How to Help Your Child Foster a Love for Math
April marks Math and Statistics Awareness Month! This national month of awareness was instilled in 1986 by President Ronald Reagan to bring about a deeper understanding and appreciation of math and statistics.
“Yet the application of mathematics is indispensable in such diverse fields as medicine, computer sciences, space exploration, the skilled trades, business, defense, and government. To help encourage the study and utilization of mathematics, it is appropriate that all Americans be reminded of the importance of this basic branch of science to our daily lives.”
-Ronald Reagan, April 17, 1986
Since then, national level events have taken place each year in April to commemorate the importance and utilization of math in our world. In fact, many universities and schools take part in the festivities with lectures, workshops, competitions, games, and contests.
This year at Pathway Christian Prep Academy, we want to spread the love of math to our families and beyond. Whether we realize it or not math plays a huge role in our daily lives and learning how to use math effectively is a helpful tool to carry throughout life.
We’ve gathered 5 ways to help your child foster a love of math. We hope this list can spur an interest and appreciation of math not only among gifted mathematicians, but also among those who don’t believe they’re good at math!
How to help your child foster a love for math
Engage in hands-on math practice at home.
csunplugged.org
Throw out the printable worksheets and pages upon pages of practice problems! It’s time to get your child to engage in hands-on activities, games and crafts that will actually peak their interest in learning. It’s time to rewrite the rules that math is boring or is not for everyone. Math is all around us and once we embrace it, we can start having fun too!
There are so many creative outlets that children can engage in with the fundamentals of math. One of our favorite stem websites that promote fundamental math practices for computer science skills is csunplugged.com. They have a round of at-home activities you can do with your kids at home that don’t involve screen time or a computer! Most activities can be done with basic household supplies like paper, markers, scissors and glue.
For parents who have preschool aged children at home, now is a great time to start introducing math concepts to your kids at home! From counting the number of socks in a drawer to categorizing different fruits in a bowl, kids can learn through daily household routines. These math resources are great for all ages and start at age 2 all the way through high school. There is a range of resources for parents to start implementing at home for a range of different activities to fit every child’s interest!
Participate in the National Math Festival!
Each year, the National Math Festival hosts a free event for families and educators. “The National Math Festival brings together some of the most fascinating mathematicians of our time to inspire and challenge participants of all ages to see math in new and exciting ways. The 2021 Festival will feature juicy talks, hands-on demos, art, films, performances, puzzles, games, children’s book readings, and more for all ages.” (nationalmathfestival.org)
This year’s festival is April 16-18 and it’s online! You can register on their website and drop-in and out at any point in time for interesting talks, activities, at-home math ideas and more for ages 2-18+.
Look at different careers in math.
Middle school and high school is a good time to start thinking about one’s college path and career choices. High school math is a platform for many careers in the workforce. Many students may not know what math jobs are available besides teaching math or engineering. Sometimes it may sound daunting or intimidating to take on a math job in the future, especially if your child isn’t confident in math today. A great way to grab your child’s interest and expand their knowledge in the world of math is introducing some of the fascinating careers that math opens the doors to. It may very well propel or encourage your child to see the possibilities that math can create.
We Use Math introduces a ton of jobs that utilize high school level math (and beyond). For another great resource, SIAM has a breakdown of possible math jobs, how to get started in this path, and what impact your career can make.
As a teenager, if I had known the possibility of jobs out there and the type of impact those jobs made on society, I would have felt more compelled to pursue more math classes. Sometimes students think math ends after high school graduation, but there’s a bigger world that involves everyday math that we can share with our kids and it just might change their life!
Follow news about how math is being used to solve real-world problems.
What better way to bring awareness to the power of mathematics in our society than by reading the news! Current events are both educational and very informative in opening the eyes of how math affects the world we live in.
The American Mathematics Society has a page dedicated for ‘mathematical moments’ where they feature how math is playing a key role in science, technology, human culture, and nature. Each one page pdf article features how math is being used to further advance areas such as efficient farming techniques to produce more crops in California, and equations calculating ocean currents to help search and rescue teams save capsized boats faster and more accurately.
Create a family math night.
discoverexplorelearn.com
Many schools or school districts host family math nights where parents accompany students to a family fun night of math activities, games, and challenges. However, instead of paying for an event like this, you can easily set up a family math night in your very own home! Sort of like a game night, family math night revolves around family friendly games that involve math skills. You can choose from a range of math related activities like this one from Teaching with Simplicity: Family Math Night Activities involving dominoes, play-doh and simple household items.
You can also opt to play some classic board games that promote math skills, like Monopoly and Yahtzee or bust out playing cards for a variety of card games that build math skills.
Interested in a comprehensive mathematics program for your child? Learn about what PCPA offers here.
