To be perfectly honest…they don’t really hate math. Rather, they hate the repetitive practice of doing math problems on paper.
My kids hate math
I can’t remember disliking math in school. It was pretty easy (except for those proofs in geometry) and I liked how it was complete. There was (seemingly) no open-ended math problems. There was an answer and it was my job to ferret it out and find it. Plus, I was good at memorizing…something I’m sad to say has been greatly diminished by motherhood. Plus, I was good enough that I didn’t have to take any math in college. So, I didn’t. Why is that?
In an attempt to change my children’s attitudes toward math, I’ve been seeking out different math-based activities to help them realize how useful math is in our daily lives. Here are some ways we’ve been playing with math.
1. We played store.
Then, we went to the real store with some money. I gave them each $20 in cash and asked them to buy all of the ingredients for a particular meal. They had their list and my ten-year-old had to add the cost as we went. He had to add up his items (on paper) and be sure that he had enough money to pay for his groceries. He even finagled some junk food because he had left over money!
2. Before playing store, we played Money Bags. A lot.
I have followed these activities with some paper-based problems (adding and subtracting money with static decimals), but they don’t mind these nearly as much…perhaps because they understand the value of being able to add and subtract with money?
3. We use legos.
We use them for discussions on area, for counting and creating, and for game markers when playing math games. Yes, they get distracted and start building other things. But, I can usually redirect them. If I can’t, then we put the legos away.
4. Games, games and more games.
Multiplication Bingo, SUM 20 and ‘Factors and Products’ are paper-based games that we have been using lately. This book has been a wonderful resource and reinforces concepts without resorting to boring paper and pencil work. My kids are in love with this app, and although I don’t think it has a lot of educational value, they think it’s fun to do repetitive math since you get to be a ninja in-between problems.
5. Bedtime Math – Books & App
The parent of one of my students turned me on to these fabulous books. My kids love to listen to these and will beg me to keep reading. Recently, I stumbled across this article and was delighted to see that the FREE Bedtime Math app has been scientifically proven to raise math scores. Woo! I downloaded it that evening to our ipad.
6. Write down their feelings toward math.
Usually, a little reminder about choosing a growth mindset is enough to get my kids back on track with the right attitude. If that doesn’t work, I recommend letting your child write down their feelings about math on a separate sheet of paper – before doing the math. Are they anxious? worried? hate to struggle or be wrong? Acknowledge their feelings by letting them express them and listen as they describe their feelings about math. After acknowledging these feelings, move on. I don’t argue that they are smart enough or diligent enough to master math. I know they can do those things…and I think they do too. So, I ask them if these feelings help them to learn their math and they say no…and well, that’s that.
7. Teach them to use Scratch or Lego Mindstorms.
Scratch was meant to be used the way a painter uses paint. Students certainly learn about computer programming by using it, but they can also use it for other projects, such as demonstrating their knowledge of a particular historical event. As they progress and want to learn how to do more things with Scratch, the more they will encounter various math concepts, such as the xy-grid, random chance or operations. The best part is that students will choose to encounter these complex problems, and all they need is a good facilitator to help make the connection to advanced math concepts. The same could be said for the complexity of the Lego Mindstorms brick (and robots in general). You are introducing very complex terminology (compare, degrees, etc.) before they have technically “learned” about them in math class. And, although they might not grasp the concept completely this way, it will make it much easier to visualize when they do come across it.
8. Be mindful of others who “aren’t good at math.”
We are very social creatures who are heavily influenced by others (even if we try not to be). This is especially true with our attitudes concerning math. Some of us have a lot of anxiety about it and if we pass that onto our children, we can negatively influence them. I think my children might be parroting some friends who struggle with math and in the interest of solidarity, decided that they too don’t like math. Gently remind your children that they use math daily and even if they struggle with it – that’s because their brains are growing. That’s how we learn.
If that’s not tough enough…here’s another study that says that parental attitude toward math can affect children, but only if you help with homework!
9. Spend time doing some math with them.
I know this contradicts the above statement, at least if you are math-phobic, but as a homeschool parent, it might be in my best interest to do some math with them. Notice – I said with them, not for them. I will often try to bow out of doing math with my kids. After all, they need the practice, not me. Besides, I have plenty of other work that I need to be doing. However, I recently read the book Mindstorms, and I realized that they might not see the value in it because they don’t notice when I use math. After all, they see me reading and writing quite often.
It’s something we should consider as teachers…to work on some math…and let our children see us do so. Or, come up with a different way of ‘teaching’ math that doesn’t require abstract learning and memorizing and find a way for them to construct their own knowledge about advanced math concepts. At my house, that might mean I need to invest in some upper-level Montessori materials…