I read recently that children with good mathematical skills are more likely to grow up to earn more, stay in school longer and are more employable. It seems logical then that we as good parents should be encouraging our kids to be as good as they can at math.
The problem a lot of us have, is that we weren’t that good ourselves, or at the very least didn’t enjoy it that much. Okay, I don’t actually fall into that category, I actually did enjoy math, but I’ve known plenty of other parents who didn’t like it.
The good news is that children are born with an inherent ability in math. We just need to encourage and build on what’s already there.
First thing we need to do, is to build up their confidence. One of the biggest reasons kids have problems with math, is that they are not confident in their ability. So by building their confidence we’re actually encouraging them to try harder with the belief that they can do it, and by extension they’ll want to learn more and do more.
The other thing to do, is to make it fun. Children who enjoy math, are also the ones who do the best at it. Seems logical doesn’t it? People who enjoy what they’re doing, naturally do better at it because they try harder.
So where do we start? As early as possible with number recognition. Look around and there’re numbers everywhere. We can make it a game. Start by pointing out numbers to our toddlers and move on to a game where they have to find specific numbers.
Counting is also a great way to understand numbers and order. There are plenty of songs and rhymes around that we can use, and we used some we found on youtube. They were fun and Jay would ask to listen to them again and again. Board games are also a great way to practice counting and number recognition. It’s also a good way to spend time as a family having fun.
Grouping and sorting helps teach mathematical concepts and is apparently used in early math classes. Start with their toys and sort them into different piles based on size or shape or any other differences that they can identify. Then they can compare how many are in each pile and say which has more. First by simply looking and estimating which has more, and then by actually counting to test their hypothesis.
Simple addition or subtraction can be done by adding or subtracting single items on a pile to give the ideas. Then we can move up to adding or removing more than one. Giving them a head start on what they’ll learn in school.
Another thing we can do is to use math language such as bigger/smaller, more/less, heavier/lighter, above/below, and so on. The best thing, is that we can this anywhere, at home, the shops, wherever. There are literally things everywhere that we can use for this activity.
There are plenty more things we can do with young children to encourage their interest in math, we just need to use our imagination and get going.
