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Math-itis. n. Common ailment among schoolchildren, characterized by groans of, “I just don’t get it,” or “I’m not a math person.” Symptoms include poor grades and avoidance of homework. Fortunately, this dreaded disease has a simple but effective cure: Make math fun! Here are six simple ways to help your child beat the math blues. 1. Take a Hike Sequences and patterns appear everywhere in the great outdoors. A spider’s web can snare a student’s attention long enough to discuss coordinate graphs. Examining a whelk’s shell can spiral into a discussion of Fibonacci numbers, a miraculous sequence discovered by a 13th century Italian mathematician. 2. Mall Math Comparison shopping provides priceless teaching moments, especially when an allowance is on the line. Budgeting or calculating 30 percent off are two of many math-rich activities that savvy shoppers can practice before they purchase. The bottom line, after all, is generally found beneath a column of numbers waiting to be crunched. 3. Dollars and Sense Yard sales are great ways for children to apply math right in their own front yard. Supply and demand—or just plain haggling—are important ideas children can learn when selling household treasures. A lemonade stand gives budding entrepreneurs practice adding up nickels and quarters from thirsty neighbors. 4. Map-matics Whether it’s for an epic RV adventure or a jaunt around town, mapping out a trip provides the perfect excuse to steer the conversation in a mathematical direction. “Are we there, yet?” is really the plea of a math-starved child yearning to calculate distance and rate. Streets laid out in grids are x- and y-axes waiting to be plotted. Peering at maps through math-colored glasses multiplies your chances to introduce math concepts that will help them find their way when they return to the classroom. 5. Quadratic Cuisine There’s more than a dash of math in the kitchen. Use recipes to teach yummy lessons about various units of measurement and volume. Even that trip to the store before baking is full of math moments, like calculating which jar of oil is most economical or estimating how many cupcakes a jar of sprinkles will cover. Managing time, following instructions and counting calories all offer your children chances to put on their thinking caps when school isn’t in session. 6. Math in Music Harmony, composition, chords … it may not add up at first, but the longer you stay with it, the more elegant and obvious the mathematical undertones in music will seem. Playing in the marching band is a great chance to learn about fractions: If you don’t know how many eighth notes are in a measure, you’ll probably zig when the band decides to zag. |
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