How to teach your kids basic math skills
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| Photo: thoughtco.com |
Stay Calm
The one thing you want to make sure you do during this process is to stay calm. Keep in mind, children at this age are prone to forget math concepts from day today. If, for example, your child learns how to “count on” on Tuesday, but then can’t recall how to do so on Wednesday, it’s no big deal.
Additionally, children of this age often have issues with their attention spans. Just be aware of your child’s attention span and don’t try to push them beyond it. Hold their attention as long as possible, but don’t force anything — that can just make them tired and cranky.
Remember: This is hard work for children.
Counting on your fingers seems easy to me and you, but for a child, it’s a challenge. The key point is to understand where your child is and work with them where they are. If you start to challenge them and they don’t respond positively, just take things back a step and keep practicing. The more you practice a math skill, the faster they’ll learn it.
Start With Counting
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| Photo: verywellfamily.com |
Teaching math begins with your child knowing numbers. You can help them learn to count with the same strategies you'll be using to teach them math. Children may respond better to memorizing numbers you repeat or may pick up numbers by seeing you count objects from one to ten. A method that may work for one of your children might not be right for another. Gauge each child individually. Once your child begins counting, you're ready to start with some basic math principles.
Every day counting opportunities
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| Photo: zerotothree.org |
| You already have everything you need to begin teaching math to your child. Buttons, pennies, money, books, fruit, soup cans, trees, cars — you can count the objects you have available. Math is easy to teach when you look at all of the physical objects you can count, add, subtract, and multiply. Everyday objects also help you teach your child that objects don't have to be identical to be important in math. Counting apples is a great math lesson, but counting apples, oranges, and watermelons together expand the thought process. The child is connecting counting with various objects, instead of running through a routine numbers game of 1, 2, 3. |
Play Math Games
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| Photo: teachingideas.ca |
There are plenty of games on the market that promise to aid you in teaching math. Hi Ho Cherry-O and adding dice teach simple addition. The game Chutes and Ladders introduces children to the numbers 1 to 100.
Advanced math board games come and go, so check stores for today's hot games. Classics like Yahtzee, PayDay, Life, and Monopoly are always good resources for addition and subtraction.
Some of the best math games come from your own imagination. Play a math scavenger hunt. Use chalk to scribble numbers on the driveway and quiz your kids with math questions they have to answer by running to the correct number. Begin basic counting skills with blocks. Math can become an activity they enjoy rather than an educational drill.
Geometry
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| Photo: learning4kids.net |
Early geometry skills include naming and identifying 2D shapes like circles, squares, and triangles. Children also need to realize that shapes of different sizes, orientations, and dimensions are similar. Children should be able to recognize that a circle is like a sphere and use informal names like “box” and “ball” to identify three-dimensional objects.
Parents can draw children’s attention to shapes found in the environment. On a walk, parents can point out that wheels are circles and then have children find other circles in the environment. Commercially available games like Perfection or Tangrams can help children learn to identify simple and more complex shapes. Puzzles, blocks, and Legos are another great way to help build early spatial skills.
We hope that you will teach your kids effectively with the above tips. And if it is effective, please tell us to know in the comment box. Check KnowInsider regularly for more informative topics!
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