Maths can be quite an intimidating subject for many children, and sometimes parents can be left wondering how to help. Maths doesn’t always come naturally to everyone; some of us are better for example with words or sport. However, there are ways you can help your kids maths skills, even if you’re not a maths expert yourself. The trick is to try and make it an element of your child’s everyday life. This will allow them to become more familiar with problem solving and numbers, gain confidence and learn that it isn’t as scary as it may have first seemed. Read on for more tips and information from an independent school in Kingston Upon Thames.
Disclosure: This is a partnered post
INCORPORATE MATHS INTO EVERYDAY LIFE
Incorporating maths into everyday life is easier than you might think. There are lots of board games that require basic numeracy skills, such as Monopoly, that can help show your child that numbers can be fun. What’s more, you could encourage your child to help you cook a meal or two each week, as this also requires the ability to work out oven times and measurements of ingredients, for both solids and liquids. This can also assist with fussy eating habits – so its win, win!
Another way to help your child with their basic number comprehension is to take them shopping with you and ask them to calculate how much your items are going to cost when you get to the till. You can also ask them to calculate how much change you’ll need if you pay with a certain amount of cash.
ASK THE EXPERTS FOR ADVICE
A further way to help your kids maths skills is to get in touch with their teachers and ask for some advice on certain resources you can use, both online and in books. They will know which resources are most appropriate for your child’s age, which will then inspire you to find other, similar resources. What’s more, the teachers will be able to tell you a little bit more about the curriculum so that you know what’s going to be coming up in lessons over the coming weeks. You can then explore similar concepts at home.
Alternatively, if you feel your child needs an extra guided hand with their math skills, why not consider a home tutor.
GIVE LOTS OF PRAISE AND ENCOURAGEMENT
One key thing to remember is that your child will not learn if you always tell them the answers. In other words, when they’re doing kids maths homework and ask for your help, you should motivate them to learn and refrain from taking over too much. Instead, ask your child to try and figure out the answers on their own and show their workings out. That way if they go wrong, you’ll be able to see where they stumbled and show them how to avoid making the same mistake on the next question.
We trust these tips have helped you to better understand ways that you can help to develop your kids maths skills. It is a basic skill we will all require in life and we all need a basic understanding of math regardless of the technology available to us these days.
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