Wouldn’t it be nice if your kids were engaged in their math lessons?
If they were confident in math, I bet they would be.
And if your kids were comfortable with math, maybe that could lead them to that confidence.
Oh – and people (and kids) get comfortable with something when they’re familiar with it.
So how do kids get familiar with math?
They’re exposed to it!
And that’s where you come in.
When you SEE MATH around you and then SAY that MATH out loud, your children see how they are swimming in a sea of math – all the time. Then, when they DO MATH, they’re engaged!
So do it!
Okay, sounds easy, right? Well, Wil and I have noticed that it is much easier said than done. So we’ve put together a program that teaches parents how to do it!
We call it That’s Math! and it’s broken down into three parts… SEE MATH, SAY MATH and DO MATH!
Here’s a short sample – what we call a That’s Math! Quickie. We’d love to hear your thoughts on it!
Before you can SAY MATH to your kids, you have to find it. This SEE MATH exercise will help you to do just that in your Bathroom.
When you’re washing your kids’ hands with them, you can SEE MATH in the amount of soap in the bottle.
This is just one way – check out the Quick Reference Card (QRC) of questions below that will help you SEE more MATH.
Click on the quick reference card above to print it out so you can use it in your bathroom!
Look at the hand soap below. Just like you would do with the quick reference card, ask yourself (and answer) a few questions:
How much hand soap is gone? How much is left? About when will you need to replace it?
Take a look at the SAY MATH statements below to see how you might say this out loud:
- There is only a little hand soap gone. There’s a lot more left. “A little” and “a lot” are words that compare amounts, and comparison is math.
- We’ve had the hand soap out for about two weeks. We don’t use it too often. It might take another six months before we need more. When we estimate we’re doing math!
What other ways could you say this? As practice, form one or two of your own sentences for this scene. Share in the comments below if you like.
Ready to SEE and SAY MATH in your world?
When you’re ready, do the same in your Bathroom. Remember to print and take the quick reference card. When you form your statement, you can use it right then. Or you can write it down on the quick reference card to say to your child later.
Practice the SEE MATH and SAY MATH steps and when your child is ready to engage, try out the activities in the below sheet – click it to print it out.
And don’t forget to share the things you discover in the comments – and tweet out this freebie!
The research based website That’s Math! teaches parents how to help their kids be more confident in math. You’ll see bits and pieces of That’s Math! here on MathFour.com periodically.
Feel free to buy (or sell) That’s Math! and in the meantime, enjoy these quickies!
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