Most children tend to look at studies as an exasperating task, and that too, when it comes to Mathematics, it is often considered one herculean job. Understanding and solving math questions can seem difficult, and to some extent, yes, it is. But, trust us, math seems difficult only until the child gets the real grasp of it.
So, is your child struggling with understanding math too? Does he or she often gets discouraged and even stops trying Math problems? If so, it is time you understand the dreadful pattern that your child is going through and find ways to help him/her overcome the real problem.
Firstly, one thing that we all need to understand very clearly is that each child, just like any individual, is unique. Not all are always the same; while some are smarter and perform better, some are slow-learners needing extra support. However, this does not mean they cannot perform well or be the best. It takes little effort and interest on the part of the child along with the parents and guardians to help them get the desired results.
Solving math questions can be hard but what makes it worse is the child showing no interest in learning the subject. Remember, it is not possible to encourage or motivate a child if he/she shows absolutely no interest in the subject. It is hence important that care is given to find some practical ways that make learning math fun for children and raise their interest in the subject.
We, at the K.R. Mangalam School, offer an innovative learning environment for students to learn and grow in all facets. We believe that quality education and value-based grooming are the most important aspects to produce geniuses of tomorrow. Children here are taught to understand and learn concepts rather than just memorizing meaningless formulae and rules. We have been consistently making efforts to bring a significant difference to children’s learning by adopting ground-breaking methods in our pedagogy that have very well paid off with great results.
Here, in this article, we bring to you a few smart ideas that will help stimulate your child’s interest in Mathematics and will aid him or her to perform better.
Explain Math as a Part of Everyday Life
Learning math has to start from real life and can be done by teaching your child through everyday happenings. Try and relate everything the child does to Math so that he or she can connect things in real-life with the subject. Let the child practice math through real-life incidents like counting money when he or she buys chocolates or ice cream or by adding or subtracting building blocks while playing Lego. Teach him/her to check and tell the time and ask questions about it when he/she wears a watch. Test your child’s knowledge about the concept of fractions while he/she is eating a pizza or a cake. This way, you can help children learn math even without making them realize they are actually learning it.
Using simple everyday scenarios will ease your child’s learning and help him/her practice more. Moreover, the child needs to know that mathematical concepts are important for life and they need to learn the same to deal with everyday matters. When your child starts thinking of math as a part of the routine, he/she will be more motivated to learn. Anything from buying chocolates and eating nuts to counting days and time can be used to teach math to children.
Play Games that require Math Skills
We all know that children and playing are inseparable. So why not use it to improve their mathematical skills? There are a lot of productive board games in the market that help children improve their skills. Choose the games that require mathematical skills to solve the problems/tasks so that your children will be learning math as a part of the game in a fun way. Besides, technology has also brought in a lot of resources today that turn out to be very helpful in teaching kids. You can make use of several educational toys to help children learn math in a fun way. Indeed, when we use toys, children get more attentive and show much more interest in learning things. For smaller children, colorful and moving toys can help attract them and keep them engaged in listening. However, make sure to use the right toys that can be related to skill building in children.
Motivate and Build Confidence
For maximum learning, it is important that the child has complete confidence in himself/herself. If a child feels that he/she can’t do well in a subject, chances are that he/she may lag behind. This is because of the lack of confidence in the child that severely hinders his/her progress. Hence, see to it that you try and instill confidence in the child by encouraging him/her with rewards when he/she succeeds solving a tough question. This will make him/her feel encouraged and motivated to work out more. Also, progress systems like badges, ranks, and scoreboards are all forms of encouragement and recognition that help motivate children faster.
As parents and teachers, it is important that we identify the underlying issues troubling the child in understanding math concepts and build in them the confidence to work out on the subject well. If a child is experiencing difficulty in some particular topic, it is crucial that he/she is given extra attention on the same and should be taught thoroughly until he/she understands the concept completely.
Do Not Push Hard
Even though it is important to keep children focused towards learning, adding pressure to it won’t help. If they are unnecessarily pushed or pressurized, they will start getting frustrated and will eventually lose interest in learning the subject. It is hence vital to find the right balance and make the math learning experience fun for children without making them feel any pressure on themselves for learning the subject.
While, we at the K.R. Mangalam School, are putting in the best of efforts to help students learn the subjects with ease, we believe learning can be best achieved when parents and guardians also get involved in the holistic development of children. It is hence our humble request to all the parents to devote at least a little time every day to help children understand the academic concepts in a fun way as suggested in the article above. You will shortly witness the difference in their progress yourself.
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