Math is generally considered to be a boring subject that many students groan about learning. This attitude is often picked up from siblings, other children or even their parents. Though we may not mean to communicate this message to children, if we don’t actively try to make it more positive, they will enter math classes with a poor attitude.
One way to combat this is to make math more fun. A children’s tutoring centre is a great place to have your children go to experience the fun of math. You can also try these great tips to support a fun math atmosphere at home.
1. Get Them Active & Involved. Math may seem boring when you’re stuck at a desk learning formulas. Whether you’re working with small children or teens, get them active and involved in the math lessons to see them enjoy the subject more. You can do this by demonstrating certain concepts in real life or simply having them move from different math stations that are more interactive or allow them to solve problems in pairs or groups.
2. Engage Their Senses. When you engage the senses, more areas of the brain fire, making a lesson much more memorable and exciting. Try baking a pie or making pizzas, moving to measure space or listening to counting songs or reading math problems aloud and discussing the answers as a group. Kids will have much more fun learning math when they are using their full range of senses.
3. Relate To Real Life. It’s common to hear kids claim that what they learned in math isn’t relevant to their lives but when you can draw parallels between what you are teaching and why they need to know it out in the real world, kids will be more likely to take notice. Explain how they use math when buying a house or car, how measurement and costs affect their grocery shopping purchases, how budgeting makes their lives easier, how fractions matter in their daily lives or how they can apply a formula when measuring flooring or determining how much paint or wood to buy for a renovation. Seeing how learning math will help them be more successful adults and get to do fun things will encourage students to pay attention. They may also find learning much more fun when they can see clear relevance and benefits to them.
4. Sing & Dance. Math requires a lot of memorization and nothing helps to remember key aspects of a concept better than a song. Gets kids singing songs to remember math facts and lets them get up and dance while doing it. Play and movement are some of the best ways to get the brain excited and log information more effectively. And it’s also just plain fun!
If you want to make math learning more fun for kids you need to demonstrate to them how the knowledge will help them in their daily lives. You will also be more effective when you engage their senses and get them actively involved in the math lessons rather than a boring lesson where they simply listen and write answers on a sheet.