At the beginning of this month, we showed you WHY kids should love math, today, as promised, we are going to show you HOW to get your kids to love math.
Play math games. Thankfully math games are easy to find! Here are some of our favorites: “Ninety-Nine or Bust,” “24,” and “Set”. Math games present a great way to take the stress out of math and just enjoy it.
Read books about math. This is the easiest (and arguably the most important) item on this list. Here are some of our favorites: “Quack and Count” by Keith Baker, “Feast for 10” by Cathryn Falwell, and “The Shape of Things” by Dayle Ann Dodds. You might be amazed at how much books support early and advanced math learning.
Encourage a growth mindset. Some kids believe they’re innately good at something. But no one is born being good at math. Even those who excel in math wouldn’t achieve all they do if they didn’t try. Just as we exercise our physical muscles, so too can we strengthen our brains through effort.
Help your child use math everyday. Encourage your child to solve problems involving math outside of school. In the grocery store, ask them to figure out the price of something. In the toy store, ask them how to calculate the price of a discounted toy.
Mathnasium. Mathnasium students enjoy attending their session, and parents frequently ask us to explain what we are doing to make that happen! While there are many contributing factors, the primary reason is that Mathnasium students are significantly gaining self-confidence due to their improving math abilities.
As they grow, kids will learn that they are willing to work hard at something they love.
