Math is generally thought of as something that’s taught in school for students – something that goes on in the classroom, but not necessarily at home, unless they need help. If your child is one that frequently needs help with math homework, math might be a regular part of your household, but chances are it isn’t. While teachers are immense in the development of math skills, they generally have less than an hour each school day to help develop number sense, numerical fluency and beyond. This is where your role as a parent comes in. Parents have the ability to play a huge role in reinforcing number sense in their children. We call it mathing with your child. You may not have heard of mathing as a verb, but we’re out to change that. With that said, here’s our definition of the verb mathing:
Here are some examples of how to use it:
“Let’s math together after dinner.”
“I’m mathing tonight before I play video games.”
“I mathed last night with my dad in order to prep for an algebra test today.”
Many parents read to their kids on a regular basis and from the time their child is an infant. Kids then grow up exposed to the letters, words, sounds and cadence involved in reading. On the contrary, most parents do not start actively mathing with their child until they reach school age, despite that mathing is as fundamental to your child’s cognitive development as reading. It’s not that it’s too late to math with your kids once they’re school aged, it just shows you how much of a backseat math takes compared to reading and why it’s important for parents to start mathing with their kids at any age. Some is better than none.
Mathing, just like reading, can actually be fun. Children don’t innately hate math and the younger your start introducing them to math concepts the more they will learn not to hate it. What kids don’t like is being confused and embarrassed by math. Mathing with your child can be a good way for you to help instill confidence in them by working through what they’re frustrated with and at their own pace where they don’t feel the pressure they might in a classroom. Once kids have good numerical fluency and number sense, curiosity to learn more will follow. So, what are the rules in mathing with your kid to help them succeed in their math studies? Here are some dos and don’ts to help guide you:
1. Do math with your child frequently, just as you read to them. Even if they aren’t bringing home math homework that they need help with, you can help further their math development by practicing at home. If your child is at the age where they’re reading well by themselves and you don’t necessarily always have time to always math with them, reading books about math is a great way to practice both! Hereare suggestions for some math books for all ages.
2. Do ask your child whether they have math homework nightly and if they do, make sure they get it done in a timely manner without rushing through.
3. Do meet with your child’s math teacher at least once, if not at every parent/teacher conference available, to discuss how your child is doing, where they struggle and what might need to be supplemented.
1. Don’t allow your child to use a calculator until they have established good number sense and they understand the concept behind calculation instead of just pressing buttons to get answers.
2. Don’t allow your child to move onto the next class in school if they aren’t ready. If your child moves on in math but hasn’t yet mastered what was in the class prior, they won’t have the correct building blocks to succeed and it can shake their confidence.
3. Don’t speak negatively about math. Allowing your potential negative experiences with math and in school in general cloud resonate through your child’s ears is like planting seeds of mistrust and doubt. Trust that with different tactics and some help, your child’s experience with math can be much more positive.
Mathing at home can really have a positive effect on your child. When they see you spending time on math, it’ll prove to your child that math is a subject worthy of your energy. And if mathing at home isn’t giving your child the support they need to get through their math classes with assurance that they’re learning everything they need to be, give us a call at Mathnasium of Cherry Creek. We’re happy to do an assessment to see where your child is and how we can help!
