Maths can be a tricky subject for some children, and can provoke a lot of fear (something which can last into adulthood); however, feeling confident with numbers and having a positives attitude to maths can have a big impact on children’s ability to use figures in everyday life. helping your child with maths can have a big impact on your child education.
Your child will get support at school to develop their maths abilities, but there are some things you can do at home to help them, as explored here by this private kindergarten in New York.
Be positive about maths
The best thing you can do is helping your child with maths by making them feel confident with maths and talk about it in a positive way and encourage your child to adopt a growth mindset. Instead of trying to empathise by saying, for example, that you too struggled with maths at school, try saying that you’ve got better at maths over time so your child realises their maths abilities aren’t set in stone; it’s better for them to believe that, with hard work and determination, they can overcome any weaknesses and improve their skills and confidence with numbers.
Practise maths in everyday life
Pointing out the maths you use in everyday activities like shopping or organising a budget, along with getting your child involved, can help them overcome any blocks they have. Next time you go to the supermarket, challenge them to add items up before you get to the checkout and then see if they got it right, or when you’re driving somewhere use it as an opportunity to teach your child about distances and speed. You could also ask them to help bake a cake or cook a meal, and task them with weighing and measuring ingredients. They’ll realise that maths is everywhere and seeing it applied in real life might help them make more sense of it.
Focus on effort more than outcomes
Giving your child praise for the effort they’ve put into a maths challenge will encourage them to keep persevering, even if they don’t get all the answers right. Try to ensure you make a big deal of it when they do get things right and point out how they’ve got there by working hard and not giving up. This will reinforce to your child that they can overcome stumbling blocks and improve their maths skills through consistent practise.
Staying positive, even when your child is really struggling with maths, is key, as is providing constant support and encouragement.
Helping your child with maths at home will speed up the learning process and demystify their maths struggle when you apply day to day activities in teaching them maths.
Do you have other tips on helping your child with maths at home, let us know in the comment section below.
