Top Tips for Helping Your Kids with Maths
Some people are great with numbers, others are better with words, and some prefer hands-o activities like art or sport. Children who struggle with maths shouldn’t feel ashamed; it’s likely that they thrive in other areas of their education. However, maths cannot be avoided as it is one of the core subjects in the National Curriculum and students must study it until at least the end of their GCSEs. With that said, you may need to give your child a little helping hand when it comes to maths. Don’t worry, you don’t have to be a pro at maths yourself in order to help your child. An independent school in London have put together the following tips.
If you want to help your child with any of their school subjects, start by changing your attitude to the subject in question. For instance, if you say things like “I hated maths when I was your age”, your child will adopt a similar outlook and will give up before they’ve even started. Instead, try and have a positive attitude towards the subject and an optimistic approach to your child’s learning in general. Show them that maths can by fun by playing board games that involved basic sums. Monopoly is a great example, because it involves calculating how much money you have to pay another player or how much change they need to give you.
As well as playing games that involve maths, try and show your child how important it is in everyday life. As an example, if you encourage them to help you with the cooking, they will learn about measurements and oven times. When you go shopping, ask your child to figure out how much the total cost will be when you reach the till so that you can get your money ready. If your child realises how important maths is for normal activities, they will start to feel more positive about learning it. What’s more, practise makes perfect, so if they’re using their maths skills at home they will find it easier to solve problems in class.
Give your child a confidence boost by praising them when you see that they’ve been working hard and reminding them of how proud they are. Avoid being too harsh when they don’t receive the grades they were hoping for, as this will only make them insecure. The more confident a child is in their abilities, the easier problems will seem.
If necessary, you may want to hire a private tutor to help your child with their maths homework so that they don’t fall behind. If this seems extreme or a little overpriced, speak to your child’s teachers and ask if there are any extra-curricular clubs they could join that might help. The teachers will also be able to suggest some appropriate learning resources, like online games or workbooks, so that your child can continue their learning at home.
Is it correct that kids don't learn their times tables these days? I still use them now when working things out in my head.
Mental arithmetic is very handy.