Category Archives: High School Resources

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Rescue Your Teen’s Math with These 3 Steps

Boom! You’ve just come to the sudden realization that your teen is struggling with math! Whether they’re 13 or 17, the consequences of weak math skills are real. As a parent it’s natural to go into panic mode and blame yourself, then blame your teen, then blame yourself, but DON’T! Watch the video below to see the 3 steps you can take to save your teen’s math today. The transcript of the video is below:

Hello, I’m Caroline from Maths Insider and today I want to talk about teen math problems. So just last month I was speaking to a parent and she said, “How can my child, be 13 years old and he doesn’t know how to do long division!”

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There are three reasons why your child probably can’t do long division:

 1)Maybe he can, but just can’t when you are standing right over him growling, “what’s going on!” that he can’t do long division.

2) It could be that he can do long division but he’s just forgotten a step so he’s messing everything up, messing up a whole question.

And 3) maybe he just doesn’t know long division, maybe he was away from school that day, or maybe the teacher went through it really quickly that week when they were doing it a few months ago, or maybe he just really didn’t get it and he’s too shy to ask and it didn’t caught in the school report and the teacher didn’t tell you.

So what’s a parent to do when their teen has problems with math?

Well, don’t make a huge thing about it. The thing about teenagers is that they need you, but they don’t need you. And so the worst thing you can do is to make a huge thing out of it, and make into “Oh! You can’t do long division and your room is a mess and look at those clothes that you wear.” It’s so tempting as a parent, (I’ve got two teens of my own) to just unload everything in one go. So just don’t do that!

Come up with a plan to deal with that particular issue, the long division. But actually don’t make it into big huge deal. Make it seem as though it’s a plan that they’ve actually come up with and just be calm about it and say, “Okay you can’t do the long division, let’s figure out a way to tackle this.”

The next step is to actually figure out why can’t they do long division. What is it about long division that they cannot do? There are so many elements even in one simple long division question, so really in long division the student needs to know:

  • their times tables
  • subtraction facts,
  • how to do subtraction with borrowing or a method for two digits subtraction,
  • how to line up their numbers correctly whichever method they’re using.
  • be able to read their own writing so that the numbers appear clear, so that they are not making mistakes because they can’t read their own writing.
  • whichever algorithm they’ve been taught, “Do this and then do that, do this and then do that for do long division,

………..so exactly which steps of long division is causing them the problem?

If their times tables is not fluent and they are taking ages to figure out how many 8’s are their in 64 –  tackle that issue first – just deal with the times tables.

Fixing the math

Your teen probably thinks, “Oh my gosh, I do not want to deal with this. It doesn’t matter!” but actually say “Look! It is important,here’s a times tables app” or “Here’s a times tables list you can just keep with you, I’ll test you in the car tomorrow on  a particular times table.”

Make it really casual but deal with it because that’s really important! If they’re struggling with subtraction – make sure that they are clear on how to do it.

With my own teenagers, I often just find a video on YouTube and send it to them and say “Hey look! There’s a video on this topic which might be useful!” and then check to see if they’ve watch it, check to see if they understood it. Perhaps find one on subtraction with borrowing, and maybe a step-by-step video on how to do long division.

Let them feel as though it’s not something that you’re setting and teaching them how to do. Let them feel they are accessing the knowledge themselves.

Maths Insider Secrets

In the Maths Insider secret program, I go through and show you step by step how to figure out what are the gaps in your child’s knowledge and I show you the exact free websites that you can use to figure out what those gaps are and develop a plan to fill in those gaps.

Click here for more info on the Maths Insider Secret Program

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11 Award Winning Math Books to Share With Your Child

Are you looking for some fantastic books to help boost your child’s love of math?

collageWhen done poorly, a book about math can be dull and confusing. However, when done well, and accompanied by unique perspectives and colorful illustrations, math books can be fun!

The following list of number-crunching books will prove this to even the most dubious of readers. All titles are winners of the 2016 Mathical prize, which honors books that cultivate a love of mathematics in young readers.

Whether you want to introduce a young child to their very first math concepts or supplement an older child’s math curriculum, this list is for you:

1. Just the Right Size: Why Big Animals are Big and Little Animals are Little, by Nicola Davies

Using animals to explain math concepts is brilliant, because, which kid doesn’t like animals? In “Just the Right Size”, the author seeks to amuse children with animal trivia while using these familiar creatures to explain geometry concepts such as size and surface area.

Children are drawn to the cartoon characters, and parents enjoy learning new math and science trivia at the same time. The fun presentation makes it an ideal way to introduce concepts to inquisitive learners and reluctant math students alike.

2. The Great Trouble: A Mystery of London, the Blue Death, and a Boy Called Eel, by Deborah Hopkinson

Primarily a historical medical novel, The Great Trouble sneakily introduces math to young readers in the form of money.

While following the heroic adventures of the main character, who is struggling to support himself, readers are plunged into the world of economics.

The Maths Insider Guide to the Best Parent - Tested Math Products

Suitable for both fun and classroom, readers describe ”The Great Trouble” as:

” …historical non-fiction for kids that is also interesting for adults…”
“…perfect for young scientists.”
“…educational, yet by no means boring.”
“…a fascinating look at money, poverty, survival and illness in Victorian London”

3. An Animal Alphabet, by Elisha Cooper

Both a counting book and an alphabet book. The pages are filled with illustrations depicting over one hundred animal species (along with animal facts) and pages of counting opportunities (up to the number eight, the author’s preferred number.)

Definitely not a traditional counting or letter book, but one any preschooler will treasure, ”An Animal Alphabet” is :

“Illustrated with joy…an alphabet book to pore over, worth adding to any collection.” — School Library Journal, starred review

4. The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster

A classic book that introduces abstract mathematical concepts, and personifies both math and words as literal characters. The Phantom Tollbooth has delighted readers for over three decades, and continues to pique mathematical interest in readers of all ages.

Many parents today describe “The Phantom Tollbooth” as their first favorite book, and enjoy it even more as adults. What better book to share with a child?

5. Count With Maisy, Cheep, Cheep, Cheep by Lucy Cousins

This preschool book provides a fun reason for counting–they must help Maisy the Dog find all of the baby chickens before bedtime!

As a lift-a-flap book, it’s already interactive, and parents can make it more so by using the bright illustrations to teach numbers, colors, and farm animals.

“…Count With Maisy is an adorable book that my toddler loves.”
“Counting baby chickens with Maisy is my daughter’s favorite part of bedtime.”

The Maths Insider Guide to the Best Parent - Tested Math Products

6. Secret Coders by Gene Luen Yang

Here is a book that offers a modern take on the importance of math. Not only is it a mystery novel filled with old-school learning concepts, such as logic puzzles, it focuses on one of the most progressive uses of math in our world today–computer coding.

A perfect gift for a child who is into computers or robotics, or who just needs some proof that STEM academics can be fun.

Parents and teachers both agree that this book is engaging, encouraging and enjoyable (for all ages!)

“… it encourages my daughter to read AND think about math, its a win-win in my book!..”

“…Such a fun and geeky book. It appeals to the kid in all of us, and my math-whiz kid loved the puzzles.”

7. Max’s Math by Kate Banks

Follow Max and his brothers as they set off on an adventure to find Shapesville. Their path is littered with numbers and shapes, and along the way they learn about counting, problem-solving, and basic geometry concepts.

The book is wonderful for the story itself, and presents numerous opportunities for parents to introduce new math games (such as finding hidden numbers).

8. The Boy Who Loved Math: The Improbable Life of Paul Erdos by Deborah Heiligman

A biography of the mathematician Paul Erdos, who was astonishingly brilliant with numbers, yet could not perform simple tasks like making his own bed. This story is for any child (or parent) who sees the world differently and strives to create their own learning environment.

The bright illustrations and joyful character can teach young readers that math is not something to be feared, since we see Paul so ecstatically happy about his numerical adventures.

One reader says:
“…thanks to this book, my child now dreams of becoming a mathematician.”

9. Math Curse by Jon Scieszka

“You know, you can think of everything as a math problem..”

That is the prompt that sets the book in action, as a student realizes she is “cursed” by being surrounded by math problems.

A clever and excellent way to drive home the importance of why math skills are important and how we use them everyday to solve a variety of issues. (And also some silly, yet charming, mathematical philosophizing as the narrator laments why a person who has 10 cookies must have 3 taken away as her whole life becomes a series of word problems.)

With the addition of some “silly math” the author also teaches readers that there are some problems that one cannot solve with math.

10. Unusual Chickens for the Exceptional Poultry Farmer by Kelly Jones

Again, a book that takes math beyond the school room and into real life. Cunningly hidden inside the story of a city girl who moves to the farm and rather reluctantly becomes a chicken farmer, are everyday math problems she must solve. Such as how to calculate the amount of water needed for a certain number of chickens per day, and how to measure for roosting poles.

For children who don’t dream of being physicists or engineers, its helpful to show how math is still useful in their own real world lives. Little math problems are just as important to your success, no matter which undertaking you choose.

Parents have described this book as funny, diverse, thought-provoking, powerful, and worth reading over-and-over.

11. Leonardo da Vinci Gets a Do-Over by Mark P. Friedlander

This is the book to perk up reluctant teen math students.

This adventure story links multiple academic subjects together (much as the Master himself did). Follow the three young characters as they help a resurrected da Vinci on his quest to better humanity.

“..a great book for merging math and science together. We read it as part of our homeschool curriculum, and my daughter loved it.”

Along the way the 3 young characters play the role of both students and teachers to the grand master; an empowering way to show children that what they learn today, they can use for teaching others tomorrow.

The Maths Insider Guide to the Best Parent - Tested Math Products

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Math Homework Without Confusion

How can I make sure I'm not confusing my child when they ask me to help with their math homework?

“The teacher didn’t do it that way!!”

“So which way did they do it?”

“I can’t remember!”

Find out how to rescue this frustrating situation and help your kids tackle their math homework without confusion with the 3 simple tips in the video below. The transcript of the video is also below. Click here to watch the video on You Tube complete with subtitles.

Hello, I’m Caroline from Maths Insider, www.mathsinsider.com and today I am going to answer a question from a Maths Insider reader who asked, “How can I make sure I’m not confusing my child when they ask me to help with their math homework?”

1. Find out what math they know

So I’ve got three tips, No.1, have a look at the homework and ask them to explain to you what they actually do understand, and if that draws a blank and they give you that look like, “I actually don’t understand anything, I don’t get it at all,” then try to ask them an easier example to see if they’ve got any understanding at all of the topic. For example if they come home with 247 divided by 23 and they don’t understand it, ask them, ”Okay so, how about if it were 24 divided by 3? Well how about if it were 243 divided by 3?” Try an easy example and see if they can actually explain to you how they would get the answer with an easier example. 

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2. Google the math

No. 2, the next tip, because sometimes even that tip doesn’t work, is to actually Google it and not just Google “long division” but actually put “long division year 4 Australian curriculum” or “long division year 5 UK curriculum” or” long division grade 4 curriculum” and you’re going to get some very good results hopefully. Now you’ll probably get some websites, but also look at the video results because you might get some good YouTube videos and click on images as well because especially the images result might bring in some really good results from Pinterest which might be just some visual short cuts of what method to use, so that’s another good tip.

3. Phone a friend

And the last tip No. 3, which is kind of a last resort, but it might work, is to ask somebody. So ask on Facebook, because people like to be seen to be good at maths, and so if you just put a quick call out on Facebook to say “Hey, my child’s come home with long division and yea I know how to do long division, but it looks as if they’re using a division type of method and I don’t know what method they’re using” and you’ll likely get somebody, some people, who will respond and will know what current method is being used in schools. You can also look on forums as well or Facebook groups, but even amongst your Facebook friends you’ll likely to have somebody who may actually want to help out and say ,”Well, they’re doing this,” or “This is the method my child used last year.” So it’s always worth asking.

  • So tip No. 1. Ask your child to explain to you what methods they’ve been taught and perhaps with an easier example than the actual example they’re stuck on. Also have a quick look at the homework and see if there’s a question they’ve managed to do and ask them to explain it to you.
  • No.2. Google the topic plus the curriculum 
  • Number 3. Ask perhaps on Facebook
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Learn These Math Skills First!

Which math skills does my child need to learn first?

“How can he be 13 years old and not know long division? How did that happen?”

That was an actual quote from a distraught parent whose child had just done “not so well” on the Diagnostic Test that Thinkster Math (formerly Tabtor) gives to all new students. It’s often the case that students struggle with a topic because they’ve either not had the chance to practice easier concepts or missed learning an easier concept entirely. So for this student, it may be that his times tables recall is weak or he’s making mistakes in subtraction or he just hasn’t learnt how to set out his log division work.

Math, like reading needs to build up from strong foundations.

Find out which foundationnmath skills your child should learn first with this video. The transcript of the video is also below. Click here to watch the video on You Tube “complete with subtitles.

Hello, I’m Caroline from www.mathsinsider.com and today I am going to answer a question from a Maths Insider reader which is, “Which math skills, and how to know which math skills my child needs to learn first?”

A logical order of math skills

So I’ll just briefly go over the kind of math skills that kids need to know. So they basically need to know how to count, then add, then subtract and then multiply and then divide and then work with fractions and then with decimals and then how to use all the skills with algebra. So it sounds really simple, but the school curriculum kind of chops and changes so they make sure they do simple addition in one school year and then they do harder addition the next school year and then they do double digit addition the next school year and triple digit addition the next school year and then they might introduce the times table this school year while they are still doing double digit addition, but they introduce it as number sequences and then they’ll do the times tables.

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So it’s no wonder that parents get confused, because after they’ve done the times table they’re going to do short multiplication and then they’re going to do long multiplication and then another year they are going to repeat the short multiplication as an introduction to long multiplication and so parents can be left thinking “What are they doing?” They’ve been doing multiplication for ever and you know that is true.

How Kumon Does the Math

A program like Kumon, what they do, they do, they basically do addition, addition, addition, 1 digit, 2 digit, 3 digit, 4 digit, yes they add and then subtract, well  they do addition and subtraction together, a bit of addition  a bit of subtraction, a bit of addition a bit of subtraction and then only after addition and subtraction are perfect for like 4 digits, plus 4 digits, and 4 digits, take away 4 digits, do they do the multiplication tables and then once they know those then they do the division facts and then short multiplication, short division, long multiplication, long division and so that’s how come Kumon students are able to seemingly move forward very quickly whilst the school will be doing all these things in a broken up way because then they have also fit in shapes and measurements and time and angles and all the other things that the curriculum decides. 

A Math Skills Strategy

But how does this help you as a parent when your child comes home with for example a question on dividing fractions?  So when I first meet a new student and the parents say they’re stuck on dividing fractions, first of all I want to know do they know their times tables. Well actually I want to know can they add and also subtract but it’s kind of more polite to say, “Do you know your times tables?” especially when you’re talking to a child who maybe 12 or 13 years old and often times they are really hesitant, they don’t know them. It is not a case of being really fast, a fraction of a second, they must know the answer straight away, but they should be able to give you the answer within a few seconds and not panic. So in order to access that dividing by fractions, they are going to need to be able to work with the times tables relatively quickly and relatively comfortably, so it is a case of making sure all the foundation skills are built up. So if you do have your child coming to you with a question to do with fractions make sure they do know their times tables and also before that make sure they do know their addition and subtraction fact relatively easy and not having to count on their fingers and their toes and your fingers and your toes. So it is actually worth taking the time out to do that.

Don’t skip the basic math

Often times I have parents who starts working with me and I start working with their child and they said well, they need to know their times tables which is fine I can give them lots of time tables practice, but actually they do need to be able to do the column subtraction because later on when they are doing  long division they’re going need to be able to subtract easily and accurately and times tables aren’t  actually that difficult to learn, they just need a concentrated amount of time and they don’t even need to be quick, quick, quick as I said before.  It’s the case to get the 4 times table, double and double it again and figuring out. Give your child the tools if they can’t memorize them then give them the tools to be able to get answers so that when later on they’re doing the long division, they are not having to count on to figure out how many times does four goes into 28. Then also they’ve got the problem they can’t subtract accurately, so they are making mistakes when they have to do the subtraction bit of the long division. So it is very important to make sure your child has all their foundational skills and it’s not that they have to be super speedy, that’s great if they can be, but they just need to be comfortable. 

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Guide Your Child to LONG TERM Math Success!

Have you ever worried that your child is under-achieving in math?

Whether your child is struggling with their math; your child seems to be “doing fine” in math class or your child is “top of the class” in math; as a parent, you’ve likely paused many a time to wonder if everything will be OK in the end when it comes your child’s math.


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In fact, education research does show that student success in school increases if their parents are positively involved in their education.

Yes, your efforts count and it’s backed by solid data and experience!

However, it’s often difficult to know where to start and even worse, how you’re going to know if your efforts will pay off in the end. How can you make sure that your child will achieve LONG TERM Math success?

I’ve heard this concern from hundreds of parents over the years, so to tackle this important question, I’ve developed a free video series giving you 4 steps that you can use to guide your child to LONG-TERM math success.

Guide Your Child to Long-Term Math Success

How to Guide Your Child to Long-Term Math Success in 4 Steps

LONG TERM Math Success

IN THIS FREE training series you’ll learn:

  • Why you are the best person to oversee your child’s math learning (even if you are paying for a math program)
  • How I turn “I hate math!” into “I want to do more math!”
  • How to save time and money when you take control of your child’s math learning (even if you decide to use paid resources)
  • How to organize your child’s math learning

and much more!

When you watch it, you’ll also receive the rest of the videos in this series over the next few days…

Go check it out now and see for yourself. Soon I’ll release the second video in the free training series and I want to make sure you have the chance to go through it all!

Click here to access the free video training series: How to Guide Your Child to Long-Term Math Success in 4 Steps.

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Encourage Your Child To Do Extra Math With These 3 Easy Steps

You’ve come to the realization that your child needs to do some extra math, whether because they’re struggling with the subject, they could do with some extra math practise or in order to get ahead, but you know your child will likely be resistant. Find out how to overcome your child’s objections and encourage your child to do extra math using these 3 steps. The transcript of the video is below. Click here to watch the video on You Tube complete with subtitles.

Hello, I’m Caroline from www.mathsinsider.com and today I’m answering a Maths Insider reader’s question, “How can I get my child to do extra maths?”

Plant the seed that extra math is a positive thing

No. 1 is to seed the idea, so start talking to them about other children who are doing extra maths, “So, you know your friend X, they’ve started doing Kumon” or, “I heard from Y that the Thinkster Math (formerly Tabtor) program is very good” or, “I found this blog Maths Insider and it’s got some really cool ideas of how to get better at maths for kids.” So start seeding the idea and start mentioning it so that it’s not a complete shock for your child.

Encourage Your Child To Do Extra Math With These 3 Steps

What math resource do THEY want to use?

No. 2 is when you decide that you are actually going to start your child doing extra maths, then get their feedback on what they want to do. So say, “Would you prefer to do some extra maths on the app?”,” Do you want me to print out some games?”,” Do you want to just do some worksheets?”,” Do you just want to use a maths text book?” Ask them what they prefer or perhaps videos. So ask for their feedback, ask for their input so that they feel this is something that’s not just happening to them, something that they have to do, but something that they have some element of choice in.

Fix a math time

No. 3 is to fix a time, just try to fix a regular time and again get your child’s input on it, when do they want to do it? In the car on the way to school? Do they want to do it in the morning or after breakfast or during breakfast? Do they want to do it straight away after school? Do they want to go to a tuition center? Do they want to do something just before they go to bed? So ask them what do they think would work in their schedule and also what kind of time frame, so say to them, “Well, okay if you don’t want to do 5 minutes every day then perhaps it’s better that we do a half an hour on a Saturday morning or an hour every couple of weeks” and ask them what they prefer, a little and often or just big chunks of time. Well little and often actually works better, but some children do work better with big chunks of time. So ask them what they prefer.

Encourage Your Child To Do Extra Math with These 3 Steps

So if I go back to number 1:

  • Number 1 is seed the ideas, so start talking about extra maths being something positive and it’s something that other children do.
  • Number 2 ask them how they want to do the extra maths, whether they want to use books or apps, videos or whatever resources.
  • Number 3 is to get your child to help you fix a regular time to do the extra maths.

 

 

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How Can I Talk to My Disinterested Child About Everyday Math

You love math and want to talk to your child about how cool math is or you just know that talking positively about math is just the “right thing to do”, but your child just isn’t interested. Find out how you can talk to your child about everyday math when they’re just not interested. The transcript of the video is below. Click here to watch the video on You Tube complete with subtitles.

 

 

Hello, I’m Caroline Mukisa from mathsinsider.com and today I’m going to talk about a question from a Maths Insider reader and they asked, “How can I keep talking about math and try to encourage my child about maths and everyday maths if they’re just not interested?” So I’ve got three tips for you here.

Keep talking about math

No.1:  Great! Fantastic! It’s really good that you’re doing that and carry on doing it! Keep on doing it, because one day they might change their minds. I’ll give you 2 little examples to illustrate this:

When I was a child I hated avocados and my dad use to go on about how amazing avocados were, how tasty they were, how healthy they were, all the vitamins and minerals they had in them, and now as adult I really like avocados and I can think back and remember all the good things about the avocados and as my taste matured, as I got older I can then see that yes, this was a worthy fruit to enjoy. So keep on talking to your child about maths because you never know when their taste might mature and they might remember some of the things that you mentioned.

The other example is: my 6 year old is really into Lego Ninjago and I used to just always think, he’s watching Lego Ninjago again that’s just a load of rubbish, it’s just some silly cartoon, but actually I sat down with him one day and asked him all about it. I said, “So, who is this character? Is this character good? Is that one bad? Why are they doing this and what have they done in the past?” and he was actually able to explain it to me, and from him giving an explanation, I can actually understand why he likes it, and I can see some of the interesting characters and some of the interesting plots that they used. So again your child might say “Aargh! Mum or Dad are talking about maths again!” but one day they might actually think, “But actually I remember when they pointed out something interesting about maths and they were right.” So keep on doing it.

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Relate math to what interests your child

The next thing is actually to relate the maths to what they are actually interested in. So you might be pointing out some interesting chart in the newspaper or some maths to do with grocery shopping, but actually if they are into horses, you can talk to them about how vets use maths. If they are into Minecraft, you can talk to them how maths is used in computer programming a lot and maybe sign them up for some computer programming courses. There are some really good ones on Hour of Code. There are other courses where you can actually learn how to program mods in Minecraft, so that’s worth looking at. Also I found something nice –  Pixar Math – so they’ve got together with Khan Academy and they’re explaining how maths is use in Pixar movies and the animations and that’s sort of really interesting as well. So try and find out what they are actually interested in and try and relate that to maths.

Discuss how math can help in future careers

The next thing, the last tip is to actually ask them about what their future plans are. Now I guess this will change depending on how old they are, so you’ll get a different answer depending on whether you ask a 4 year old to or whether you ask a 14 year old. One of my students was very reluctant to do extra maths, he was struggling a bit with maths at school,  he was very reluctant to do any extra maths and his mum actually said to him, “Well what is it that you want to do when you grow up?” and he said, “I want to be a car designer.” I think it’s for Audi, and she said, “Well, why don’t you write to Audi, go and email them and ask them, “Do you need maths to be a car designer?” and he did. He emailed them and he got a reply and they said, “Oh yea, you definitely need lots of maths, we look for strong mathematicians when we’re looking to employ people to be car designers” and then he was a little less reluctant and a little more willing to do extra maths and he is coming along quite nicely.

So ask your child what they want to do in the future. I guess for some things, if they want to be a dancer or an author it not easy to immediately think of things, but whatever profession, if they’re going to earn money they’re going to need to know how to handle the money, especially if something in the entertainment business, there are agents to pay and agents who are looking to rip you off. So there is always a link to maths in whatever their future ambitions are.

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Get Ahead in Math and Still Enjoy the Holidays!

The holidays are a great time to consolidate math knowledge. Find out how your child can use the holidays to get ahead in math and still have plenty of time for fun and relaxation. The transcript of the video is below. Click here to watch this video on You Tube

Hello, I’m Caroline from MathsInsider.com and today I’m going to share with you some tips about how to keep maths going over the holiday. So today is the first day of my kids school holiday and I’m hoping to keep some maths going for them. So I thought I’d share some of the tips that I’m using with my own kids and I’m sharing with my Thinkster Math (formerly Tabtor)  students as well.

Relax and enjoy the holidays!

So, number one, it’s not a case of, “You’ve got to do maths the whole holiday! Maths, maths, maths.” Yes, of course, you must have time to relax. Your kids must have time to relax, to stare at the ceiling, to open their presents, to enjoy time with their family and friends. But also, the holidays are a great time to get ahead with maths and to consolidate ideas, so it is worth trying to slot a little bit of maths into the holidays.

In Australia, they’ve got the big summer holiday, it’s six weeks. The rest of the world is probably about two or three weeks but in those two or three weeks, even if you’re having Christmas day off, New Year’s Day off, you can still get lots of maths done.

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Identify 1 or 2 math topics to focus on

So the first thing to do is to actually identify what topics you want to cover. So think back to any topics that your child has come home with which they’ve struggled with in their homework or topics that your teachers mentioned. Or you could look ahead to see what they’re doing, if you’ve had a newsletter from school and see if there’s any topics on there that you can identify. Don’t try and do the whole curriculum, the whole syllabus in one holiday, that’s going to drive you crazy. And as a parent, you need time to relax as well, so just try to identify one or two topics.

For my little one, I’m trying to just do the twos, fives, and tens times tables. I think he kind of knows them, but I just want to make sure that he can kind of do them out of order. So just pick something really simple and if you’re not sure, just grab — if they’re an older kid, you can grab their maths book and see, “Well, they didn’t get good grades on this topic or that topic.”

Fix a “math time”

Number two is to fix a time when you’re going to do this work. So maybe first thing in the morning. For my own kids, they like to go out and play. The main thing in holidays is that they’re allowed to play out after dark so I’ll say to them, “If you want to go out and play with your friends after dark, then let’s just do a little bit maths.” So fix the time. Is it going to be first thing in the morning? Is a going to be before they go out to play? Is it going to be straight away after lunch? Try and fix the time, that this will be the maths time. I’m not saying that they should spend an hour doing maths, that’s fine if they’re willing to do that and they’re happy to do that, but even two minutes, five minutes, ten minutes is going to add maths knowledge into their lives.

Choose fun math resources

The next thing is to choose your resources. So your kids might not want to sit down with a maths book or lots of maths worksheets, so use this time to introduce something slightly more interesting or relaxing. So if you want to use some seasonal worksheets and print those off, that’s fine. For the times tables I’m using a cute little app called Squeebles because that’s kind of fun and they get to play as well as do times tables, so that’s something slightly different. But if you’re already on a program like Kumon or Thinkster Math, that’s fine. You can do the standard things, but don’t make them. Try to make it a bit more interesting. This should be a time spent with family and friends so you don’t want to be stressed and give them the worst options. Try to give them the best options.

Highlight everyday math

The next thing is to just introduce, just highlight maths in your everyday life. So in the holidays you’ve got sales, you can talk about numbers of the sales, you can talk about how many Lego bricks do you think you’ve used for this set – estimating. You can talk about maths journey times if you’re traveling or family and friends are coming to visit you. So just be aware to highlight the maths that’s around you during this time.

 

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8 Practical Ways to Conquer Your Child’s Math Anxiety

Is math anxiety really a thing?

Math anxiety, that is feelings of stress, fear and apprehension when it comes to doing math, is certainly real. In fact scientists have developed different ways to measure mathematical related anxiety including the MARS (Mathematics Anxiety Rating Scale) and the Fennema-Sherman Mathematics Attitudes Scales (FSMAS).

A child suffering from math anxiety is not necessarily “bad at math”, but the stress they feel in math class and the avoidance tactics they use to minimize the amount of math they need to do, mean that they often don’t get the much needed practise that leads to math fluency.

A research based approach to math anxiety

Fortunately, research has found that, when it comes to math anxiety, parents can offer a great deal of help and support to their children. The infographic below  gives 8 science-backed, practical ways to help parents conquer their child’s math anxiety.

 

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8 Practical Ways to Conquer Your Child’s Math Anxiety

1. Be involved

Student success in school has been shown to increase if their parents are positively involved in their education.

2. Encourage a growth mindset

Studies have shown that effort trumps ability when it comes to learning math, so set high expectations when encouraging your child.

3. Be positive about math

A parent’s perception of mathematics influences not only their child’s perception, but also their achievement in mathematics.

4. Overcome gender stereotypes

Foster math confidence regardless of the gender of your child by highlighting achievements made by both male and female scientists.

5. Learn the basics  

Rote learning is essential to mathematics performance as a many higher level concepts build the memorization and repetition of the basic math facts.

6. Allow mistakes  

Focus on the concepts rather than the right answer since making (and correcting) mistakes is an essential part of math learning.

 

7. Take baby steps 

Support new topics by slowly building from the topics your child already understands. Use gradual, repeated success to build math confidence in your child.

8. Make math relevant to real life

Highlight ways in which you and your family use math in everyday life and discuss how good math skills will open the doors to a larger choice of career options.

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Does Your Child Know Their Basic Math Facts? Read These 4 Essential Tips

Watch the video on You Tube here

Read the transcript below:

4 Tips to Help Your Child Learn Their Basic Math Facts

Hello, my name is Caroline Mukisa from the Maths Insider website and today I’m going to answer a question from a Maths Insider reader, “How can I get my child to learn the basic facts?”

So I’m going to first of all talk about how much effort is going to be needed to learn the basic facts and then I’m going to talk about the order in which to do the facts. Further, I’m going to talk about location, location, location, give you some good tips on where and when to do that kind of learning. And finally I’m going to give you a secret tip at the end.

Will learning the basic math facts take a lot of effort?

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So first of all, how much effort is it going to take? Well, when I was a Kumon instructor, when I ran a Kumon center in London, my students were doing a lot of basic facts learning. So on the typical Kumon worksheet, say for example addition and subtraction, each student would be doing about 200 to 300 questions every day on that particular fact whether it’s +1s or +2s or a mixture of +1s and 2s. So that’s why Kumon kids are generally really, really fast in their basic arithmetic.
Now, I don’t do that with my own kids now and as a Thinkster Math (formerly Tabtor) instructor, each Thinkster Math worksheet has about 30 questions for the arithmetic section which is fine and some kids do two or three in a row so I guess they did 90. But to be frank, even if you can get 10 questions done or 5 questions done, or a few questions done several times a week, that’s brilliant, that’s better than doing nothing, okay? So don’t have in your head that this is going to be a huge, humongous task.You know, obviously if you want your kids to be really, really fast you’re going to need to put in some Kumon effort, some Kumon style effort. If you want them to be quite fast then put in some Thinkster Math effort and if you just want them to get the basic facts, then just do 10 questions several times a week.

Learn the basic math facts in this order

The next thing I’m going to go over is what order should you ask the questions? So I’ve got my whiteboard over here. So I’ve kind of got the 4 times tables, that my son was doing last week. I wrote them in order first, then in order again, and then in the next row I kind of skipped some and just wrote the odd number and then the even number times tables. So generally, try to do them in order. I would start with something that’s really easy. So if you know they’re struggling with their four times tables, start off with the two times tables. Give them that confidence by starting at an easier starting point.
So if you notice, for example, for addition, that they’re finding 8+5 difficult. (That 8+5 is the question I always ask my new Thinkster Math students. “What’s 8+5?”) If they can give me that quickly, then I know their arithmetic is generally okay. That’s just one of those facts that takes me a fraction of a second longer to get, so that’s why I picked 8+5. So if they’re struggling with 8+5, then give them an easier starting point. You could start with even the +1s and +2s and +3s and just give them the confidence to go fast. If they can do 9+3 quite quickly, then the leap from 9+3 to 8+5 isn’t that huge, but give them a running start, give them some easy work to get started with.

You don’t necessarily need to do the math facts at a desk

Taking my own advice from my Faster Times Tables website - use games to reinforce the times tables. Game board printed from the Twinkl website and LEGO game pieces custom built by my 8 year old!

Taking my own advice from my Faster Times Tables website – use games to reinforce the times tables. Game board printed from the Twinkl website and LEGO game pieces custom built by my 8 year old!

The other thing I want to talk about is where should you do them. Well of course, you know, you’re probably thinking I’m going to sit in front of them and I’m going to ask them lots of questions or I’m going to make them do lots of times tables worksheets. That’s fine. If your child is happy with doing that, that’s great. My son, last week, was going through a stage where he really didn’t want to do worksheets, he didn’t even want to write the answers so I wrote the questions and then I wrote the answers when he shouted them out to me.
And I’ve got some spellings over here on the whiteboard. You can see my other son’s spellings, so he decides to write those on the board but when we practice spellings, actually we usually practice them in the bathroom and then he writes with the board pen on the shower stall. So you can use that tip or you can even use a window because some kids just like writing somewhere different.
Another great tip is to do them in the car. So this tip came from one of my Thinkster Math parents. So what she does is she gets her child to do Thinkster Math while she’s driving because that way she can hear when the child is getting questions right or wrong. There’s like an audio sound of the Thinkster Math app. If her daughter gets stuck, she can give her some advice. She can say, “Hey, watch the video or read the question again,” but she’s not actually sitting over her and saying, “Do this, this, and this,” because she can’t, she’s driving. So I think in the car is a great location. You’ll probably notice that when you ask your kids a question they’ll often look away while they think of the answer. Also, it’s kind of confrontational if you’re staring at them, “Hey, what’s 8×9?” So try that, try in the car so that there’s less pressure if they get the questions wrong.

Learn the math facts by making mistakes

And finally, my last tip, is allow them to make mistakes. It’s not a big deal, don’t react, “Ah, you don’t know what 8×9 is?!” Just tell them, “8×9,” if they get it wrong, “It’s 72. What’s 8×9?” They say, “72.” “What’s 8×9?” “72.” So just ask them a few times before moving on and then have in mind that that’s one of those times tables that you’re going to have to go and review.

Tips for learning the math facts

So if we go back to the beginning:

  1. Do as many as you can. Lots will get through the process faster and your child will be faster at the basic facts. But even if you’re doing 10 facts several times a week, that’s fine, they’re going to get there.
  2. Go in order, start with something that’s slightly too easy, that’s fine.
  3. Do them in the car, on a whiteboard, on the window, on the shower stall. Just find somewhere really good to do them, somewhere different.(Actually, my son also likes playing board games so we adapted a board game and made it a times tables board game; using something we printed out.)
  4. And finally, allow them to make mistakes.

So for more quick tips and practical advice to help your kids to maths success, go to the Maths Insider website: www.mathsinsider.com.