Math homework can be challenging for students, but it can also have parents scratching their heads in confusion. Unless you love mathematics, tackling this subject can be difficult, to say the least! This is especially true with the addition of new math methods that are being taught in class today.
Helping your kids love math is one of the best ways to help them perform well in the subject. While making sense of these numbers may seem like a daunting task, you too can learn to love math to help your child—even if it’s just for the time being!
Even if math just doesn’t come to you naturally, here are five ways that you can learn to love math and give your child the homework help they need.
Make Math More Meaningful
People tend to think of math in a very limited sense, which is solving basic number operations and complicated word problems. Instead of asking for just the answer (ex: "What is the square root of 64?"), try to inject more meaning and real-life into the math problem.
Try to compute for how much time it will take for two vehicles going in opposite directions to pass each other while you’re waiting at the bus stop. Maybe doing basic algebra at the grocery store is a better way of understanding a concept. When you show your child that math is more meaningful than just finding the right answer, they learn to appreciate its significance in their lives a lot more.
Play Games That Involve Math
Whether it’s a simple game to teach your youngster the lesson of ones, tens, and hundreds places, or a more challenging game of tic-tac-toe featuring factoring and quadratic equations, there’s a way to turn math into a fun game for all ages. Edmonton’s best math tutors can help you turn concepts that you find mechanical or boring into fun activities for your kids!
Attitude is Everything
Having a positive mindset when it comes to solving a math problem is crucial to your success in helping your child. If you start to feel your stress levels rising when your son calls you over for help on his math homework, then it’s a sure sign that you need to rework your perception of math.
By framing math differently, your attitude towards it can change in small ways. Make a conscious effort to see it as a puzzle waiting to be solved with a "Eureka!" moment on the other side rather than an unsolvable problem. Having a positive approach to math will keep you calm as you try to find the solution. This is something you’ll definitely pass onto your kids to teach them that math can be an enjoyable process rather than an inherently frustrating one.
Get Moving
Math can feel like a giant mental block that’s just waiting to be moved with the biggest of efforts. Sometimes the best way to understand a seemingly complex math problem is to get up, move around, and simulate it. Not only will this make it easier for you and your kids to visualize, but it will take the monotonous routine of pencil and paper out of your kids’ minds when it comes to solving math problems.
If you find yourself stuck in an idea rut with making math more interactive this way, it might be useful to get an instructor who can offer homework help in Summerside.
Integrate Math Into Your Reading
Math becomes more digestible when it’s integrated into reading. This is especially true if your child is a bookworm! By buying kids literature on math, particularly the interesting ones, you encourage understanding it from a different perspective, which makes it much easier to practice later on.
Conclusion
There still exists a common misconception that math is complicated because it involves numbers and problem-solving. However, you and your child will often find that all it takes is a change in your attitude to have that "A-ha!" moment that you are looking for. And when you find that you’re still both stuck with a problem, there’s math help in Summerside available to make that word problem more fun.
Are you looking for a math tutor in Edmonton to help your child understand and love mathematics? Here at the Mathnasium of Summerside, our specially trained instructors can effectively explain math concepts to your child to encourage them to thrive and learn. To sign up for a session, visit our website today!