| Uh oh.Your kids arrive home with their school reports | | | | large projects down into manageable, bite-sized |
| and it's | | | | pieces.Many kids feel overwhelmed when they see a |
| poor marks from the math department. Now what do | | | | list of math |
| you do?You may not be a math teacher, but thankfully | | | | questions, and it's at this point they may decide that |
| there are ways | | | | math |
| you can help your kids improve their grades.Studies | | | | is "boring" or "hard".Show them the magic of taking |
| have shown that children are much more likely to | | | | one question at a time, and |
| perform well in a subject that interests them.So here | | | | breaking it into tiny steps that make it easy.4. |
| are 5 ways to get your kids excited about math and | | | | Encourage creativity.Kids may become mentally |
| actually looking forward to the next math class:1. | | | | "stuck" on a topic because they're |
| Inspire them.Some kids don't enjoy math because they | | | | only looking at it in one way. Perhaps they need to |
| just can't see the | | | | step |
| point of it. Unlike reading or painting, all those | | | | outside the box and see it from a different |
| mathematical symbols and numbers don't seem to | | | | angle.Show them the beauty of alternative viewpoints. |
| mean | | | | Help them |
| anything.What you need to do is show them how | | | | to see situations from other people's perspective.Get |
| important math is in | | | | them into the habit of exploring different ways of |
| the real world.Tell them stories about the great | | | | solving a problem. Even something simple like tidying |
| engineering feats | | | | up a |
| throughout history. From building the great pyramids of | | | | room can have several possible "solutions" or ways |
| Egypt, to the Hoover dam, to the latest space | | | | of |
| missions to | | | | approaching it.Crosswords and lateral thinking puzzles |
| Mars, nothing would have been achieved without | | | | are good for this |
| mathematics, | | | | kind of flexible thinking.5. Be positive.Eliminate negative |
| and mathematicians.2. Get practical.Involve your kids in | | | | statements like "math is hard" (even if |
| some real world math away from the | | | | you thought of yourself as a math dunce at |
| classroom. Find something your child is interested in | | | | school!).Explain how everyone has a natural ability to |
| and | | | | do math and |
| relate it to math in some way.For example, do they | | | | that solving math problems isn't so different from |
| like baseball? Terrific. During a | | | | solving |
| game, ask them how many points the losing team has | | | | other kinds of problems in life.Above all, inspire |
| to score | | | | confidence in your kids. Teach them |
| to beat the other one. And how many games do they | | | | persistence and how there's always a solution to |
| need to | | | | every |
| win before they have enough points to win the | | | | problem.We all perform better when we enjoy what |
| league?If they enjoy helping around the home then let | | | | we do, and getting |
| them do the | | | | kids interested in math is the real key to success.They |
| "clever stuff". Ask them to work out the sizes for that | | | | may not turn into mathematical geniuses, but they'll |
| wood you're going to cut. Or get them to measure | | | | thank you in later life when they enter the world of |
| out the | | | | work |
| ingredients for the cake you're about to bake.When | | | | and start counting their salaries.Now who said your |
| you're in a store, ask your kids to add up the prices | | | | kids couldn't do math?'Fun With Figures' shows anyone |
| and keep a running total while you shop. Then ask | | | | of any ability the easy way |
| them how | | | | to do mental math. Visit the site today and find out |
| much change you should expect at the checkout.3. | | | | what |
| Take life "step-by-step".Success in math - as in life - is | | | | you didn't learn in the math class. |
| largely about breaking | | | | |