No Really, How Do
We Make Math Fun?
The question “How can I make math fun for my kids?” is
itself very revealing. It implies that
math is not naturally fun, for either
the parents or the kids. How did we fall into this mindset?
Well, the math culture in America is in a bit of a
negative self-reinforcing spiral. A lot
of adults don’t like math, and that holds particularly true for moms, who are
twice as likely as dads to have math anxiety. When these adults become parents, the feeling is unfortunately
contagious, because parents who don’t like math usually don’t weave math into
playtime with their preschool kids. Those kids then head to kindergarten,
where their first experience with math is homework, tests, grades. That probably isn’t the most appealing way to
meet something for the first time.
The fact is, math doesn’t need to be made fun: we
just have to find math within fun. Kids already spend their day on plenty of fun activities, all of which
have math within them. Baking is a
perfect example: an awesome opportunity to learn about fractions, ratios, and
volumes without the kids even noticing they’re doing math. Building toys also offer endless number
practice. Lego in particular, with its
little rows and columns of bumps, is all about multiplication. What’s the area of that castle fire station
you’re building? How many 2x4 blocks can
you fit on the roof?
Meanwhile, when it comes time to learn math facts, tying
them into kids’ favorite topics can make all the difference. While a lot of school textbooks and
worksheets boil down to counting pencils and pens, we don’t have to settle for
that as parents. If kids like anteaters,
roller coasters and chocolate, then let’s give them addition and subtraction about
anteaters, roller coasters and chocolate. This is the whole idea behind the book Bedtime Math. When kids read
about food fights, extreme vehicles, and odd jobs like being the football
team’s mascot, they get hooked on the topic and are plenty eager to solve math
problems about it. For kids, life is fun, and the more we unearth the
numbers behind it all, the more kids will enjoy it – and then embrace math and
its challenges once they reach school.
Laura
Overdeck, Author, Bedtime Math: A Fun Excuse to Stay Up Late (Macmillan Children's Publishing
Group, 2013)
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