Math Understanding Begins at Home
How Parents can Ensure Children's School Math Success
As with early reading experiences, enjoyable early math experiences will set the scene for children's later success at school. "...mathematical knowledge that kindergarteners bring to school is related to their learning for years thereafter - in elementary school, middle school, and even in high school." according to the U.S. Department of Education's "The Final Report of the National Mathematics Advisory Panel 2008." A sound knowledge of math concepts will therefore help ensure math success throughout school.
Enjoyment is the Key to Early Understanding of Math Concepts
The key to this early learning is the enjoyment of the experience. Where parents provide positive, fun math experiences, children will want more and they will learn as they go without feeling pushed or overworked.
Children who have confidence in their ability to learn will learn with ease what those without this confidence may struggle with. Parents are in an ideal situation to provide children with those early math experiences that will give them a solid base upon which later math skills will build. There are so many opportunities in the home for math games.
Babies can Have Fun With Math
Babies have ten fingers and ten toes. There are many counting rhymes about fingers and toes. Love and cuddles and counting toes can become a time of sheer delight for little ones. It is not just the counting, it's the warmth and the love that goes with the rhymes that will show even a baby that counting is fun.
Young children are eager to learn and to explore their environments. While there are many wonderful toys that help children learn math concepts, wooden blocks, shape buckets, ball slides, jigsaw puzzles etc, simple household tasks can also be fun learning games. Math is all around the home. Very young children can
- Be involved in sorting the washing according to colour
- Use shape cookie cutters in baking
- Count and name and colors of socks, shoes and buttons when dressing
- Enjoy reading counting books
- Learn counting rhymes
- Count the steps while going up and down
- Count the fruit in the fruit basket
Learning the Language of Math
By being involved in these and other math activities children learn incidentally the language of math. They learn direction and place words: up, down, beside, in front, behind, on top, underneath. They learn size words: big, bigger, biggest, large, huge, tiny, small. They learn shapes: circle, square, triangle, rectangle. They learn number order words: first, second, third. And they will learn colors.
A parent need not be a mathematical genius to teach a child basic math. Neither is it necessary to worry about a child's developmental stages. A parent who is receptive to a child's mood will soon understand when the child is becoming lost or bored with an activity. Then it is time to stop – to leave that activity for another time or to move onto something more challenging.
By providing babies and young children with exciting, fun math activities in the home parents can ensure an easy transition to math concepts at school. These early benefits will last throughout children's school years and beyond.
Fun Early Maths Experience
|
What do you think about this article?
More in Education & Career
Latest Articles