As a parent of a fifth grader, a kindergartner, and a soon to be preschooler, I can share several ways to incorporate mathematics into their lives. Man simple things you do can be a way for them to learn different mathematic skills that which can help them for the rest of their lives. I enjoy making it fun for my children to learn. It encourages them and it is just as much fun for them to learn as it is for me to teach.

One of my favorite things we do together is setting the table. This can get children of all ages together to help count out the cutlery, dishes, cups and napkins. My kindergartner loves doing this and we count out as she places the items on the table. Even my three year old gets involved and counts with us.

My fifth grader has excelled in mathematics and is way above average for his age.His teacher always raves about how great he is in math. Him and I have always played a variety of math games as he grows up and he can add, subtract, and multiply so fast it amazes me. He has always loved math as well as I have.

Another great activity we play that incorporated math into our daily activities is when we go shopping at the grocery store. I will tell one my my children we need to get six apples for instance. Then I allow them to count out the apples as they place them into the bag. We do this with varies items to help encourage them to count. The love helping me out and don't even realize they are learning at the same time. Its a win win situation.

my son also loves when we go to the grocery store and I give him an amount he has to work with. I tell him OK you get $20 to choose your snacks for the week. He knows he has to stay within his price range to choose his snacks and adds up the prices himself without the use of any calculators. He does this like nothing now, and we have started doing this with our five year old and she is doing pretty well.

So many people rely on electronics and computers to do everything for them and it is very sad to think about that. I want to teach my children how to do things for themselves rather then relying on computers and other electronics. A few other easy ways to start off your child counting and incorporating mathematics into their daily activities are the following.

- When cooking or baking have them measure out the amounts you need.

- Give them items in your home to count.

- Play counting games, even when driving tell them to count how many lights you pass or other games. There are so many differnt ways you can have then count.

- When gardening ask them to count how many flowers are blooming or count out the seeds you need to plant in your garden.

- Set out to see lady bugs or butterflies and have them count how many they see.

- Award them for counting to encourage them.

Mathematics can be very fun, and as you see your child excited about learning it is great. What greater pleasure can you experience then teaching your child? Children are so capable of learning so much from an early age. They are like sponges and can soak so much in!

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