Math skills are essential in early education and are greatly important for the logical thinking required for multiple school subjects. Many students struggle with learning math. Struggling with math is due to several factors, including shortened attention spans, increased reliance on calculators, and a lack of practice in building math skills. Understanding math is an essential part of building critical thinking skills. Falling behind in this subject can (and will) affect other areas of the student’s academic and personal life.
Ways to make math fun for elementary kids:
1 Making Math a Family Thing
Try counting shapes everywhere, in the park or the supermarket store. For example, when eating wafers, count how many you have, discuss their shape, and ask what occurs when you tell them apart or eat them up. You can also use them to play games such as cards, lotto, bingo, pairs, and simple board games with your child.
Try creating your games, too, or ask your child to have a go—matching, counting, and comparing anything and everything together. You are encouraging your child to help you with simple household tasks, such as laying the table. Ask them they will need any plates or chairs. If you are cooking or baking together, let them assist you with measuring or counting out spoonfuls. Use fractions, too, dividing things into halves and quarters. A standard six, nine, or twelve bun tin offers a beautiful opportunity to practice addition and multiplication skills. You can also encourage them to look at the clock regularly to relate times to familiar routines and activities.
When you go shopping, point out prices to your child. Let them pay for small items, showing them which coins they are using. Would you mind encouraging them to work out amounts
2 Fun math games for kids
Many websites offer extensive choices of fun math games for kids for different grade levels, from problem-solving ventures and counting games to word problems, multiplication games, and time games.
There are also several games and accompanying videos, from logic games to story math games and arcade-style math games. Math Playground is a delight of free online math games for kids. This free website offers a large selection of games organized by grade level and subject—game levels are limited from pre-k to middle school. Several free and paid apps are available on the App Store and Google Play that helps kids learn math while having fun. E.g., Monster Math, Splash Math, Kids Math.
3 Prepare your students to have a growth mindset
The first step to helping your students love math is to assist them in realizing that they can get better at it. Many students have an established mindset and believe they are just hopelessly bad at math — and with this kind of defeatist approach, they will never like it. They may not solve a math problem yet, but they will be successful if they keep trying.
Be sure to celebrate those successes. Remind your students that they could not solve that type of difficulty a few weeks ago, but soon they can. They may not solve a math problem yet, but they will finally be successful if they keep trying.
4 Disperse maths myths
Some children have the impression that you are good at maths, or you are not. This paired attitude is not helpful because it fosters a fixed mindset. Maths’s ability is something that developed, nourished, and spread. Children may believe that they are not good at math, but this is a myth; every child has math potential; with work, everyone can improve their math learning.
Not all societies are anti-math. The fundamental belief in the Chinese culture is that ‘Mathematics gets you everywhere and that ‘anyone can become an excellent mathematician. ‘Traditionally, the Chinese think that math is the gymnasium of thinking and math can make learners brilliant.
5 Make math visible
Math displays have a significant role in the classroom as they can feed curiosity and positively impact learning. Engaging and colorful displays that are interactive and draw children in will make maths memorable and meaningful.
Living shape and number boards are excellent ways to draw children into the world of maths. By making their high profile in class, you are upgrading their thinking and understanding consciously and subconsciously. While commercial posters have their place, class-made shows can add a more three-dimensional and personal experience supporting children’s knowledge of maths. Keep math displays exciting and refreshing by updating and changing them regularly throughout the term.
Conclusion
Making math fun and making math easy are two sides of the same coin. The key is to replace the idea of “scary math” with practical problems, real-life applications. And an early start helps. Developing confidence and fluency in the learning and teaching of math is required for generating tremendous enthusiasm and raising attainment. It feeds pupils’ self-efficacy and allows everyone to see they can be a mathematician.
