Top tips for making maths more fun for your child

When it comes to school and learning, there are many subjects that students love and many that they don’t. One of the subjects that many students collectively agree that they don’t particularly enjoy is maths. The truth is, it’s not that maths is impossible to learn, but the approach taken to teach it and the anxiety that develops from it. This anxiety can begin from a very young age, causing children to have a mental block and create long lasting feelings of annoyance and boredom when it comes to studying the subject. The majority of the time, this is due to students not understanding maths concepts, leading to high levels of frustration and low levels of care. However, maths is a subject that is extremely important to practice and perfect as it is needed in so many important areas of life. It can in fact be one that students say is fun and they look forward to. To avoid the simultaneous groans and complaints, here are some tips from this independent school in Oxford on how to make maths more fun for your child.

Play maths games

One of the best ways to make maths more fun for your child is to play maths games with them. The good news is, there are many games available that can be played both online and offline. Games like maths blaster, sudoku and battleship can help your child develop their maths skills whilst having fun. If you’re feeling creative, you can also make up your own maths games by using flash cards or dice. Playing games with your little one is the best way to help them understand maths concepts in a way that is interactive, engaging and of course, more fun.

Use real life examples

Children usually understand concepts a lot more easily when they can relate them to experiences that they have seen in real life. You can instantly make maths a subject more fun for your child by using real-life experiences to explain difficult mathematical concepts to them. For example, you can use the weekly shop to teach your child about addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. Similarly, when you cook, you can ask your child to assist you when it comes to measuring ingredients, an activity that will help them better understand the concept of fractions.

Make maths an interactive subject

Many children perceive maths as a subject that is dull and requires nothing but a serious approach. This mindset is what leads them to find maths to be a subject that they rarely want to take part in. It is imperative that you do your best to make maths engaging and a subject that has as much brightness as the rest. Given that children tend to learn better when they are actively engaged in the learning process, you can make maths more interactive for the child by involving them in activities that require them to use math skills. For example, you can involve your child in household budgeting by asking them to help you track your expenses. Not only will this help them work on their skills, but they will feel like they are playing an active role in the home, helping them understand how maths is used in everyday life.

Reward them

Of course, there is only so much maths activities your child will endure before they begin to get restless. Given that children love rewards, it can be used as a great way to motivate your child to learn maths. For example, you can offer your child rewards for completing their homework or for achieving a certain grade on a maths test. Rewards can be anything from a special treat to extra screen time during the week. The decision is completely down to you.

Maths can definitely be a difficult subject to get children actively engaged in, however, with a little creativity, can be amongst the ones that they look forward to learning.