5 ways to make maths part of your childs’ daily lives

For many students, maths can seem like the most challenging school subject. But it doesn’t have to be. Maths is actually all around us. Here are five ways you can help children draw connections between classroom maths and the maths that touches their daily lives.

1. Bake and Cook. Maths and the kitchen go hand-in-hand. Making cookies? Double or halve the batch to learn about dividing, multiplying and fractions. Have the right recipe but the wrong measuring gear? Convert from metric to English to practice simple formulas. Witness how fractions work firsthand by quartering ingredients like peppers and apples. For more hands-on education, let kids do the measuring, timer-setting and anything else that requires maths.

2. Build Something Together. Following instructions from start to finish is important for any maths student, so build something together, like a new toy box or a bench for a reading nook. These types of projects require the use of maths — from measuring materials to calculating the area and volume that objects will occupy. Be sure to point out when and how maths is being used.

3. Have Family Maths Night. Play games that deal with maths and the tools on hand to win them, like the Casio fx-55 Plus, a scientific calculator which helps students learn elementary mathematics such as fractions, division with remainders and random numbers. The True Fraction Display helps student understand the mathematics behind improper fractions, mixed fractions and simplification, providing the tools they need not to be intimidated by maths concepts.

4. Go Shopping. Shopping is the perfect opportunity to practice percentages. Children can calculate how much an item will cost and the money saved any time there’s a listed discount, like 20 per cent off or half off. They can also calculate what the total charge will be after the sales tax is added at the grocery store. Let children weigh produce and calculate the cost.

5. Create a Budget. A great way to teach children how budgets work is with their own spending money. They will learn how to make their money last, as well as how to count it out and figure out how much change they’ll get back. You can also loop them into your own budgeting process. For example, if you have vacation plans, you can show them how to create a budget for transportation, accommodations, food and more. —Statepoint