One of the most effective ways to help children learn math is finding ways to teach them at home. When children learn in class and at home, their retention rate increases. However, after a long day of boring classroom lessons, the last thing any kid wants is to go through the same routine at home.
You can use many strategies to increase the effectiveness of home education for your child. There are even platforms dedicated to helping you succeed in the endeavor. Many parents take advantage of the teaching approach at Brighterly.com, letting the tutors inject fun and excitement into their kids’ math lessons.
The onus is on you, the parent, or the home teacher to tweak your approach to suit your child. The result always shows progress in the child’s aptitude for calculations and problem-solving. So, if your child studies at home and is looking for ways to make their maths lessons more effective, consider the following five ideas.
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Use math games
Children are tired of the rigid teaching style many math teachers use in the classroom. They often look forward to a more relaxed environment at home. Therefore, if you want to teach them math after school, you need to switch up the routine.
Your kids should not feel like you brought the classroom home whenever you are teaching them math. Using a numbers-only approach to math learning will be counterproductive. Instead, introduce fun math games, puzzles, and manipulatives to draw your child in and make them interested in getting a few extra hours of learning.
Platforms centered on online tutoring for kids use this strategy. The tutors know how easy it is for children to get distracted or discouraged when trying to make heads and tails of math problems. You can borrow a leaf from their book to make maths for children more practical.
Encourage them to teach you math
You may not know this, but kids sometimes enjoy teaching. If you want your kids to learn math at home, pretend like you want them to teach you the math they learned in class. Sit down with them, pick a pencil and a piece of paper, and tell them you want to learn math as they did in class.
This strategy helps your kids remember what they have learned in school. It also shows you where they may be struggling, so you can put more effort when teaching them topics in those areas. By the end, expect their retention to improve because they’d always try to remember what they were taught in class to be able to relay it to you when they get home.
Update your math knowledge
We understand that the change in math teaching methods across generations can be a problem. However, this does not mean you should only use old techniques to teach your child math. Even though 2+2 will always be 4, how this generation solves that problem may differ from how you were taught.
Updating your math knowledge will improve the quality of your lessons. You can learn common core math and use the different standards when teaching your child at home. You make learning math more effective by teaching your kids to understand math problems, construct and critique arguments, identify patterns, and use tools.
Gamify learning
Gamification is an effective method of teaching math and can help you with your home lessons. Teach your children math by using something they already love, like sports, as the background. Input math concepts into your activity of choice, and as they go through that activity, they learn the embedded math concepts.
However, be creative with how often you use this approach, or they may become addicted to the gaming aspect. Also, your children may stop engaging in that activity to avoid learning math. So, to get the best out of gamification, read articles on how to use it effectively.
Go slowly
Don’t rush your kids through math lessons at home because you have somewhere to be. Create time for them and take things slowly. This approach will ensure you don’t overload them with information because you are in a hurry.
Understand that your child may have a learning system different from the rest of their siblings. So, uncover what works best for them and adjust your strategy accordingly to help them learn math. Use a step-by-step approach, and don’t jump levels even if it seems your child already knows them.
Conclusion
Teaching your child math at home often sounds scarier than it is. All you need is a quick guide on the strategies for learning math, which this article provides. Learn more, observe your child and their preferred learning styles, then use the ideas mentioned above to help them understand math better.