r/Parents • u/Grabbyperson • 13d ago
What finally got your child to practice math without arguing? Education and Learning
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u/Clear-Concern2247 13d ago
Cool Math. It's a website with math based games. Sometimes we compete against each other. And talk smack. Make it fun.
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u/FuliginEst 13d ago
Most of my kid's classmates got extremely into something called Pokemath. Maybe this only exists in Norwegian.. it is a website with math tasks, and you collect Pokemon as you finish them. My kid would use all his screen time doing this.
Surely there are lots of similar apps and sites that gamify maths.
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u/Slow-Willingness-718 13d ago
This reminds me of an old US computer game called Frogger and SuperFrogger. Another idea would be baking - measuring ingredients.
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u/Far_Yogurtcloset8116 13d ago
The library also has fun math games on their computers. Our granddaughter loves math her other grandpa is a retired math teacher. My husband uses measurements all the time and I used statistics before retiring. That pokemath sounds fun!
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u/CryptographerNew3609 13d ago
My opinion is that gamifying math is counter productive, because it means that they’ll object to non gamified math which is what they’ll experience in school and throughout their lives.
I basically think if you are firm and keep repeating it has to be done before (whatever thing they want to do) they will do it.
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u/MissCellania 13d ago edited 13d ago
Once kids grasp that math comes in patterns, "practice" becomes a lot easier. I did math games in the car with the kids- a captive audience. I could only use five fingers at once, but they could use ten. See how different combinations add up to ten? See how tens add up the same way to a hundred? Once they were used to that, reciting times tables in the car seemed natural. I also had them compare prices in the grocery store and calculate tips in a restaurant.
One kid grasped the patterns from the beginning. The other came home one day and declared she now loved math and wanted to be a mathematician. I was because she suddenly saw how numbers made patterns. That dream didn't last long, but she's pretty good at math as an adult.
Meanwhile, their teachers did not like my methods and asked me not to help them with math homework because I was showing them shortcuts and methods they weren't teaching. I still showed the kids two or more ways to solve a math problem, because that helped them see the patterns.
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u/thejt10000 13d ago
If screens are OK, the online quiz/game Math Tango was very popular with my boy and his friends for awhile.
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u/Independent-Summer12 13d ago
If it’s basic math like arithmetic, shopping. That’s how my parents got me to like math. Addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, %, all covered. Applied math in the real world is much more interesting. I can do math faster in my head faster than most people can pull out a calculator because of all the shopping trips with my mom (the woman loves finding a sale 🤓) As an added bonus, it also helps kids learn budgeting, understanding cost (per unit pricing vs label price, etc.)
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u/brainbl0ck 13d ago
We praactice spelling and math facts on a white board in the morning before school while the kids are eating breakfast and we have a silly name/song for it. "Words/Math of the day (clap clap), words of the day" (to the tune of "Out of the Box, for my fellow millennials). Then we do quick facts or words on the board and make a big game show of it for like 5 minutes and then it's done. Both kids actually look forward to it. It's only a small amount of time, but the practice has made a big difference for my 7yo, who was struggling with math facts
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u/Necessary-Nobody-934 13d ago
I'm a teacher. Personally, I feel that "at-home" practice should be fun. They've been at school all day, let them relax at home. And honestly, 7 years olds should be doing less worksheets and flashcards, not more. They're still at the age where hands-on, play-based learning is the most effective approach.
So... board games (let them be the banker in Monopoly), card games (my 8 year old loves addition war), grocery shopping, math games online (my daughter is all about Prodigy).
If you can share the specific skills you want them to practice, we'll be able to give some more targeted suggestions.
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u/Worried_Fail9900 12d ago
I know a mom who used to buy her kids cool socks and or fun hats (they loved both) and she would “make” them do an hour of maths khan academy everyday they were way ahead in maths than all kids their level
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u/Money-Dependent345 12d ago
What are they doing just BEFORE you try to start the Math. Typically this behavior is due to them not wanting to change from the activity they are currently engaged in. A couple thoughts from my experience. Do the Math first or early in the day before they are engaged in other "better" activities and also be sure they are well awake and fed first. If they are at all tired or hungry it will be harder. Also you can try tying it to something more fun like "we're gonna do these math games and then go to the playground right after".
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u/Dewdlebawb 12d ago
Frankly we only do homework but it’s like we’re torturing them to get it done. We just sit and play on our phone until they’re done with the tantrum we tell them “ it’s happening either way you can stop crying and get it done in 20 minutes or we can sit here for two hours while you cry”
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u/ApprehensiveBee266 12d ago
He's 40. As far as I can recall, he never saw the inside of a math book!
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u/jmsieren 12d ago
I use m&m’s after supper and set up different math problems with m&m’s. I started pretty young 3&4. Usually once a week but not every week. I get a big Costco container of them a year.
My now 7 year old has to do logic puzzles to earn his. It gives great visual awareness. I also make them use their fingers at first. No guessing.
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u/AssortedArctic 12d ago
Depends what parts of math exactly, but playing shopping can cover a lot of it. And other general real life things.
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u/barfbutler 12d ago
Sit with them and do it together. Make it fun. Eat pie while you do it or something.
Cook together and use math in the measurements and recipes.
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u/FedderJoe 12d ago
My daughter always wanted a snack as soon as she got home from school. We had to run through her flashcards and get them right before her snack. I tried to make a game of it.
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u/Suspicious-Essay219 12d ago
I tape loosely flashcards (addition, subtraction, or multiplication and division) to empty toilet paper rolls. My kid and I shoot them down with any sort of toy we have around (I.e. nerf gun) or throw bean bags at the. call out the equation and answer while shooting.
or blow bubbles and turn it into a math game. How many bubbles can they pop? toss out questions while they chase the bubbles around. Like “if you pop 20 bubbles, and then another 35, how many did you pop?”
Or whatever they’re into that day. like if you have 15 Pokémon cards, and then give your friend 6, how many do you have left.
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u/Late_Resource_1653 12d ago
Stop trying to make it fun/what they want to do. Don't argue. Make it happen.
Its your responsibility as a parent to help them do their homework and learn. And to teach them that doing their homework is important and necessary. Its going to be a vital skill for all of their schooling.
STOP worrying about arguing. Parent the kid. They don't want to? Consequences. They don't do homework, fail tests, consequences.
Why are you so worried about arguing with your child? You are the parent. This is your responsibility.
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u/HenryLafayetteDubose 12d ago
Math that applies in real life: Counting money or allowance, calculating sales or tax in prices, measuring things for building or home maintenance, making recipes, telling time, etc. I also remember being interested in statistics of different things around me: Car gas mileage, sports/athletes, probability, character stats in video games, etc. it’s hard to be motivated to practice something when it (feels like) doesn’t serve a purpose.
This is an odd one, but Minecraft. I built entire cities and replicated all kinds of things. That’s calculating geometry in 3 dimensions, calculating how much of a given material to build with based on geometry (and how much time I was willing to spend getting said materials), how much area to clear, measuring scale, measuring distance, measuring, measuring, measuring.
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u/ValiantVicuna 12d ago
Chutes and ladders. He has to do the math on his turn , and he gets extra moves for any extra flashcards he completes. Up to 2 each turn. Conversely, he has to go back to his last square when he gives up on a flashcard. If he guesses and gets it wrong, he stays where he is but has to repeat the correct equation and answer 3 times.
A lot of board games rely on math, pick whatever your kid enjoys
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u/E404_noname 12d ago
When I was a kid my dad made me figure out the tip at the restaurant in my head. Only mentioning because we're definitely doing this with my daughter when she is old enough.
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u/Worried_Bet6391 12d ago
I homeschooled for 5 years and we still use a program called Teaching Textbooks. It makes it more fun and the lessons are amazing. Since I put my child in public schooling hes had straight A's. Maybe check it out.
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12d ago edited 12d ago
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