[New post] 5 Ways Parents Can Help Their Child with Math at Home
Edukasyon News posted: " If you feel lost or confused about teaching your child Math, you're definitely not alone on this one! Like the kids themselves, many parents also struggle to teach scary Math concepts and daunting word problems. After all, it's tough to teach a subject y" Edukasyon.ph
If you feel lost or confused about teaching your child Math, you're definitely not alone on this one! Like the kids themselves, many parents also struggle to teach scary Math concepts and daunting word problems. After all, it's tough to teach a subject you're not 100% confident in or as knowledgeable about.
But, as we learned from EDGE Tutor's first livestream, Homework Hour, Math doesn't have to be a subject that you learn in the same way you've been used to at school, nor does it have to be something you memorize all the formulas to. There are many new strategies to this day that can help a ton in their learning; even mindsets can play a significant role in how your child studies!
No need to be Math-phobic or even a complete Math wiz for this one. Here are simple ways parents can help their children with their Math lessons at home, as advised by the dedicated tutors and teachers of EDGE Tutor.
1. Understand your role in your child's Math studies!
Before the actual teaching, you need to fully understand the role you play in your child's learning. While teachers or tutors may be around, parents can also play a big role! You can be incredibly helpful in teaching your child because you have a more personal relationship with them. Parents are a child's first teacher and who they look up to growing up, so it's natural to help out when they do have their school struggles.
As told by Teacher Jayrie for the Homework Hour livestream, there are five different roles a parent can play.
Motivator - Someone who provides emotional support for their studies
Resource Provider - Someone who provides physical items such as school materials, books, or a place to study
Monitor - Someone who checks on their child's learning progress
Content Advisor - Someone who can provide advice on their lessons
Learning Counselor - Someone who understands their child's learning situation, difficulties, and needs and provides the appropriate support to overcome them
See, there's no need to be a Math wiz to be a helping hand for your child. And if you need the extra help, you can always enroll for a Math tutor at EDGE Tutor!
2. Frame Math as an important life lesson!
We've always seen Math as a lesson we need to pass to get through school, but the reality is Math is everywhere! As Teacher Allan shared, "It is important that you yourself see how Math is related to our lives. Only then can you convince your child to study harder in Math."
Getting your child to properly study Math starts with motivation, so you both must see why it is a necessary lesson in life. Frame Math lessons to daily-life activities and more tangible concepts your child can see or experience to make the subject more relatable to them. You can do this by relating Math to shopping in malls or supermarkets, measurements in baking and cooking, counting their savings, or even decorating their rooms! Flip Math concepts into things that are really obvious to their eyes.
3. Avoid talking about Math negatively!
Words can affect how your child views things, especially when they are in the developmental stage where they soak everything up like a sponge. To them, their parents' words can be powerful and hold finality. That's why Teacher Jayrie mentioned, "In building a child's Math confidence, we must remember that words matter. Even though Math is not our favorite subject, let's avoid telling our child na 'Mahina ako sa Math' or worse 'Naku, bobo ako sa Math' because children are quick to internalize."
Kids tend to copy their parents' behaviors and make their beliefs their own. So, it's essential to not pass that Math anxiety and fear to your kids by steering clear of those negative messages. Instead, do the alternative by saying, "Everyone could be good at Math if they work hard and constantly challenge themselves to learn more." No need to be incredibly positive or enthusiastic about the subject, especially when you don't necessarily feel that way. Acknowledge those difficult parts and turn them into a challenge you can solve together! Show them it's important to try your best and not give up!
"Not only are we teaching them to face adversities, but we're also showing them how to be resilient," says Teacher Jayrie. And when they do get the problem right, remember to praise them for their hard work and the time they put into learning it instead of framing it into innate intelligence. There's no such thing as a Math type of person, after all. Effort is the key here!
4. Try out new Math strategies!
Despite what we've learned in school, Math doesn't have to be taught in just one linear way. There are many ways out there that could work better for your child! That's where tutoring can come in handy to help figure out what method could work best for your child. As shared by Teacher Allan, there are such things as repeated addition for solving multiplication problems. This can help students practice the foundations of multiplication to understand the concept better.
Another way is Singaporean Math which makes use of effective visualization. This is to help students understand Math more concretely and better visualize abstract concepts. Some of the methods used for these are number bonds and bar representations, which might sound a bit scary at first but trust us! It's simpler than you can imagine.
If Singaporean Math is something you're interested in for your child, there are many videos out there on Youtube. But, for a more in-depth and personalized approach, EDGE Tutor can be your guide as Singaporean Math and visual representations for Math are the main ingredients in the curriculum.
5. Always understand where your child is coming from!
To effectively teach your child Math, you have to level with them. Understand that your child is still just a child trying to make sense of things foreign to their eyes. As a parent, you have the most personal relationship with your child as a teacher. So, you would know best how they process things or what motivates them.
For the last bit of advice from Teacher Allan and Teacher Jayrie, they shared that the first thing to do is to pay attention to your child's areas of difficulty. Know which part of the Math lessons they are struggling with and, at the same time, find out what methods they may have difficulty with. And with what you know about them, do make it fun for them! Home is where kids want to be at their most comfortable and relaxed, so don't put the pressure on with drills and flashcards. Instead, flip the situation into fun activities and games that can leave an impression on them.
"Children learn best when they are having fun - let's make Math learning fun and stress-free for our kids."
Is your child struggling with their Math homework too? We're here to help out! Book a FREE class now at EDGE Tutor for interactive lessons, convenient online classrooms, and personalized course types for every type of learner!
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