How to make math more fun

Discuss math as a life skill. From a practical standpoint, there’s no denying that math is a life skill that helps people make smarter decisions. From planning a road trip to comparing the prices of products in a store, from reading and understanding graphic information in the newspaper to making sense of a financial portfolio’s performance as an adult, math is truly everywhere.

Talk about mystery behind math. Yes, your child must learn the math basics: addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. However, mathematicians will tell you with passion that math is about asking deep questions and thinking abstractly. While you might not feel qualified to go into the nuances of math in detail, you can share with your child some examples of math’s incredible power and influence. Math helps scientists understand the earth’s patterns: from the planets’ orbit to the setting and rising of the sun. Math is used to predict what things will do (e.g., forecasting weather) and how they work (e.g., the connectedness of electricity and magnetism).

Explore careers that use math. It’s easy for children without a strong aptitude for math to write it off as a subject that they’ll never actually need down the road. However, it can be enlightening to point out some of the careers out there that use math—even the ones where it might not be obvious. Children who draw might be interested to know that architects and drafters use math for drawings and plans. Share with students interested in entrepreneurship or business how accountants, economists, financial analysts and others need math to make sound business decisions. For the hands-on child, talk about the many exciting careers that incorporate math, such as civil engineering, electrical engineering and urban planning.

Play fun math games. Children who fear multiplication and division might not realize that math is an integral part of some fun games. Try games such as UNO, Phase 10, Head Full of Numbers, dominoes, Rummikub, dice games, chess and Sudoku. These games build problem solving, critical thinking and reasoning skills. Search the app store on your smartphone for other fun math games on the go.

Building a solid mathematical foundation is important, so if you find your child not only disinterested in math, but slipping in their ability, call Huntington. We’ll help your child close any skill gaps and develop the math skills that they need to succeed in math—and maybe even enjoy it.