We tend to have a greater appreciation for those things that hold meaning for us — real, practical meaning; those things that we use every day. And math is no different! There are great ideas for keeping math real in Cheryl Bastian’s article Math Never Tasted So Good.
Children grow through three modes of thinking about arithmetic. When you understand these three modes you can easily make numerous day to day decisions about teaching. Should your child learn to recite numbers to 100 now? Does she need drill on multiplication tables or more real-life examples? You can have confidence in making these decisions.
If you are looking for ways to keep math relevant, interesting, and fun — to tie the necessary skill development with practical uses — you might appreciate these ideas in
From the time our children peek over the table edge or push a chair up to the kitchen counter, they investigate, predict, collect data, and discover. The result: they understand.
Skills covered include patterning, comparing and classifying, counting, computation, estimation, measurement, graphing, geometry, place value and more.
You will find many hands-on ideas:
Eliminating a parent’s fear of math is the first step in building math confidence in children. These fears often linger from negative personal experiences or a lack of understanding what, when, and how math can be taught. Knowledge complemented by useful tools—scales, measuring cups, tape measures, thermometers—makes math fun and relevant. Empowered and confident, parents often grasp math for the first time in their lives, and their contagious excitement invites children to enthusiastically embrace math.
Free Resource
Additional Resources
An Easy Start in Arithmetic by Dr. Ruth Beechick
Targeting parents of children in grades K-3, this title by Dr. Ruth Beechick explains how children learn math — progressing through manipulative, mental image, and abstract modes of thinking — and then provides a course of learning and suggestions for teaching it for each grade. Excellent tutor for the homeschool handy-mom. (Can also be purchased as one of The Three R’s.)
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Dr. Ruth Beechick was a skilled teacher and curriculum developer who considered home the best place to learn.
