Strategies To Help Your Kids Understand Math
Y’all are sitting at the table doing schoolwork and, suddenly, one of the kids asks for help. They show you a workbook with math problems and say that they don’t understand the material. Math is a subject that many kids struggle with, but there are various things y’all can do to make schoolwork easier. Consider these strategies to help your kids understand math.
Talk About It
If y’all notice that one of the kids doesn’t feel comfortable with math, try to talk about it whenever possible. The best way to get familiar with a new concept is to practice. When my kids were little, we would count everything in sight. If there were apples in the kitchen, we would count how many there were. Try to incorporate math into daily life. For example, teach kids about math using money. This exemplifies to your child that math is important. Even if y’all don’t like math, try to show some excitement. If you talk about math regularly, for example, they’re likely to understand this tricky subject better.
Break It Down
One of the most helpful strategies to help your kids understand math is to break it down. If y’all try a math problem and the answer is wrong, start over. Slowly go over the steps they should take to solve the problem. There are various scaffolding strategies to use with your kids, so try a few to see which works best. Y’all must be patient because math is a difficult concept to learn and teach. It’s okay if each problem takes a few tries.
Switch Roles
Think about a time that y’all had to explain something to someone else. Sometimes, explaining a subject to another person helps you understand the concept even better. Consider switching roles with your kids to help them understand the material. They can teach the concept, and y’all can ask them questions. This can also make it easy to identify the error or challenge. This can help kids understand math because it forces them to slow down while explaining the steps. It also helps kids get more practice with math problems.
