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Many students reckon mathematics to be troublesome and tiresome from their individual perspectives. Is that a problem? We think it should not be considered a part of the problem but should be turned into a part of the solution. The best way to do that is to convert the seemingly abstract math lessons to something palpable or tactile. It can also be done by implementing examples from your daily routines. Mathematics is all around us. You’ll just have to keep your eyes open and point it out to your kids. This article will try to highlight seven such daily life examples for your reference. Let’s begin without further ado.
This method can be considered the best among the lot to inculcate math love in children. That’s because it has a high probability of a promised reward in the end which can be pretty gratifying for the student which in this case is your very own kid. The shopping itself should be the lesson, and the product can be considered a reward. We’ll provide you with an example:
You are shopping for your grocery items in a supermarket, and your kid’s eyes are glued to a chocolate bar located on the top shelf or somewhere similar at a certain percentage discount. S/he asks you to get him that bar. Now what you’ll do here is completely up to you. But if you do agree to buy that bar, you can introduce a math lesson on the spot. Ask him to calculate the final price of the chocolate bar after applying the discount. That discount calculation is a good way of revising an essential math topic: percentage. A successful calculation will come with a reward which in this case is the bar itself. Now, that’s a lucrative prospect indeed from the child’s point of view. It’s undoubtedly a good way to develop an early math love in children.
Incorporating mathematics while you are traveling is an effective way to curb the boredom in long routes. On the other hand, it‘s fun and pretty enlightening and might also inculcate the math love in children. We’ll provide you with a simple example:
You are on a long trip with your kids from a place A to place B. You’re bound to see some milestones on your way. You can show the same to your children to make them aware of the distance left to your destination. Now regarding the time required to traverse the distance, you might point out that particular formula to calculate the time by just substituting certain information. That formula should be:
Now you already have the knowledge of the distance between your particular location to your destination from the milestone. The speed can be depicted from the speedometer of your car. Ask your kids to put the values in the appropriate places and do the simple calculation (mind the units). They, themselves will come to the answer. There are several ways to improvise as well. You can make your kids calculate the distance or the speed as well by providing them with the necessary values accordingly. The formula’s still the same, so there shouldn’t be any problem.
Measurement of quantities is an effective way of inculcating math love in children. It’s not necessary for kids to measure the amounts with a large amount of accuracy at the start. Just estimation would do. Let’s go through an example to elucidate the matter in detail for your easy reference.
While shopping for your daily needs, you have encountered a situation where the quantity of a particular purchase needs to be measured. That’s the ideal time for you to introduce various measurement units like kilograms, grams, milligrams, etc. to your children and explain the link between them i.e. one kg=1000g. We are not asking you to account for the link between different units on the same spot. But after such an introduction, you can quickly make them aware of such connections at your home at your convenience. After that, you may also allow your children to bear the responsibility of making the purchase on your behalf. That experience is far more gratifying.
Connecting mathematics with outdoor sports/games is another effective way of getting your child involved in math. Almost every sport requires a little bit of math. You’ll just have to point that out to your kids and get themselves involved in the same. An easy example can be a game of cricket. Ask your child to calculate the runs in a single innings if his/her team is the batting team; or if his/her team’s involved in bowling, ask him/her to calculate the remaining balls in a specific over. Both actions include the implementation of basic arithmetic operations that are immensely beneficial from the perspective of mathematics. Similarly, other sports like football, tennis, etc. also involve mathematics from the very basic arithmetic operations to reasonably advanced grade math like the DSC in football.
“Time management” is a part and parcel of education starting from examinations/lessons to that of the daily routines. Try to clarify the same to your children. Management of time is also a necessity in your routine daily activities. You should try to make your kids realise that. They should learn to estimate the time taken to carry out each particular activity accordingly and try to complete the same within that period. Such management also allows them to develop an idea as to how to handle complex tasks. Breaking down complex tasks into simpler small tasks is an effective way of time management. That should be beneficial in the long run.
Finally, we would like to say that we are surrounded by mathematics. This seemingly abstract subject can be brought to life by pointing out its applications from your daily life to your children. That’s a way to inculcate math love in children. Children might not even realise that they are doing math while they are playing. Along with these activities, after-school online math tutorials can also benefit your children by igniting the passion for mathematics. We would sign off for now then. Hope you had a good read. Ciao!
Sudipto writes educational content periodically for LearnPick UK and backs it up with extensive research and relevant examples. He's an avid reader and a tech enthusiast at the same time with a little bit of “Arsenal Football Club” thrown in as well. He's got more than 5 years of experience in digital marketing, SEO and graphic designing.
