How to Help Your Child Strengthen Math Skills

Math Awareness Month

April is Math Awareness Month

by Frank Bonetti

April is Math Awareness Month and a good time to evaluate your child’s math skills. In the upper grades, math can become frustrating to students and homework often becomes a source of anxiety. Many find that math is the most difficult to master of all the subjects. Parents can ease this frustration by providing help and positive feedback to their children during homework time.

Here area few simple steps to help students improve in math:

  • Review, review, review.  Review all homework and tests together. Correct and go over errors to make sure your child has full understanding of a concept before moving on to new work.
  • Be sure your child reads assigned chapters thoroughly. Quiz your child on his or her understanding of the vocabulary and ask the child to review each mathematical step verbally.
  • Help your child understand that math follows specific rules. Math is not weird. It’s logical and sensible. Ask your child to explain how he or she understands the procedure necessary to solve a problem. Listen for flawed reasoning or incorrect procedures, and then identify correct procedures together.
  • Make sure your child takes good notes in class. Remind your child when taking notes to neatly write down every step and note areas of confusion. It also helps to have your child re-write all notes as part of the homework to clarify understanding.
  •   Above all, avoid doing the problem for your child.

Math concepts build on each other. It is important that your child understands each mathematical concept, how it fits into the process, and understands the processes and procedures. Understanding the concepts makes remembering the procedures much easier. Don’t let homework become the cause of strife within the home. If your child is struggling with math, seek professional help early. You may wish to retain the assistance of a math tutor who can instruct your child in a manner that is comfortable and encouraging. The tutoring programs that offer diagnostic testing will be able to pinpoint your child’s weak areas in math logic and procedures and create an individualized program that is designed to meet your child’s specific needs from the basics through calculus.

If your child is struggling in Math, address this issue as early as possible.   Math is an integral part of their education and their life!

Frank Bonetti, Tutoring Club – (972)378-3200. planotx@tutoringclub.com

 

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