Tips for parents to help students enjoy math

Building a love of math in children should start early, but it usually doesn’t. While parents naturally urge children to read outside of the classroom, it’s rare for children to be encouraged to do math in their spare time.

Where reading is seen as a pleasurable activity, math is seen as hard, dull work – but it doesn’t have to be. Rhode Island Tutorial is committed to helping all students achieve lifelong success. Here are some enjoyable ways to make sure you child stays ahead of the curve:

Use free apps and websites – There are numerous apps available to help students improve their math skills. Many of the apps are “math games,” which help get children excited about math. Parents.com’s list of the 10 best math apps for kids is a great place to get started.

Play board games that involve math – Games like Monopoly, Chutes and Ladders, or Sorry involve basic math skills. Playing games that involve calculations will help your child develop and become more confident in their skills.

Make math meaningful – Point out math in every day activities. At the grocery store ask how much two apples will cost. In the car, count passing houses or cars. At home, practice fractions by reading recipes. Showing children that math is all around them will make math less intimidating and help them learn.

Read books that involve math – Reading books that incorporate math will help improve both reading and math skills. Don’t worry, finding children’s books that involve math is easy!  A few popular choices are: The Very Hungry Caterpillar; One is a Snail Ten is a Crab; and One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish.

Reward children’s progress – To do well in math, kids need to be practicing constantly, but they often lack the incentive to study. Remedy this by creating prizes for mastering skills. You can create your own reward chart. Or download an app like King of Math that has levels, badges, and progress bars. This helps show children what their work is accomplishing.

Use math vocabulary – Mix in math phrases with your every day vocabulary. Hearing words like rotate, angles, and symmetry will help children become familiar with math language and feel more confident in their knowledge.

Be positive – It’s easy to put math on the back burner, especially when many parents admit that they themselves never enjoyed it. While this may be the case, it’s important to maintain a positive message and encourage children. Sharing that you weren’t good at math or that you don’t understand the problem implies that it is OK to give up. Instead, work through tough problems together and help build your child’s confidence.

RITES’ 1-to-1 Tutoring fits the bill for optimizing summer learning 

Whether your student is struggling or could be doing a bit better, RITES’ education experts can help your child make academic gains this summer in our proven, effective, high-quality, individualized tutoring. Contact RITES’ placement specialist now.

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