It is essential that children understand mathematical concepts, otherwise maths becomes a meaningless mental exercise involving memorising strange rules and formulas that he just won’t understand.
- Use everyday objects to have your child gain a good working understanding. To help with addition, have them add one, two, or three blocks to an existing pile of blocks and then ask them to tell you how many are now in the pile. For subtraction, they could take away blocks from the pile and then tell you how many are left.
- Helping your child master the basic facts of mathematics will mean that they can give an answer in less than three seconds. However, it will take a lot of practice before children will be able to answer quickly. Use flash cards and work sheets to help your child learn the mathematical basics. When they don't know an answer, get them to use objects to help solve the problem.
- Teach your child to write numbers neatly. One of the main causes of errors in solving math problems can be traced back to writing numbers in a slapdash way. Improve your child's number-writing skills by having them trace over clearly written numbers.
- Provide help when your child needs it. Math is one subject in which everything is built on what was previously learned. For example, a failure to understand the concept of percentages leads to problems with decimals. If a teacher can’t offer extra help for your child, provide extra help yourself; hire a tutor or find a learning centre.
- Show your child how to effectively complete their maths homework. Doing maths homework allows your children to practice what they are learning in class. Teach him to start assignments by studying the examples in their textbook or worksheet. Then have your child redo the examples before beginning their assigned homework to ensure they understand how to solve the problem.
- Encourage your child to solve extra maths problems. Practice is of the utmost importance when it comes to honing maths skills. Have them do extra questions to strengthen their skills. The more practice your child gets, the sooner they will develop confidence in their abilities.
- Explain how to solve word problems. Teach your child to always read a word problem more than once. Also, get them to draw a picture or diagram to describe it.
- Help your child understand mathematical terms. They will never truly understand maths or learn more complex concepts without first understanding the vocabulary and terms used. Check that your child is able to describe new mathematical concepts. If not, have them use simple problems and drawings to show you their understanding of the terms.
- Teach them how to do mental maths. One of the most common ways to solve problems is by doing maths in your head. Kids should use this method as often as possible instead of using a pencil and paper or a calculator. When helping your children with a problem, help them determine when mental maths can be done.
- Mathematics will mean more to your child when they see how important it is in their day to day life. Get them to use maths for practical purposes. For example, ask them to plant flowers a set distance apart, weigh ingredients for a recipe and pay for groceries.
