| Parents often ask why their children are | | | | statistics could make that dreaded skills |
| doing poorly in math, particularly in grades | | | | homework more interesting and relevant to a |
| 2-6. For young children, abstract quantities | | | | child's life. Others may be interested in |
| can be daunting, especially when taught in | | | | video games, which use computer programming |
| the context of skill drills. Many children do | | | | that requires trigonometric applications. |
| not find immediate meaning in numbers as | | | | Cartoon animation programming uses principles |
| symbols, although that is what parents and | | | | of topology, the mathematics of mapping in |
| math teachers hope to convey to them. | | | | space. |
| | | | |
| Children in third through fifth grades who | | | | Road trips and map reading are also |
| are having difficulty with procedural | | | | mathematical adventures for parents to share |
| operations, such as long division and | | | | with children. Topographical maps use numbers |
| multi-digit multiplication, very often have | | | | in an obvious way, while road maps with scale |
| not had any kinetic activity associated with | | | | measurements open the discussion to ratios |
| the learning of the multiplication tables | | | | and scale. |
| which are the basis for their computations. | | | | |
| They become distracted from the procedures of | | | | The history of measurement and attempts at |
| multiplication and division by their concern | | | | standardization can become real when |
| over the "blank space" in their knowledge of | | | | discussing money or the differences among the |
| multiplication tables and they lose momentum. | | | | metric, imperial and U.S. measurement |
| | | | systems. |
| Parents often say that they download tables | | | | |
| form the Internet or they use flash cards. | | | | Toddlers, even with a rudimentary |
| Another, perhaps better, alternative is to | | | | understanding of concrete quantity, can enjoy |
| provide art and craft materials for the | | | | games of "which is less and which is more?" |
| student to use in writing his or her own | | | | Counting games and rhymes abound and have |
| personal multiplication tables. When the | | | | been traditionally used to accustom children |
| tables are personalized and used frequently | | | | to quantitative symbols even at very young |
| with pride and familiarity, students gain in | | | | ages. |
| experience, confidence and expertise. | | | | |
| | | | Perhaps the most useful tool of all in |
| Children tend to enjoy having their own | | | | developing a child's math ability at an early |
| personally crafted multiplication tables from | | | | age is precision in language. Most students |
| 1x1 through 12x12. They use these with pride | | | | who have experienced the "drill and kill" |
| and confidence. Even taking them to the | | | | math experience in school are shocked when |
| supermarket to compute the total cost of | | | | they start to solve math word problems as a |
| multiple items will help to make the | | | | mathematical exercise. These applications of |
| applications of arithmetic real and valued to | | | | the skills so long deemed to be the |
| a child. | | | | foundation of math education are daunting to |
| | | | children who have been trained to believe |
| Making a child's learning experiential is of | | | | that mathematical studies begin and end with |
| utmost importance in creating interest in | | | | computation. |
| math and developing skills. Many are not | | | | |
| aware of the essential uses of elementary | | | | If children learn mathematics as a foreign |
| mathematical and spatial concepts in daily | | | | language, with symbols and grammar of its |
| lives. Heightening awareness of these events | | | | own, they are better able to handle the |
| is essential to pointing them out to children | | | | rigors of higher mathematics - with its whole |
| and sharing experience with them. | | | | new set of symbols and logic - and they are |
| | | | more productive students. Reading to a child, |
| Just as parents read to our children, so | | | | discussing concepts of "more and less," |
| should they communicate a reliance on | | | | "before and after," "twice as much" and |
| mathematical principles. This may vary from | | | | hierarchical classifications such as |
| family to family depending on individual | | | | supermarket shelf organization and street |
| pursuits and interests. For some families | | | | name organization can pay off in a child's |
| whose common interest is sports competition, | | | | mathematical performance. |
| a short discussion of the role of sports | | | | |