Making Math fun for kids

As a middle and high school math teacher with a Masters in Teaching, now homeschooling my own children, I am passionate about creating enjoyable and authentic learning experiences to make Math fun for kids and to help students understand this too-often-feared subject in a thorough way.

This post is part of a series called “Ready, Set, Homeschool!” You can follow along, enter the giveaway, and read the other related articles here.

In this post I am sharing 10 tips for helping students of all ages enjoy learning math while seeing the practical applications of this core subject and taking ownership and pride in the learning process.

Here are two tips from my full post – you can read the full article by clicking on the image below tip #10.

1. Teach to Mastery (not to a deadline)

Don’t move through a curriculum according to a pre-set timetable. Work through it at the pace that matches your child’s comprehension. You are free to set the pace that works for your family – and if you can ensure that your child understands each concept thoroughly before moving on to the next concept, you will be giving them the best chance to succeed in their academic career. In Math, nearly every concept builds on the ones before it; help them build a solid foundation in a core subject that will benefit them for the rest of their lives (or at least, their school years) by not rushing through lessons. (See also tip #10.)

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10. Consider one-on-one time spent learning math with your children as one of the best investments you could make in them and in the success of your homeschooling experience.

Time spent one-on-one with your kids doing math will alleviate pressure that could build up from frustration and math anxiety. Often, the more “hands-off” a particular math program is for parents, the more agony it will cause down the road for the whole family. If kids are left to struggle through lessons on their own, they may misunderstand things or miss concepts entirely. This could lead them to build a weak and shaky foundation in a core subject and to learn to hate or fear math.

Choose a curriculum that provides plenty of hands-on activities, focuses on building a solid foundation in mathematical reasoning, and provides guided teaching instructions for the parents. You don’t have to re-create math from scratch for your kids; there’s plenty of great materials available in the homeschool market!

Learn alongside your kids and monitor their understanding — the deeper, the better! 🙂 Work with them to help them understand, apply, and even enjoy learning math! This will serve them well throughout their academic career and life (possibly the best investment you could make in your homeschooling journey! But i may be biased ;).)

Read the full post here.

A free ebook to help you help your kids enjoy learning math (limited time offer)

For a limited time, I am offering one of my ebooks for free to anyone who might be interested in trying some hands-on, engaging math activities with their children. I designed this ebook to help students develop strong Algebraic reasoning skills; the scaffolded nature of the material makes it useful for all ages, starting from Kindergarten and progressing up through middle school.

This ebook (in .pdf form) is a series of hands-on activities, lessons with journal pages and guided teaching notes, and diagrams and photographs to clearly demonstrate each process or activity, with a bonus section on mathematical properties.

You can access this freebie (without being required to join my email list!) on the full post here. Note: This freebie is no longer available, but you can see the complete ebook in my store here: Developing Algebraic Reasoning Using Balance Scales.

cover image of ebook on Developing Algebraic Reasoning using balance scales — Note: My logo and blog name have changed since I designed this cover from Funschooling Adventures to R.E.A.L.-World Learners

More Free Stuff?

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Math Curriculum Recommendation

Are you looking for a Math curriculum that is built around hands-on activities designed to make Math fun for kids and help your children or students discover the Why behind Math?

We use, love, and highly recommend RightStart Mathematics! You can read more about our experience with the RightStart Math curriculum here:

… or check out their site directly here (by clicking on the image below):