Let's Play Math

Written By Manisha Snoyer (co-founder of Modulo)
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by Denise Gaskins

“Even if you struggled with mathematics in school, you can help your children enjoy learning and prepare them for academic success.

Author Denise Gaskins makes it easy with this mixture of math games, low-prep project ideas, and inspiring coffee-chat advice from a veteran homeschooling mother of five. Filled with stories and illustrations, Let's Play Math offers a practical, activity-filled exploration of what it means to learn math as a family.

Drawing on more than thirty years' teaching experience, Gaskins provides helpful tips for parents with kids from preschool to high school, whether your children learn at home or attend a traditional classroom.

Sections include:

  • How to Understand Math: Introduce your children to the thrill of conquering a challenge. Build deep understanding by thinking, playing, and asking questions like a mathematician.

  • Playful Problem Solving: Awaken your children’s minds to the beauty and wonder of mathematics. Discover the social side of math, and learn games for players of all ages.

  • Math with Living Books: See how mathematical ideas ebb and flow through the centuries with this brief tour through history. Can your kids solve puzzles from China, India, or Ancient Egypt?

  • Let’s Get Practical: Fit math into your family’s daily life, help your children develop mental calculation skills, and find out what to try when your child struggles.

  • Resources and References: With so many library books and Internet sites, you’ll never run out of playful mathematical adventures.

All parents and teachers share one goal: we want our children to understand and be able to use math. Your children will gain a strong foundation when you approach math as a family game, playing with ideas.

Don’t let your children suffer from the epidemic of math anxiety. Grab a copy of Let’s Play Math, and start enjoying math today.” - from the publisher

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Manisha Snoyer (co-founder of Modulo)

For the last 20 years, I’ve taught over 2000 children in 3 countries (of all socio-economic backgrounds). I pioneered an English language program in a conflict region in the Middle East. I’ve worked as a bilingual public school teacher at some of the highest and lowest performing public schools and in all five boroughs of NYC. I’ve tutored 18 subjects in three languages to some of the wealthiest families in NYC, San Francisco and Paris to make up for shortcomings in private schools they were paying up to $60,000 a year to attend.

Since 2015, I’ve helped hundreds of parents start microschools (way before this was a household buzzword). I founded CottageClass, the first marketplace for microschools and learning pods that was part of the Techstars 2018 class. In 2019, I created a virtual learning program to help families through the pandemic, a free online math tutoring program (masteryhour.org), and schoolclosures.org, a hotline developed in collaboration with Twilio and 80 other partners including Khan Academy, Revolution Foods and the Crisis Text Line, that served 100,000 families impacted by school closures.

I’ve climbed trees with children in forest schools in San Francisco, and tested new digital apps with kids in seven countries.

I’ve also coached dozens of families at different stages in their homeschooling journey. Most recently, I founded Modulo with homeschooling dad, best-selling author and tech entrepreneur Eric Ries, to help families curate their children’s education, social and childcare experiences drawing from a diverse array of in-person and online resources.


During the last three years, I’ve devoted much of my time to reviewing and testing secular homeschooling curriculum and other resource. I’ve spent the last three years talking to thousands of secular homeschooling families, and poring over tens of thousands of secular curriculum reviews and testing physical curriculum and digital apps for with hundreds of students to find the highest quality, most engaging, personalized learning materials for every type of learner.

I’ve spoken about homeschooling and modular learning at multiple venues including SXSW EDU, NY Tech Meetup, and on the LiberatedEd podcast.

In 2022, Modulo was one of 8 organizations who were awarded the Bridge Grant from the Vela Education Fund to expand access to homeschooling and modular learning to under-resourced communities.

My experience in education and homeschooling has led me to believe that there is no perfect education for every child, but families have an extraordinary amount of wisdom they can apply to building the perfect education for their individual child.

My goal with Modulo is to make it possible for any family to easily build a customized education that their child will love, and that will empower the whole family to thrive, taking into account, social, emotional and academic needs.

I love to answer questions from parents and receive feedback on how we can improve Modulo, so feel free to reach out anytime! I personally answer all the questions and comments readers leave on my blogs.

In my free time, I like hiking, traveling the world, tasting ceremonial grade matcha, enjoying dark chocolate.

I graduated Summa Cum Laude from Brandeis University with highest honors, with a double degree in French Literature and American Studies and minors in Environmental Studies and Peace & Conflict Studies.

And I love to learn!

https://www.linkedin.com/in/manisha-snoyer-5042298/
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