Maths as a subject seems uninteresting. Maths appears abstract to children, so they find it hard to connect with it in real life.
Children think they can’t argue mathematics. It requires the memorization of formulas.
See also Quantitative Reasoning; Teaching Methods for Primary Schools
But, what your child thinks or feels about Maths isn’t a problem. The help they need begins with you as parents and teachers.
How to improve your child’s Maths skills as Parents.
Model Maths
It is said that children imitate their parents. The first way to improve your child’s maths skills is to become a Maths Model.
How can you Model maths as a parent?
- Love Maths as a parent
Children know what you love. In other words, your child should hear you mention figures and formulas. They need to see you watch programs that relate to math. Counting currency notes or coins in your children’s presence can spark the interest they need.
- Don’t talk down on Maths.
When your child hears you say that Maths isn’t necessary, they lose interest. A Lot of children and teenagers say that. You don’t expect your child to accept what you have rejected. Let your child see the light and importance of Mathematics through you. Also, don’t talk down on your child’s Maths Teacher.
Connect Maths with real life
Unlike other subjects, so many children dislike Mathematics. It is obvious some parents and teachers do not make it concrete.
Making Maths teaching concrete helps children connect it with real life. Maths is abstract, unlike what a lot of children think.
Maths is real. It forms part of our day-to-day activities.
How to help children connect Maths with real life as parents.
- Shop alongside your child
There are lots of calculations involving money.
An experiment conducted in a class of 18 pupils, the average age of the students are five years. The Math teacher created a mini grocery stand in the classroom. Students were to shop for themselves. After shopping, we observed that fifteen pupils could calculate their balance after shopping.
Research conducted among 16 pupils, the average age was 5years. The children were among sixteen(16) pupils of Grade 4.
They had to visit the grocery shop alone. Observations gathered showed that those who could themselves performed better in Maths problems.
Hence, allowing children to shop helps to improve their maths skills.
- Involve your child in cooking exercises
Cooking exercise requires calculation. Every item used in cooking requires measurement. These measurements involve figures. When you cook with your child, read out the recipe together for understanding. Reading and understanding help to spark problem-solving skills. When children are involved in the cooking exercise, make them read the recipe. After that, ask them what they think about it. Children who need improvement in Maths do not like reading Maths word problems.
Also, cooking requires maths skills such as counting, measurement, estimation, fractions, and units. Ask your child to measure salt or grain when you need to add it.
After measurement in kilograms, convert to grams. This way, your child has connected measurement and conversion to real life.
Learning Maths with the art of cooking will help improve your child’s Maths skills.
Discover and use maths tricks
Playing is fun. Play is the best way to get children to learn. Making Maths appear serious and abstract scares children away. Children sometimes pretend to be ill during Maths class time. A lot of fun materials are available to aid maths skills.
As parents, you can help improve your child’s maths skills at home.
How to use Maths tricks as parents to improve your child’s maths skill
- Play Games
Playing games can let your child have a grasp of maths skills. Preschoolers can learn to identify numbers by playing games. Playing games improves reasoning. Improvement in Maths skills makes children become critical thinkers.
Every player wants to win a game. Improvement in maths skills makes children better planners and strategic thinkers.
- Catch Fun with spare time
Reflect on the game with your child after playing. Discuss how it all went, and write and answer questions that follow. Your child can improve in maths by playing games. Children enjoy fun events. They don’t like a boring environment. While your children play, introduce maths learning. Using a staircase at home, your child can learn to count forward and backward. Climb up the stairs, count backward, go down the staircase, count forward. By doing this, your child can learn numbers before and numbers after.
Motivate your children when they make mistakes.
Children are not the same. Let your children know that they are not to feel bad when they cannot recollect fast. They shouldn’t feel less of themselves when others get questions right before they do.
As a result, your child may feel incompetent when using some methods to arrive at a solution. Hence, if they are not fast, they may get discouraged. As parents, encourage them to love their thinking process. Encourage your children to love their success.
Let your child know that it is okay to make mistakes.
Also, motivate your children to practice their maths skills. By doing this, they would build efficiency and accuracy.
Celebrate your child’s progress
Celebrate every bit of your child’s progress in Maths. It is a way to improve your child. Be your child’s number one fan. It builds inner strength and confidence. Hence, your children know that they are getting something right. Also, they feel at ease.
Your child sees your support and connects more with you. Celebrating your child’s progress is a way of nourishing Mathematics growth.
Hire a Tutor
Reinforced learning can help improve your child’s maths skills. An extra coaching program online or physical will go a long way in supporting children.
Interested in an Online Math Tutor for your child. Sign Up for a Tutor