Hello Everyone,
Today I have Corinne from Alternate Tutelage sharing her ideas to make math fun and exciting for kids!
Different & Fun Ways to Make your Child Love Math
Kids
who struggle with math often spend their entire academic lives
thinking of math as a horrible monster that will never go away.
Making such kids love math can be challenging, so I put together this
list of different fun ways to make your child fall in love math.
“N
is for Negative” by Angelia
Sims, licensed under CC BY SA 2.0
Math Activities
Whether
it’s a hot summer’s afternoon, a long wait at the dentist’s or
a seemingly endless road trip, any time is a great time to learn
math. Encourage your child to explore the fascinating mathematical
concepts that are found in nature – shapes, sizes and symmetry of
leaves; counting the numbers and kinds of trees in your street;
learning the different shapes and patterns in flowers – and so on.
Your little mathematician will happily learn math if it is presented
to him in the form of fun activities. Identify the kind of activities
he or she enjoys and integrate math into it. For instance, if your child loves to
cook or bake, let him measure the ingredients, count items and
estimate the amount of time required to cook specific things.
Math Games
There
are various kinds of games that indirectly help kids learn some
aspect of math. They are effective because your child is more open to
learning when he’s having fun and wants to keep doing whatever he’s
doing. Math games come in different forms – board
games, online math games,
card
games, video games, puzzles, active
playground games, etc. A well-designed math game allows players
of all skill levels to participate and learn. They can teach new
concepts or let kids practice previously learned concepts. Math games
are your best friend if you want to make the subject interesting and
help your child lose their inhibitions when they've engaged simple or
advanced mathematical tasks. Talk about motivation!
Math-themed Books
Share
books and stories that have mathematical themes but are also good
entertainment. Big Fat Hen by
K. Baker, for instance, features a hen that lays eggs whose numbers
go up two until they reach a total of ten. Mrs.McTats and her Houseful of Cats by A.
Capucilli talks about how Mrs. McTats adopts cats in multiples until
she has 25 cats in her house. D. A. Carter’s How Many Bugs in a Box is all about
measurements. Once your child starts enjoying math-themed stories, he
will be able to see the underlying math in any book, in addition to
developing a love for reading.
Did
these ideas work for you? I’d love to hear about your experiences
with kids and math!
Author Bio: Corinne
Jacob is a wannabe writer who is convinced that kids learn best
when they’re having fun. She is constantly on the lookout for new
and exciting ways to make learning an enjoyable experience. Corinne
loves all things that scream out un-schooling, alternative education
and holistic learning.
* * * * * * * *
Thanks for your insights! I can't wait until my books come out so they can be on your Math-themed book list! The Pancake Menu will be coming out July 2015
