How the Child develop interest in Math?
We always see Math as something that is taught to children by way of boring notebooks or textbooks, memorizing equations, and tests. We usually believe that eventually they have to ‘get through’ at school. But usually they end up feeling disinterested because we learnt Math in the same boring way. When we don’t see our children doing well in school Math, we start worrying, especially as they get into higher grades.
Math is everywhere! Isn’t it? We can’t avoid or ignore. It’s required every single day. The truth is we have to live learning basic Math. With a supportive mentor, we can provide an environment filled with inspiration and learning Math, interesting. For younger children, it’s easy to absorb. They learn the numbers, they start counting, adding and subtracting, understanding patterns, solving Sudoku, and they learn to tell the time or measure their height on wall. We can see them starting to understand how numeracy works. But what happens as they grow? This is where we’re lacking to connect them with natural way in learning Math & that can lead us to worrying! So, let’s share some experiences that will be helpful.
By Life Skills, a young adult learns by receiving pocket money, savings goals & to spend the money, all by budgeting & working by their own money. By redecorating their study room, by planning, measuring surface area, they learn concepts of measurement, units, scale, uniformity & standards. Just as Parents or mentors we have to encourage them.
Shopping involves lot of math again like sticking to particular budget, comparing prices, percentages and sales. Try to send the younger adults to nearest grocery to buy the household items to understand financial literacy, in coins or currencies. And yes, they will make mistakes, but that’s better that they make those mistakes under yours safety. I remember, in my school days, my father used send me bank with the ‘cheque’ to withdraw money as he couldn’t, because of his hectic office schedules. I was so careful and cautious every time, with that piece of rectangular thick paper piece, I used wait in cash counter with the token, observing how people work, count the money carefully, a sense of ‘adultness’ or responsibility came by at very young age. I learnt to fill the withdraw slips and to deposit cash by counting currencies at that time & I remember, it thrilled me a lot with a pride, visiting Bank!
When you gift toys for your Child, buy things like Puzzles, Legos (in kids), Fidget or Jigsaw Cubic. Children love to solve in games or anything that helps them to figure out or challenging. Trinomial Cube is a good example of conceptualism mathematic. The cube is based on the Trinomial theorem (a+b+c)2.
Some other essential life skill practices (under adult supervision) like cooking for number of persons, time consumption, exercising on measurement of spices, regulating temperature on burner, using microwave to understand fundamental physics, weight, etc. I recently set my girl a challenge that combined a few of these things. She had to research the recipe, planned, worked out price per person, shopped for ingredients. She loved it, prepared sumptuous meal for all of us! She developed interest now to check out in different recipes.
Make the child to participate in school food exhibits in schools, where they are told to plan and estimate and finally to arrange their own stalls and sell their items. They’re in charge of pricing items, investing capital money, & working out profit & I have always seen them they are just bundle of infinite energy to take the charge and to fulfill that responsibility taken.
While travelling to various places from time to time make the child a practice of learning the distance coverage by train, flights or to learn bus time-tables and maps. These days several interesting apps are available to track the flights flying over the sky with their connectivity in different cities. By Road trips help and encourage the child in estimating arrival time (speed and distance), working out the shortest route etc. or the roadways.
Schools should encourage assignments on mock Projects like to start Business:- working out on Ideas, Investment or capital, strategies based on sell & profit / loss by making spreadsheets to record, keep track, analyze on whatever random stuff they are interested in. Science projects help any gathering, sorting, displaying and analyzing data in greater way.
Tumpa Datta Gupta
Educator (ECCE)
Green Wings Pre-school Educational Network