Math Class Doesn't Need to Be a Struggle

With only 40% of U.S 4th graders being proficient in math it's important for parents to recognize the importance of integrating math into their child's everyday learning experience. The first step is to ask the children's teacher what the math curriculum will look like in order to integrate it into the child's everyday life. This can be done through activities such as cooking, talking about sports scores, prices or time, which are everyday occurrences children will face to help them apply math in their everyday life. For younger children, another way to integrate math is through board games, color cubes, or other small mobile tools to begin the understanding of mathematical concepts. It's also important to teach kids that failure is inevitable and to challenge the kids who "hate math" to strive to find ways to enjoy it. Researching different ways and concepts to teach kids math is important as well as never underestimating their ability.

How to Show Your Child that Math Can Be Fun

Inexpensive color tiles, color cubes, base 10 blocks, and other small, mobile tools help younger kids understand mathematical concepts.

Key Takeaways:

1
Only 40 percent of United States fourth graders can do math well.
2
The ways in which math content is being taught has changed over the years.
3
There is more focus today on teaching kids what they are learning.