How To Get Children To Develop An Interest In Math At An Early Age
Recent studies have shown that a child’s math skills at kindergarten are an excellent predictor of future academic success. There is no doubt that math is everywhere, and it can be fun, depending on how you play with it.
As parents or guardians, there are a few ways that we can help our children develop an interest in math at an early age. This is great news to most parents since math can look scary when it is presented in the form of tests or quizzes. However, talking math in a fun and natural way can give your kids a head start and make them comfortable with most math concepts.
1. Bake Something Together
Algebra is an integral part of math. Fortunately, it is a concept that we use in most day to day activities. You can introduce your kid to the concept of fractions by baking something together. Whether its cake or cookies, you will both be required to measure recipes. You can start by talking about easy fractions such as ½ or a ¼ a teaspoon or cup. This way, your kids will be able to count with ease. Moreover, when it comes to baking, you will also have an opportunity to discuss aspects such as dividing or multiplying certain recipes.
You could ask your child a math question like; how many ½ cups take to fill one whole cup?
2. Measure and Count
As mentioned earlier, math is part of our everyday life. One thing that kids really love is to count. Therefore, as a parent, you can create a habit of asking your kid to count and measure everything you come across. You could count how many chairs are at your dining table. Or, you could count how many cars are parked outside. When playing football, you and your kid could measure how far he/she can kick the ball.
3. Build A Lego Together
You have probably heard of the phrase that children tend to develop careers when they are young, right? Well, there is some truth in this statement. Building something together can help your child develop an interest in math. For instance, when building a Lego, you will have to count, add and subtract. This will allow your child to not only have fun but also incorporate math skills.
4. Involve Math in Your Bedtime Reading
Nearly every family has a policy where the young one gets bedtime reading every night. But, incorporating a math problem into it can direct your child’s interest in maths at a very early age. When we talk about involving math in your bedtime reading, we don’t mean that you read the multiplication table to your kid.
You should find fun and interesting math-related stories. Thanks to the internet, you can find lots of these. You can then ensure that you read a math related problem to your kid at least thrice every week. At the end of the story, you could ask your kid what he/she has learnt. Or perhaps, ask some light questions from the passage.
As simple as these methods may appear, they are quite effective when it comes to getting your child to develop an interest in math at an early age. There are plenty of other ways on how you can achieve this objective. The key is to encourage your kid to see the numbers around us in a fun and natural way.
