1 of 35

Write now Article Tools

Home is the best place to help your young child develop math skills.Math Facts and basic concepts can be a stumbling block for children. With the accountability standards in today's classrooms, even kindergarten and primary school teachers will just move on, even if certain children haven't mastered math facts or concepts.

Children, even the very young children, can develop and increase their understanding of math skills at home. Actually, it is a wonderful way to spend time with your child through math play.

1) Make math practical. It is so important for children to see the use of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division in the store, at the gas pump, in the kitchen,in the workshop, etc. Having this frame of reference is critical.

After all, away from the elementary school classroom, people don't go around doing calculations in isolation.They use them to solve real math applications.Even young children can use a fun, made-for-kids calculator. Yes, your child will, depending on his or her age, need to learn "math facts" but if they don't understand when these skills are used, then it is just plain crazy.

2) Multiplication is repeated addition. 5+5+5+5= 5X4 = 20. This concept can be introduced in real situations when your child seems interested.

3) Show and experience fact families when your child is ready.
8x7=56
7x8=56
56 divided by 7 = 8
56 divided by 8 = 7

Write each of the factors, their product, and = signs on cards and have your child move them around to show the families

4) Use tangibles that your child can handle and move around. Candy and food items- Starbursts, M&Ms, Cheerios, Apple Jacks, Goldfish crackers,etc. can be used to demonstrate counting, addition, subtraction and later even multiplication and division as well as to illustrate basic story problems.

5) Make it multi-sensory by involving as many of your child's senses as possible. Visual learning is great, but so is auditory, and tactile learning. Create songs, put them to music and sing them together. Draw in the sand at the beach or in a sandbox or tray of sand. Create more physical games, such as ball games,with math facts.

6) Create "Concentration" games or matching games with math concepts appropriate for your child's developmental level. This memory practice helps with recall and visualization.

7) Use colorful markers and paper, chalkboards, dry-erase boards, and other ways to show real life uses of math."Take apart" word problems to show real life math uses like buying things. You

• 1
• 2
• next page >>

Add your voice

Know something about How to help your young child develop math skills at home?
We want to hear your view. Write now!