Would you like some ideas for helping your child to succeed in, and love, math? Read on.
Each of these six suggestions is completely free (apart from some of your time) and requires no qualification in education to use:
1. Tell stories about your own experiences with math.
Whether you were top of your class or really found math difficult, there are lessons your child can learn from hearing how you have tackled the learning of math in your life. What lessons can you pass on to your child? What would you do differently, if you had your time at school over again?
2. Let your child see you using math naturally in everyday activities like cooking, shopping, enjoying sports, playing games.
You can point out that you are using the same math that your child is learning at school, or will soon learn, to succeed. You are one of the best models for “adults who use math every day” your child will ever encounter!
3. Let your child know it’s OK to find math hard.
Generation after generation of school students found it that way. But lots of folks went on as adults to become engineers, put men on the moon, tackle pollution, make money, manage businesses or just succeed in life generally, all using math. You don’t have to grow up to love math, but we expect you to do as well as you can and not give up.
4. Play family games that involve adding, subtracting, and other basic math.
Many families have favorite games, sometimes passed down from generations before. It doesn’t matter which game it is; just involve the child in doing the math as part of enjoyment of the game. By the way, if you like Monopoly, try to find an old version with paper money, not the disappointing new version with a calculator – this really steals a lot of the fun!
5. Involve your child in activities that involve math.
Two obvious ones are cooking and shopping; a third is handiwork which requires measuring sizes. There is a multitude of opportunities for math in each of these activities.
6. Lastly, make a point of rewarding success in learning math.
Every child in the family will have his or her unique abilities and strengths. Just make sure that doing well in math is included in the list of “things we are proud of in our children”, so that everyone in the family knows that math is important, and doing well in it is praiseworthy.
This is a short list of suggestions. You are sure to have your own ways to encourage your own children to see value in math. Feel free to write and let me know – I’d love to hear from you.