harder, or just different. And you don't even have to know if the new puzzle is solvable. Just start by having fun asking different versions of the question. I recently set myself the challenge of designing a simpler Soma Cube, and came up with this: http://www.scottkim.com.previewc40.carrierzone.com/blockbyblockjr/
-- Scott
...
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There's much in The Inquisitive Problem Solver that would appeal to the young. R. On Tue, 23 Feb 2016, Tom Karzes wrote:
I remember a number of little brain teaser puzzles that I enjoyed as a kid. Here are a few that come to mind, all very old:
o You have a 3x3 grid of dots. Draw 4 straight line segments that connect them all without lifting your pencil.
o Various triangle-counting puzzles. These are a good exercise for kids to help them learn how to be thorough and not to miss solutions that might not be immediately obvious.
o Plant 10 trees in 5 rows of 4 each.
o The Königsberg bridge problem. This is readily understandable by kids. There are other simlar problems, e.g. draw a square with diagonals connecting opposite corners (not possible), or the same problem with a triangular "roof" added (possible).
o There's a classic puzzle where you have three utility companies and three houses, and the problem is to connect all three utilities to all three houses without crossing any lines. I don't think there's a solution to this one, unless you allow one of the lines to pass under a house.
o Tangrams are good for kids, although of course they're a physical puzzle.
o When I was a little kid, the Soma Cube was a fad, and trying to build the different shapes from the booklet was a lot of fun (but again, this is a physical puzzle).
Those are just a few that come to mind.
Tom
Dan Asimov writes:
I tried Amazon.com <http://amazon.com/>, searching on
math puzzles ages x-y
for various values of x and y. You get a bunch of plausible candidates.
I also loved Martin Gardner collections, which are generally written so as to be understandable to bright 8-year-olds, though the puzzles might be hard for kids that young. Such as the first book, now with an absurdly long title:
http://www.amazon.com/Hexaflexagons-Probability-Paradoxes-Tower-Hanoi/dp/052... <http://www.amazon.com/Hexaflexagons-Probability-Paradoxes-Tower-Hanoi/dp/0521735254/ref=la_B000AP8X8G_1_9/177-3981617-6736423?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1456256933&sr=1-9>
or for more of his: http://www.amazon.com/Martin-Gardner/e/B000AP8X8G <http://www.amazon.com/Martin-Gardner/e/B000AP8X8G>
—Dan
On Feb 23, 2016, at 7:43 AM, Fred Kochman <kochman@idaccr.org> wrote:
One of my daughters writes,
One of my co-workers recently bought Smullyan's Lady or the Tiger book for his daughters, but he said that it seems to be too difficult so far. (To be fair, his oldest daughter is only 8 years old.) His kids seem to love mind-bending puzzles though - do you know of any logic books that would be better for really young kids?
Any suggestions? Probably "logic" could be broadly interpreted.
math-fun mailing list math-fun@mailman.xmission.com https://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/math-fun
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participants (8)
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Adam P. Goucher -
Dan Asimov -
Fred Kochman -
George Hart -
James Propp -
rkg -
Scott Kim -
Tom Karzes