How To Help Your Child With Kindergarten Math
Math can be a difficult subject for kids. Even as adults we might have found math daunting at some point or another. But thankfully, your child has a few more years before calculus and algebra enter their curriculum. Incorporating math in your kid’s life in a fun, natural ways can help your child love the subject from a very young age. Here’s how you can math-talk to help your child with kindergarten math:
1. Snack Time Fun
Whether you are giving cheerios or finger food, ask your child to count them as they eat it. This way, they will have fun while counting numbers. You can do this with all other kinds of food such as grapes, strawberries, and even fish fingers. And as your child gets thorough with counting numbers, you can teach them subtraction by asking them to count the food left on their plate.
2. Counting With Hands
Before you introduce the term addition and subtraction, your kid needs to know what addition and subtraction are. Adding 5+2 or subtracting 4-2 might seem too complicated for your child. Slowly introduce the concept using a bunch of coins or buttons. Collect 5 coins and keep them in front of your child. Now remove 2 from the pile. Ask your child to count how many are left in the pile. Similarly, do this by adding more coins to the pile and asking your child to count.
3. Which Is Larger?
Which is larger, 3 or 7? Your kid needs to know how numbers compare to each other. Even if your kid has learned to count till 20, they might not know how numbers compare to each other. Do this by asking them to draw a picture of 3 flowers and 6 flowers. Now ask them which is larger. This way your child will learn to arrange the numbers from low to high and high to low.
4. Teach Them Sequencing
Practicing sequencing will help them develop their ability to learn math procedures and methods later in school. Whether you are making a sandwich or baking a cake, let your child be present with you in the kitchen. And then later ask them to describe the steps of making the dish in the right sequence. Your kid might not be able to get it right the first few times, but it’s a start.
5. Teach Them Time
Kids will be intrigued to know how time works. You can help them to learn the units of time by watching their favorite TV show at a particular time. Ask them to note when the show starts and when it ends. You can also set a timer to teach them how long different units of time lasts. So the next time when you allow 5 more minutes of playtime, they will know exactly how long it will be.
6. Make Play Time Math Time
No, we are not talking about sucking the fun out of your kid’s playtime by teaching them maths. Many games already incorporate maths such as dominoes, tic tac toe, and connect four. Incorporating these games will help your kid develop math skills right from kindergarten.
7. Give Them Jigsaw Puzzles
Solving jigsaw puzzles can help develop their visual discrimination skills by identifying different shapes, sizes, colors, patterns, and positions. Doing jigsaw puzzles will also help your child to be more focused, which is an important quality when solving math problems.
Kids are not born hating math. It is the parental pressure and the dreaded homework that makes the subject seem daunting to them. But with the right guidance and support, you can help your child learn math without feeling stressed and overwhelmed. If you are actively incorporating math in your child’s everyday life in a fun and unique ways, your child will grow up loving the subject.
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