You do the maths! Parents urged to take part in Maths Week
Parents often wonder how they can best support their child with maths and numeracy. With a huge amount of resources available it can sometimes be a challenge to know where best to start. The good news is that it’s never too early to start interesting your child in the numbers all around us.
Maths Week is taking place until October 23 with over 400,000 people taking part in fun events and activities.
Dr. Sheila Donegan of Maths Week Ireland says, “Maths plays an important part in your child’s development and future and is one of life’s most valuable skills.”
“Of course, not everyone is going to be an Albert Einstein, however everyone will need to be able to figure things out numerically throughout their lives and careers.
“Simply, talking positively to your children about maths is one of the most crucial things. Leave your own experiences aside and encourage them to engage with maths without any fear of failure. And most of all it’s important to have some fun!
“For younger children, asking them how many toys are on the shelf, or how many places need to be set for dinner can help improve their elementary thinking skills. While asking them to sort items from largest to smallest, or estimating how many litres of milk you need for the week aids their measurement skills. Even a game of ‘I Spy with My Little Eye’ helps develop shape and space skills!
“While it sounds traditional in our high-tech era, knowing and reciting the Times Tables really well is a clever and fun way for your child to know their numbers and a skill that lasts forever. It also provides a continuing sense of achievement.
Sheila says, “Always try to find time to review and take an interest in your child’s maths homework. Stay in touch with your child’s teacher too and never hesitate to ask them how best you can support your child with maths. A good start in school follows all the way through into later education. Maths provides regular and recurring challenges for your child so encourage them to think mathematically about their surrounding environment, and most of all, try to make it fun.”
•Encourage your children but don’t stress them out. A motivated child in a positive frame of mind learns faster. It’s ok not to know something. Not knowing something doesn’t mean you never will.
•Emphasise that maths is not so much about numbers as the patterns and structures behind the numbers. Once we start to see it in this way it frees the mind from merely remembering rules and processes.
•Tell them that maths is about having the right questions, not just the right answers. Good questions include “Why does this work?”, “Will this work with other numbers?” and “Can I predict what will happen if I try….?”. This is how great mathematicians have always operated and how some of the greatest discoveries were made.
•Help your children to see maths not just as a science, but also as an art and as a language. Encouraging them to talk about their maths and to develop imagery to explain their thoughts massively boosts their ability to think for themselves, and to understand rather than just trudge through pages of meaningless sums.
Parents can also encourage their children by playing games and doing puzzles and jigsaws with them. This will develop their maths skills and build their maths confidence without them even realising it. Suggestions can be found at www.mathsweek.ie
Maths Week Ireland runs until 23rd october. It’s a fun all-island annual festival for the promotion of maths in everyday life where numbers are all around us at home, work and play. All week, a host of mathematicians are demonstrating the fun of maths while entertaining people with array of maths games, teasers, challenges and magic maths shows. Over 400,000 students are taking part in Maths Week events in their schools.
Maths Week is supported by the Science Foundation Ireland Discover Programme, the Department of Education, Business in the Community NI and is co-ordinated by Calmast (the STEM promotion centre at South East Technological University).
HOW PARENTS CAN HELP
How can you help your child with maths? Happily, examples can be found in everyday life. Here are a few tips from Maths Week Ireland with more to be found at www.mathsweek.ie