Make Math More Fun   by Janet Overy

Math is one of the most essential skills our children must learn. It's more than just a subject at school. It affects us daily, from calculating change, to cooking, to travelling distances. In today's computer age math has become more important than ever.

The most important issue a parent or teacher faces in teaching these concepts is keeping the interest of the children involved. Too many kids get lost along the away through sheer boredom and fall behind to the point where they require remedial help to catch up, if they ever do.

This problem can be avoided by taking the time to make the learning fun. This can easily be accomplished by teaching them to play math related games. By turning a boring class into a game, and a seemingly unnecessary concept into something they can apply to everyday life, children become more open to learning.

There are many possibilities for math card, board and on paper games . For example, the author of Making Math More Fun has come up with games involving everything from a game called 'pizza plates' to teach fractions to using hangman to develop the concept of addition. It's this kind of ingenuity that creates a fruitful learning environment.

The teachers who take the time to inspire and entertain their students are also the ones who not only get through and really teach, but are never forgotten and often quoted. I had a physics teacher in high school that really knew how to teach. I pulled high 90's all the way through, in a subject I had taken only because the 'bird course' I had wanted was full. He was fun! I can still remember and quote almost everything he taught us, and I graduated high school back in 1989!

Parents can make full use of these tactics as well, even if their kids don't have this benefit at school.

One math skill that can be taught in a fun way at home is measurement. The easiest way to do this is by letting your child into the kitchen. The weighing and measuring involved are not only fun, the teach your child both how to measure and it's importance. There are ample opportunities, every day to introduce even our youngest children to mathematic concepts. Whether it be counting oranges into a bag in the grocery store, or figuring out how many goodies each person gets.

Teaching an empty concept that a child cannot see as being applicable to anything is an uphill battle.

Showing a child a new way of thinking and how it applies to his or her own life on a personal level can make all the difference, especially if they are having fun!

About the Author

Janet Overy is a busy working mom. She has a full time day job as a sales agent, runs a home dessert bakery and works online trying. She is an advocate of parents helping to teach their children at home and cheers the methods found in Making Math More Fun at http://schoolsinatthe.homestead.com/index.html