By Esther Chum
Many children struggle with Math in school. They find the ideas hard to understand and the word problems confusing. Math is actually an easy subject to ace because each problem has only one correct answer. And there are many ways of arriving at the correct answer.
Once your child understands the main concept in Math, he or she will not struggle with Math anymore. When we think of Math we think of numbers, counting, adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing. The underlying rule of these Mathematical operations is repeated patterns.
In kindergarten, Math lessons start with learning to recognize numbers and to count. They also include identifying different shapes and looking for patterns.
When a preschooler first learns to recite the numbers: 1, 2, 3... and so on, they have no idea of the meaning of these numbers. When you ask them to count, they just reel off the numbers without caring about the quantity of the items they are counting. It takes time for them to realize that counting is actually a repeated pattern of 'one more'.
Here is another pattern that is very useful. To help your child understand numbers bigger than ten, it would be very helpful to see the numbers as groups of tens with leftover singles or ones. For example, fifteen is made up of one group of ten and five singles or ones; twenty-two is made up of two groups of tens and two singles or ones. Teach them this when they learn to count money.
When your child understands this, it becomes much easier for him or her to add numbers mentally. For example, fifteen and twenty-two added together would result in three groups of ten and seven ones to give thirty-seven. Use actual items when adding this way so your child can see and feel the items instead of trying to understand abstract written symbols.
Another pattern to note when doing addition is when two numbers are added together, the answer is always bigger than either of the numbers. This is a useful guide for children who are careless in their work. They can check their own working by seeing whether the answer is bigger or smaller than it should be.
Other patterns would involve Math terms like 'greater than', 'smaller than', 'increase' and 'decrease'. If one number is greater than another, it means that the first number is bigger than the second. When your child understands this, he or she will be able to answer questions like '34 is 10 greater than what number?'
With this new understanding of Math, your child will no longer struggle with Math. What are the patterns you notice?
Esther Chum loves writing and helping kids with their school work. Get more tips about teaching Math to your child from her blog http://www.kidstudyguide.com/
Many children struggle with Math in school. They find the ideas hard to understand and the word problems confusing. Math is actually an easy subject to ace because each problem has only one correct answer. And there are many ways of arriving at the correct answer.
Once your child understands the main concept in Math, he or she will not struggle with Math anymore. When we think of Math we think of numbers, counting, adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing. The underlying rule of these Mathematical operations is repeated patterns.
In kindergarten, Math lessons start with learning to recognize numbers and to count. They also include identifying different shapes and looking for patterns.
When a preschooler first learns to recite the numbers: 1, 2, 3... and so on, they have no idea of the meaning of these numbers. When you ask them to count, they just reel off the numbers without caring about the quantity of the items they are counting. It takes time for them to realize that counting is actually a repeated pattern of 'one more'.
Here is another pattern that is very useful. To help your child understand numbers bigger than ten, it would be very helpful to see the numbers as groups of tens with leftover singles or ones. For example, fifteen is made up of one group of ten and five singles or ones; twenty-two is made up of two groups of tens and two singles or ones. Teach them this when they learn to count money.
When your child understands this, it becomes much easier for him or her to add numbers mentally. For example, fifteen and twenty-two added together would result in three groups of ten and seven ones to give thirty-seven. Use actual items when adding this way so your child can see and feel the items instead of trying to understand abstract written symbols.
Another pattern to note when doing addition is when two numbers are added together, the answer is always bigger than either of the numbers. This is a useful guide for children who are careless in their work. They can check their own working by seeing whether the answer is bigger or smaller than it should be.
Other patterns would involve Math terms like 'greater than', 'smaller than', 'increase' and 'decrease'. If one number is greater than another, it means that the first number is bigger than the second. When your child understands this, he or she will be able to answer questions like '34 is 10 greater than what number?'
With this new understanding of Math, your child will no longer struggle with Math. What are the patterns you notice?
Esther Chum loves writing and helping kids with their school work. Get more tips about teaching Math to your child from her blog http://www.kidstudyguide.com/
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