How often do children enjoy their first experience of learning early math? Well, I can’t give a straight answer, but it is generally believed that the younger the child is, the more chance there is of enjoying it. It seems to be that from a very young age, children are attracted towards numbers, shapes, they just love to see what they can make with them! If they are given a few toys to play with in the early stages, then this will encourage them to take a look at these things, learn a little more about them and perhaps see how much fun they can have with them.
This is obviously very good news for the parents of the child and is a great time to bond with your youngster. But, does early learning mean you have to spend hours doing sums? Not necessarily! Many parents are now realising that by using a variety of different learning games, along with a good early education grounding, it is possible to make a positive impact on the abilities of their child. The key is to choose something that appeals to them and doesn’t put too much pressure on them as learning should be an enjoyable experience.
For example, a good game that many parents and teachers recommend is Flash. Flash offers a great way to develop problem solving skills and is a good way of introducing young children to basic mathematics. It is interactive, so there is an element of risk involved, but it also provides the opportunity for the child to demonstrate their own problem solving skills and confidence. Flash works in conjunction with a picture-to-speech feature that actually sounds quite like a live local teacher is speaking to them! It will be interesting to see how far they can go once they start understanding basic addition and subtraction!
Another popular early learning game that I have seen used successfully is called Math Juice. It is a fantastic game where you ask your child to find out what every number in the rainbow is. They are then presented with a table that has a certain number of pairs of numbers printed on it. The more pairs your child finds out, the more you want to reward them, up to a maximum of three stars for a perfect find.
If you or your child are struggling with any lessons, then this game might help them overcome their difficulties. There are many versions available for download online, as well as a board game and several printed books. It teaches addition, subtraction, word search puzzles and visualisation skills. Math Juice can be enjoyed by children of all ages.
Once you or your child have started learning basic addition and subtraction, it is always a good idea to practice both at home and at school. Practicing both at home and in class will help you develop more advanced skills in addition and subtraction. You can then move onto multiplication, division and even graph reading. This is a great way of developing problem solving skills at a young age. It doesn’t matter if you are teaching at school or at home – any skill can be taught to a child as long as they are shown the correct methods of doing it.
Games and puzzles are a great way of encouraging a child to learn new skills. They don’t have to be just for learning purposes, either. Many games are purely for fun, such as bingo, Scrabble or monopoly. Again, it doesn’t matter where you put them on. A fun game for younger children can be a favourite treat for older learners. Mixing up the games means you never get bored with them, and your child’s enjoyment will increase.
There are several ways you can encourage your child to practice their mathematical skills. Children often like activities that they can do together with other children. It doesn’t matter how old your child is or how much experience they have in using mathematics. As long as it is fun, then they will enjoy it. Try playing a game with your child once a week, or perhaps every other week. If your child enjoys the experience, then it will become easier for them to learn early on.