How to Strengthen Math Skills at Home

Many Orlando private school parents feel intimidated by math and become incapable of teaching their children simple concepts like addition and subtraction.  They do not look at life’s everyday functions as math-related, simply because these ideas were never presented to them that way.  However, parents are more than capable of enhancing number skills while performing everyday activities with their children.

As an added bonus, teaching math skills in the context of real-world ideas solidifies math as a skill necessary for life. Simple tasks such as baking cookies involve many math skills including measuring ingredients, making fractions when only half a recipe is needed, and dividing a stick of butter into eight sections.  Grocery shopping includes comparisons of one product and another, fractions of a product per ounce, addition of the total of all products, and percentages when figuring sales tax and items on sale. Even driving to the store is a math adventure when your child is engaged in reading speed limit signs and determining if the speedometer matches the posted speed limit, or is greater than or less than the speed limit.

Also by measuring the distance between your house and the location you are headed to, you can calculate how much distance has been driven and how much remains.  Like many other skills, math is a subject that demands repetition.  This does not mean learning math must be a chore, though.  Many children learn best through playing card games or using flash cards while others like to add numbers aloud or listen to a video on numbers.

Remember to keep math real; teaching your child that math exists in the world in almost every aspect of his or her day will bring math to life.  Show your child how math is incorporated into everyday activities and watch how quickly he or she will learn to appreciate numbers!  Here at the Orlando private school, Lake Forrest Prep, we encourage our parents to be a partner in the education of their child.  To learn more about us, visit our website at https://www.lakeforrestprep.com/.

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