Is there anything I can do at home to better support children's math learning?

It is true that school closures have made parents responsible for supervising their children's education at home, but there are some parents who do not prefer working with mathematics.

According to a study from the University of Pittsburgh, mathematical skills are in fact hereditary, Melissa E. Libertus, a lead author on the study and an assistant professor in the university's Department of Psychology, says in an article published on the Time magazine website that parents who have an intuitive sense of numbers pass on This thing to their children.

Math test scores for school-age children can also be predicted with certainty by looking at their parents' scores on the test itself.

But what if you want your child to practice and love math like you have never done before? TheConversation offers some advice on this.

Learn together

Do not think that you are responsible for explaining everything to your child. Think of yourself as a companion who wants to study with him and try to understand new concepts together.

Use your past experiences to solve problems and challenges.

And be honest and remind your child that this method is new to you too, but you are eager to understand it with him.

Use of props

When trying to learn mathematical or mathematical concepts for the first time it can be very difficult to understand, so it is best to play with something tangible like buttons or lego pieces, to aid in the comprehension process.

Give yourself and your child plenty of time to learn a new idea (pixels)

Is math useful?

Learning math may seem pointless to your child, and it can lead to frustration.

After all, the calculator can be used on your phone to do all the math operations you want.

But that doesn't mean you don't need to do any mental calculations at all in life.

Maybe you have a budget of 50 pounds and want to know quickly if you can buy 3 items for 13 pounds, 20 pounds and 17 pounds.

Avoid the fear factor

Teaching unknown concepts can make Maths Anxiety, the irrational fear of anything mathematical, reappear in you.

The danger is that this fear can be passed on to your child, and this has consequences for their enjoyment of school, and even for the decisions they make in life.

To get rid of this, follow a simple trick that is not to explain the math, but to help your child learn tools useful for life.

Giving math a more friendly name, such as "problem-solving tricks" or "math tools," that better reflect your own abilities, can boost confidence and banish anxiety.

Make it real

Once you and your child have learned a new mathematical concept, try to make it more realistic by using it in daily life, and you should create, for example, math problems with biscuits or fruit pieces and purchase prices, and be creative in your use of tools to explain basic arithmetic concepts to your child.

Do not get discouraged

Give yourself and your child plenty of time to learn a new idea.

Some mathematical concepts may be counter-intuitive or difficult, so it is best to step back a little and do something else, and come back to it at another time.

And remember that learning in a more positive and fun way will help make homeschooling a positive experience.

Basic math skills should be taught in fun ways to make learning new skills easier (Shutterstock)

Komodomath offers 3 other helpful tips for getting your kid involved in math:

First: Beware of the beginnings

Learning mathematics is like building a pyramid, and the base of the pyramid is always the basis on which everything is built, and math skills such as counting, addition, subtraction, etc. are the basic building blocks that form the basis.

If one of these skills is not fully rooted in your child, it will make the rest of the building fragile and learning new skills more difficult.

This causes children to start to lose confidence and fall behind, so early awareness of a potential problem is key so it can be treated before it becomes a problem.

Identify strengths and weaknesses

Here are some tips to help get an accurate picture of your child's strengths and weaknesses in mathematics.

  • Talk to your child regularly, asking him: What are you doing in math this week, and how did you do on that homework and the weekly test?

  • See his textbooks and read teacher comments.

  • Check the curriculum to find out what skills your child will work on in school.

  • Talk to the teacher about your child's performance and compare it to what is reasonably expected for their age.

Second: practice

Your child should get in the habit of solving certain math problems daily, and making them a habit, and mathematics is one of those things that you need to do regularly, such as music or physical exercise.

Here are some ideas for doing this:

Shopping

, involve younger kids in counting the items you are buying, and comparing bigger and smaller sizes.

Older children can practice money management, and the idea of ​​comparing prices and knowing the percentages of discounts is a good opportunity for some complex mental math.

Cooking

, the kitchen is an ideal location to understand and practice counting, measuring, size, shape and time.

The idea of ​​fractions can also be learned while preparing ingredients.


Gardening

, most kids love to help out in the garden so it provides a fun and memorable educational opportunity. Counting, measuring, reading temperature and sorting are all easy sports activities for young children.

For older children, they may enjoy planning a new gardening project, how to evenly distribute the seeds, check temperatures and measure plants as they grow.


Games and puzzles

, During family gatherings some math puzzles can be

played

and creative solutions can be found.

You can also search for ideas on the sites dedicated to this on the Internet.

Third: the right mindset for learning mathematics

Building a healthy mindset for learning mathematics includes the following:

  • Faith, confidence and flexibility to keep learning even when the going gets tough.

  • Start with yourself, be a good example, and get rid of notes like "I am not good at math", or "I used to hate math in school" etc., so that these phrases and ideas are not picked up by children, which affects their attitude towards mathematics.

    So show your enthusiasm for math, even if you need to fake it.

  • Building Confidence, If your child is struggling with a loss of confidence, take a few steps back to the skills he feels comfortable doing and build from there.

  • Praise effort, not performance. Constant effort is what matters.

    Making mistakes is not a bad thing, as it is a necessary part of every learner's learning journey.