Math is a subject that students find super tricky. They think of it as something full of complex ideas, formulas, and equations. Getting children to learn math can be a challenge. But Math is a pretty interesting subject when taught and learned correctly. Recent articles from Education Week, Business Insider, and Edutopia say that we need to switch up ways of instruction to inspire a love of math in children.
This blog post is all about strategies that can make learning math fun for your children. We share nine easy ways to inspire children to love math that actually work. Whether you are a homeschooling parent or a teacher, you can make learning math an adventure for your kids by incorporating these techniques into your practices.
1.Cultivate a Growth Mindset
Teach your kids that they can totally get better at math with a bit of effort. If they are having a hard time with a problem, tell them they are stuck at it yet, but they can solve it with more effort. Convince them to think that some math stuff feels tricky at first, but that doesn’t mean they can never do it. They’ll get it eventually.
Students should know that making mistakes is totally normal. They should understand the mistake and improve later rather than ruminating on the problem. Make them think they shouldn’t just chase grades, but enjoy learning maths. Learning almost anything is like a journey and one-time grades are not the be-all and end-all.
Teach your kids to change their mindset towards math and keep trying rather than being worried or giving up. Once they decide that math is not that tough and they can do it, they’ll continue to practice and eventually get the hang of it.
2.Connecting Math to Real World
Learning Math with the help of real-world applications is one of the most efficient ways to teach and learn it. Suppose you’re cooking a dish with your child; tell them how you’re measuring ingredients and how fractions and ratios impact the overall taste and texture of dishes. This makes boring match logic much more entertaining and memorable, too.
Take your child to the grocery store and ask them to compare prices and calculate discounts. Explain what the unit price is and how they can find the best value. Discuss your budget with them. Ask them how you should spend mindfully. Such mini math lessons in daily trips help kids understand that math isn’t boring but relevant to our everyday lives.
Another way might be to teach children budgeting for, let’s say, a small family trip. Discuss with them the expenses and how they can allocate their budget to meet the trip’s needs. These are just examples of how you can incorporate maths into their daily life. Doing so will make them feel more connected to the subject and inspire them to learn math.
3.Interactive Math Games
There are a lot of games that can help your kids learn math concepts entertainingly. Find math-based games, quizzes, and puzzles, and let kids play them in their leisure time. Make sure that these apps are suitable for their age and level of subject understanding.
When children play such games and solve problems, it fosters a sense of accomplishment that keeps them motivated to learn more. You can also make it a family activity. You can pick up such puzzles and games, and the whole family can play it with the child. This collaborative activity will make learning math even more playful and enjoyable.
4.Creative Math Activites
Coming up with creative activities that include math problems is another way to teach children. This can involve techniques similar to the ones we covered above, like connecting math to real-world activities and games, etc. The point is to make learning enjoyable so that the children don’t have to force themselves to study.
An example of a creative math activity can be to use toy blocks to create towers, bridges, math shapes, etc. This can help kids improve spatial awareness. Such an activity can boost children’s understanding of shapes and their areas and perimeters, etc.
5.Encourage Questions
Keep the line of communication wide open. Your kids should feel free to ask questions about anything they don’t understand. Every question is a step forward. So encourage them when they ask questions. At the same time, it’s also important that they use their brain first rather than completely relying on asking you to solve problems for them.
Questions show that kids are taking an interest in the learning process. This curiosity is highly important for their learning. Also, kids do what they see. So be curious about math problems and take an interest in solving them. This will help improve kids’ interest in the subject, leading to better understanding.
6.Math Books and Resources
Don’t just stick to the textbooks. Supplement them with other resources that keep them hooked. This may include books that make the numbers pop, math-based coloring books, and story books that somehow incorporate math. Take your child to the bookstore or library and let them pick what catches their eye.
And don’t forget about online resources, too. Many websites like Khan Academy and Brilliant teach math through exceptional tricks and strategies. Even YouTube is now flooded with amazing teachers that make learning a breeze.
7.Math Role Models
Children love superheroes. So, introduce them to real-world math superheroes who have used math in mind-blowing ways to create modern-life solutions. Show them that math isn’t limited to the classroom; it’s a tool that continuously shapes our lives. Your children should know that math forms the foundation of many cool inventions in the fields of tech, health, or engineering.
You can introduce your kids to math heroes through documentaries, shows, and interviews. Tell kids about what good these heroes have brought into this world and link them to their course content. This step is important as they might not realize the importance of their subject otherwise.
8.Collaborative Math Learning
Studying with peers can improve learning. Encourage your child to participate in study groups. They can be physical as well as online. The advantage of such groups is that they foster a sense of community and expose students to diverse learning styles and techniques.
Discussions and collaborative projects improve the comprehension and communication of complex mathematical ideas.
Group studying has always been an effective teaching method for every subject. Schools should also arrange group study sessions so students can learn from each other. Group studying improves problem-solving by creating a sense of teamwork.
9.Celebrate Achievements
The last one of the ways to inspire children to love math that we’ll discuss here is celebrating achievements. Celebrate all of their achievements, whether small or big. When a child is appreciated and rewarded for doing something, he is more motivated to do it again and improve. Appreciating your kids for achieving a milestone in maths would encourage them to put in more effort and perform better next time.
The reward can be a few words of appreciation, a heartfelt conversation, a small gift, or a family gathering. So whenever your child solves a problem, appreciate them, they score high on tests, tell them you’re proud, they nail the exams, buy them a gift. These gestures will help them keep moving forward.
Conclusion
Math often haunts the students, but using the techniques discussed above, you can make it a breeze for your child. The point is to make the subject entertaining and enjoyable for students.
This can be done by taking maths out of the classroom and books and connecting it to the real world. Arranging group sessions and appreciating your kids’ achievements are highly helpful in making them stick to the learning.
If you find all these methods overwhelming, remember that you don’t need to apply them all. Find out what works best to inspire your child to love math.
