Maths-Friendly Home
Your house sends a message about your attitude toward mathematics. This message is carried throughout the school years by your child and influences her feelings about and performance in mathematics. You can create a home environment that is maths-friendly by supplying a few simple elements.
- Designated workspace. Create a special workplace for your child. The area should be welcoming, warm, well-ventilated and somewhere she chooses to be. It should be quiet to reduce distractions while working. Depending on your child's learning style, she might be more relaxed with some background music.
- Mathematics reference books. Make available appropriate mathematics reference books, such as a mathematics dictionary and a homework helper. These resources can also help you review topics, or find out current methods of introducing and explaining mathematical ideas. Children's fiction books that deal with mathematics ideas in a fun and lively way are an excellent starting point for talking about and doing mathematics projects together.
- Mathematics tools. Learners, like good craftsmen, rely on tools. A calculator, ruler, measuring tape, scissors, protractor, kitchen and bathroom scales are important mathematics tools your child should have in her mathematics tool box. Computer programs can also be helpful if you are clear about their purpose. Many improve speedy recall of basic number facts while others give practice in mathematical problem-solving or reasoning. Specialised mathematics materials will enrich your child's experiences and allow her to connect with class work.
- Mathematics manipulatives. Create special “mathematics bags” to add an element of curiosity for your child to investigate new mathematical ideas. Beans, toothpicks, shells, buttons, pennies and dice are ideal for creating puzzles and number problems to solve. Playing cards and homemade flash cards are excellent for practicing number operations, and a tangram set builds spatial sense for geometry.
- Mathematics games. Simple card sets or more complex board games can be a rich source for bringing mathematics enjoyment to the entire family. As you play, emphasise the mathematics skills being used. Ask questions about winning strategies, the fairness of the game and probable outcomes. Challenge your child to analyse her play and consider different strategies, or to think of new rules for the game. Your child will become clearer about different ways to problem-solve, you will become better informed about your child's mathematical thinking, and you both will practice mathematical language.
- Mathematics activities around the house. Kitchen activities can easily include weighing ingredients, finding out which items float or sink, checking or converting temperatures, or figuring out the cost of groceries. Have your child draw up a scale plan of her bedroom, including measuring spaces and drawing a scale plan. Remind your child: mathematics is all around the house, and in everything you both do.
- Mathematics routines. Schedule a regular time for both you and your child to do mathematics work. Give suggestions, ask questions and offer assistance to guide your child in thinking through and developing strategies for herself. Check work together and use mistakes as tools for learning. For difficult problems, make up a similar but simpler problem. Reward effort as well as achievement.
The most important resource of all in the home environment is you. You have a unique opportunity to give well-deserved, undivided attention to your child and to show joy in mathematics activities, build confidence, and develop and extend mathematical thinking. Display your child's mathematics work on the fridge to show you are proud of her efforts. Set high expectations but make them attainable. Make only positive comments about mathematics activities. Remember, attitudes are infectious; make yours worth catching.
Dr. Merilyn Buchanan is Coordinator of the Primary Mathematics Project, Royal Institution of Great Britain and Cambridge University. She is the former mathematics coordinator at Corinne A. Seeds University Elementary School, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Dr. Sharon Sutton is Coordinator of Technology and Outreach at the same school.
