Parents/guardians have a great deal of influence over their child’s attitude toward math. When parents/guardians find ways to engage their child in math, they greatly influence their future success in this area.
Recommendations
- Talk about math in a positive way.
- Persistence and problem solving are essential to math. Some problems take time to solve. Encourage your child to persevere.
- Research shows that having a growth mindset (the belief you can get better) is very important for improving in math. Telling your child that you weren’t good at math discourages a growth mindset, and students who hear this message have more difficulties learning math than those who approach math positively.
- Encourage your child to solve math in different ways. They may want to use objects they can hold, or draw/diagram the problem, or ‘play’ with the numbers. Allow your child to solve problems in ways that make sense to them.
- Encourage your child to experiment with different approaches to math.
- Discourage multitasking while a student is trying to learn new math. Multitasking while practicing math they already know is okay.
- Play games together that use numbers or logic or problem solving.
- Many digital games have a lot of math (eg. points, virtual money, attack, and defence values.). Ask questions that encourage strategic use of the math.
- Connect math to life (e.g. cooking, driving, telling time, distances, shopping, budgeting)
- Know that your child can be successful in math. Believing in them will help them be successful.
- Watch the video below to learn about the BC Math curriculum.
Nikki Lineham is a Math Specialist Teacher. In the video below, Nikki touches on some of the BC Math curriculum concepts she covered at our Parent Math Night in January 2020.
Further Reading
Educating Now has games, activities and strategies for helping your child in math
Ministry of Education Ontario Parent’s guide for “Doing Math with your Child K to 6”
Dr. Jo Boaler, Professor of Mathematics Education at Stanford University, Twelve Steps to Increase Your Child’s Math Achievement
Dr. Raj Shah Guide for parents to help with challenging math problems (Video 7:26)
Common Sense Media List of Math Games, Websites and Apps for Kids
Common Sense Media List of Math Apps for Teens
Khan Academy videos and practice for basic math skills