|
MATHEMATICS |
Barbara Jeffries (BASS) considers a number of different ways parents can help their child with mathematics at home:
Maths is all around us, impinging on our everyday lives. Without realising it, we are using aspects of maths throughout our day.
There are many opportunities for you to share your own experiences with your child to encourage them to be aware of the relevance of Maths in everyday life.
Cooking and preparing food: We estimate numbers, weights, times and capacities in preparing food. Encourage your child to read through instructions on packets, focusing on quantities and times. You can discuss proportions: if 1 cup of rice is enough for 3 people, how many will we need for 6? 9? Let them use weighing scales, encouraging accuracy. Encourage a better awareness of time duration - if we set the rice to boil at 4:20, when will it be ready? What else could we manage to do in that time?
Information Around the house you will probably have many examples of collections of data - phone directories, newspapers with information regarding things like the weather, TV listing magazines, calendars, catalogues, menus etc. Does your child know how to use directories such as these? Encourage them to look for different items of information - for example, how long TV programmes will last and whether they clash with anyone's favourite programme !
Sorting activities We carry out sorting activities everyday - sorting clothes for washing and ironing, sorting drawers and cupboards, books and magazines, items of shopping. There is a lot of scope for your child to get involved in the decisions you make about where things go, how they should be organised or packed away.
Gardening Do you do any gardening - indoor or outdoor? Again, your child could be involved in reading and interpreting the instructions on the seed packets, fertilisers and other plant growth substances. They need to estimate and measure distances between plants, and rows. There is a lot of scope for counting and multiplying - how many rows will there be space for? How many plants in each row?
Decorating Home decorators will be aware of all the estimating, counting, and measuring involved in DIY activities. Let your child have experience in using the measuring instruments which you are using. There is also plenty of scope for discussing how much different items will cost - comparing prices, and working out how much will be needed for given areas.
Money Do you give your child pocket money? If it is a set amount, try to vary the combinations of coins used, or ask you child to select a given amount from coins in your hand. Encourage them to help count out dinner money or snack money in a similar way, asking questions such as: if your snack costs 12p every day, how much money will you need for the week?
Games Playing any board game or game of skill such as chess or draughts will encourage your child to develop strategies to win, and to think ahead. These skills are vital in solving problems in Maths.
Shopping There is a wealth of maths in shopping activities. Making and organising lists, packing different shapes, counting items, weighing goods, estimating costs and totals, handling money, and working out change. Encourage your child to practise mental arithmetic - how much will 2kg of apples cost if 1kg costs 52p? Estimate the total of several items - we often do this ourselves by rounding figures up and down. Keep till receipts for your child to carry out these activities - they could use a calculator if you have one at home to check totals. The shop is where our mental recall of multiplication tables comes into its own - if one chocolate bar costs 16p, how many will 5 cost? To do this mentally, we need to recall the answers to 5 x 6, and 5 x 10. Encourage your child to share with you the method they use.
Travel Help your child to read and interpret bus and train timetables. How much will the fare be? How much change will I get? If you use a car, encourage an awareness of the use of litres in measuring petrol - how much will one litre cost? What about two? The garage is an example of where your child can see decimals being used in real life.
Post office/bank There are opportunities to use the times tables again - how much will two stamps cost? Encourage an awareness of the use of savings books, cheque books, paying in books. Does your child know how different figures were arrived at? If you have any old cheque books, let your child practise filling them in using words and figures.
You can probably think of other examples of how you can share experiences with your child to encourage their mathematical thinking. Remember that if you are helping your child at home, to do a "little and often" - they work hard at school, so watch for your child becoming tired or losing interest.
Copyright © 1997 [BASS]. All rights reserved.