Kaboutjie SA Mommy Blogs by Lynne Huysamen
There’s a saying, “Mathematicians are born, not made”, after hearing this a lot of parents might be discouraged in encouraging their kids to become a math genius. However, keep in mind that there is no truth in that saying whatsoever. As parents, you can definitely nurture your kids which will help them to unleash the mathematician within them and stay very competitive in this arena.
Here, I have gathered 7 ways which will help you as parents in making your kids a mathematics genius!
Use Mathematical games and activities!
You will never understand a thing in mathematics until you start to enjoy doing it! We all know it is very easy to hate this subject so make sure you do not give your kids just plain exercises to solve which can be nerve-wracking. You need to make up games and activities relating to math such as puzzle solving and riddles in order to open their little minds and get them excited for math!
Work on their weaknesses
There are a lot of different areas in the subject of mathematics. Your kid might find it easier while understanding a formula but might find it very difficult to use it in a problem. As a parent, it will be your duty to know where your kid is stuck and needs your help in better understanding the problems. You need to make them believe that they can turn their weaknesses into their strengths by working hard towards it. Once your kid knows he or she can overcome any problems like that, he or she will be unstoppable!
Practice makes perfect!
Consider mathematics as any other sport. In order to succeed in both of them, you need a lot of practice. You as parents need to encourage your kids to start solving problems on their own and not just wait for their teachers to do it. This will create a level of self-confidence and make your kids independent and not reliant upon their teachers or parents to help them solve problems. As they solve problems on their own, they will be boosting their brains capabilities.
Make Mathematics a part of your daily lives
We all use mathematics every day in our lives. All you need to do is introduce your kids to those situations. You’re at a grocery store? Ask them what the total bill is. You are cooking? Ask them to measure the ingredients and give them to you. This will help your kids realize the importance of math in real lives and will make them eager to learn more about it.
Explain Math problems to them
One of the best ways of teaching your kids is for you to actually become their teacher and help their progress in the subject. Make sure that you teach in such a way that makes your kids realize that even you are interested in it with them. This will not only give your kids a major helping hand but it will also create a lot of memories and a special bond with your kids that both of you will cherish for the rest of your lives.
Invest in their Math education
If you want your kid to grow up to be a math wizard, you need to invest in their math education as well. Your kids are definitely going to be learning a lot from their schools but you can help them further advance their skills beyond their age by enrolling them for math tuition classes!
Make sure you understand the methods and the teachers at the tutoring classes by talking thoroughly with their representatives about their teaching methods and how they can help your kid in becoming a math wizard before enrolling your kids in there. Nowadays, online math tutoring is also very much effective. The best part about it is, your kid doesn’t have to go anywhere and he gets totally one-to-one learning sessions.
Just enjoy doing Math with your kids
Nothing will ever beat the experience of learning math for your kids when you both are enjoying solving the problems. If you really want your kid to love math and be able to excel in it then you need to make them realize how much you enjoy doing it. Any kid in their early years look towards their parents for inspiration and would do everything to make them proud. Keep in mind that math is not all about winning contests or getting recognized, but it is about exposing yourselves to intellectual opportunities and strive to be the best they can be.
It is really important that your kids love math in order to become wizards of mathematics, however, you also need to understand that it is not all about winning some trophies, but it is about making the subject of mathematics “real” and meaningful to them as they realize how important this subject is in real life applications.
