Young children are concrete thinkers: It's time to go when Mommy gets her purse and "two" is how many shoes are needed to get ready. Developing math skills helps even the most math-averse child think more abstractly and understand concepts of time, quantities and relational ideas such as "over" or "before." As a child ages, abstract thinking skills not only help her understand things like "justice," but they help her manage her time, develop good study skills and apply learned skills to new situations. Making math a fun part of everyday life has lasting benefits because it enhances abstract thinking thinking ability.
Encouraging Math Through Play
Sorting, counting, estimating and relational ideas such as over and under are all important math skills that begin developing during the preschool years. You can help by emphasizing them during play. Count out the cookies for a tea party or sort the cars in the toy garage. When you sing or read together, choose counting themes, such as "Five Green and Speckled Frogs" or "5 Little Monkeys" both of which are available as books and songs. As your child gets older, there are many board games and puzzles that emphasize math and strategic thinking. You can even use math to decide how much of each color to use when mixing paints for art projects.
Help With Household Tasks
Sorting and counting are foundational skills for future math ideas such as sequencing and arithmetic. Preschoolers can sort laundry and count out snacks, for example. Many children enjoy following simple recipes, developing estimation, sequencing and measuring skills in addition to the abstract concept that different ingredients can be combined to form something new. Encouraging older children to budget an allowance or help plan shopping trips teaches important math and financial lessons. Older children can also use math to plan parties and play dates. For example, your child must use estimation or even fractions to decide how much pizza to buy or cake to make so each guest gets enough.
Understanding Time
You probably already place a strong emphasis on time in your daily routine. Your children know to wash their hands "before" dinner and to put their toys away "after" they use them. Many parents describe how long something will take or when something will happen in terms of it taking as long as a favorite television show or story. This quantifies time and makes it concrete so that children can understand it. Fractions quickly come into play when parents equate an activity's time to "half" of a television program. The mechanics of telling time depend on addition, subtraction and fractions as well.
Older Kids and Math
High-school and middle-school-aged kids demonstrate increasing skills at abstract thought. However, those not inclined to study math or science frequently continue to struggle with required math classes. You can help older children enjoy these classes a little more by working with them to build associations between what they are learning and what they enjoy thinking about. For example, the rhythms in music and poetry are mathematical, as are daily activities such as budgeting and cooking. Encourage your child to rewrite homework problems, keeping the numbers but changing the words to describe personalized daily activities. This demonstrates the flexibility of the process while helping your child understand it better by making it more concrete.
