What Every Parent Needs To Know About Teaching Kids Math
So you want to help your kids with their math homework? Or try to get them a little bit more interested in this important subject?
Excellent. Just make sure you don't inadvertently make things worse.
Due to lack of understanding, some parents can unknowingly create more confusion and increase the stress on the child.
Here are six tips to help you and your kids get the best out of your math moments?together:
1. See math from the child's perspective
Math aptitudes vary a great deal from person to person. One child has a flair for math while another struggles to understand and quickly forgets.
Realize that the child is not at fault if they don't understand something that is crystal clear to you. Mathematical objects and relationships are extremely subtle, because they are just ideas.
Help your child understand these abstract ideas by relating them to something in the real world.
As a simple example, the classic If I have 12 apples and give away 5 apples, how many apples do I have left??is much more meaningful than - 2-5=?
2. Know where they're at
To teach a child, you first need to know their current level of knowledge and understanding.
You can find this out by asking a question about the topic being studied.
If they answer wrong, first try re-phrasing your question.
If they still answer incorrectly, then ask them a simpler question.
Keep asking progressively more basic questions until you get a correct answer.
When you know where they're at, you know where to start teaching.
3. Make math a game
Children vary in their attitude to math. Some enjoy it, some are indifferent, and some truly detest it.
But all children love to play. So find subtle ways to introduce math as a cool thing to do?
Invent simple games like: I'll say a number, you add on seven?
Or: I'll name a price, you tell me the change from 10 dollars?
You can also include math in other areas of your child's life.
For example, ask: If you save your pocket money, how long will it take to get the money to buy this thing you want??Then get your child to add up the savings every week.
4. Always be positive
Success brings confidence, failure the opposite.
So always praise success and be genuinely pleased. Math should be rewarding for the child.
And never show disappointment or scold them for getting an answer wrong.
If your child answers incorrectly, ask them if they are sure of their answer. Or ask them a simpler question and build up in easy stages to the original question.
Really, incorrect answers are simply a clue to what misunderstandings are in the child's mind or what they don't know.
5. Build on strengths
Children vary with the kind of math they can do or like.
A child poor at number work may find geometry really easy. On the other hand a genius with numbers may not be able to deal with geometrical objects.
I know a first-rate math teacher who cannot visualize objects. At school I could quickly answer math questions, but when it came to a certain topic I just couldn't get my mind around it, yet another boy seemed to know all the answers.
You need to build on your child's strengths. Let them show how good they are at something, and try to combine it with what they are not so good at.
For example, perhaps your son is good at geometry but not arithmetic. Ask him to imagine a cube framework made of wire. Then ask how much wire would be needed if each edge was 5cm long.
6. Be prepared to repeat yourself
As every teacher knows, you can't assume that what you taught yesterday is understood, or even remembered, today. Assume nothing and be pleased with whatever they recall.
You may have to go over the same thing again and again. But know that each time through, it's making a deeper impact - things are happening on a subtle level.
Follow these tips and your kids will enjoy increased confidence in the math class. And you'll find yourself a lot less stressed out at math homework time too!
Kenneth Williams is author of 'Fun With Figures' at FunWithFigures.com
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