HOW TO BE A GOOD MATH PARENT
1.
LET
YOUR CHILDREN KNOW THEY CAN SUCCEED and
AVOID CONVEYING NEGATIVE ATTITUDES TOWARD MATH.
Try to keep your comments positive. Praise whenever possible.
2.
ASK
WHAT YOUR CHILD did in math today.
3.
BE
READY TO TALK WITH YOUR CHILDREN ABOUT MATH AND TO LISTEN TO WHAT THEY ARE
SAYING.
Even when you yourself don’t know how to solve a problem, asking a child to explain the meaning of each part of the problem which will probably be enough to find a strategy and reinforce the concept.
4.
TRY
NOT TO TELL CHILDREN HOW TO SOLVE THE PROBLEM.
Ask them questions about the problem and help them find their
own method of working it out.
Concentrate on the process more than the exact answer.
5.
PRACTICE
REAL-LIFE MATH AND ESTIMATION WITH YOUR CHILDREN WHENEVER POSSIBLE.
Include math at home – at the dinner table, traveling, grocery
store, and restaurants. Use estimation
to make problems “make sense”. Give
your child meaningful problems that use numbers or shapes while you are going
about everyday life.
6.
PROVIDE
A SPECIAL PLACE OF STUDY AND ENCOURAGE GROUP STUDY.
7.
EXPECT
THAT HOMEWORK WILL BE DONE AND THAT IT WILL INCLUDE MORE THAN SIMPLE
COMPUTATIONAL WORKSHEETS.
Look at completed homework regularly. You need not check every answer or understand the assignment.
Just look for format, work, and completion.
8.
DON’T
EXPECT THAT ALL HOMEWORK WILL BE EASY.
Encourage your child not to quit. If a problem is too difficult have your child place a “?” by it
and continue the assignment. Encourage
your child to ask the teacher about it during the following day.
9.
TRY
NOT TO DRILL YOUR CHILD ON MATH CONTENT.
NEVER USE MATH AS A PUNISHMENT.
10.
LOOK
CAREFULLY AT THE STANDARDIZED TEST RESULTS, HOWEVER DO NOT USE THESE TEST
SCORES AS YOUR PRIMARY SOURCES OF ASSESSMENT.
Teacher’s observations and your own will also be valuable. Attributes like sticking with a problem and
having effective strategies are not always tested with pencil and paper.
11.
HAVE
HIGH EXPECTATIONS.
Children’s math achievement is shaped—and limited---by what is
“expected of them”.
12.
EXPECT
SOME CONFUSION
to be part of the learning process, but emphasize that effort, not ability, is what counts.
ABOVE ALL, ENJOY MATHEMATICS!!!!!!!