May 18, 2009

Want to Improve Your Child's Math Skills? Make Math a Way of Life!

Interesting news about how to get kids more fluent in mathematics.. (fluent works because math is said to be a language). According to the The Scotsman, it is possible to foster math ability with children.

And we here at Sweet Schoolin' say that homeschooling fits this mission beautifully. Schools are doing a lousy job at this... don't compartmentalize math. Talk about math with your kids. Did you know the nautilus image at left is a perfect start for discussing the Golden Spiral. Try it! (with search engines, you have no excuse, learn along with the kids!)

Some things to try:

  • teach your children to see themselves as problem solvers. Use math language and make it part of your life

  • make sure your children are doing math puzzles, Sudoku, mazes, logic puzzles. You can start mazes early on

  • discuss math with your children, how to solve puzzles, word problems.

  • encourage a flexible view of numbers... break up the numbers to make operations easier. 2 x 98 is the same as 2 x 100, -4, which is easier for many people.

  • point out the logic in even wrong answers when your child is working on a math problem, rather than just saying, "No, that's wrong."

  • take a "real life" approach to math. USE it. Talk about it, find the beauty in it.

  • Read the whole article here.

    Living Math
    Incredibots
    Mathematical Magic
    The Golden Mean
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1 comment:

Jordan said...

Yep. And having to split two burgers between three people or a certain number of cookies or candy or...you get the point...can be a good real world application too.
Cause, the golden spiral, while fascinating to teenagers, might be a little intimidating for seven year olds.