Make Math Fun--Parents Need To Avoid Passing Negative Math Feelings Along To Their Child

This is a make math fun article I wrote about a common concern for parents who grew never believing that math is fun, and pretty much just hating math. They feel that they will never be able to help make math more fun for their own child. There are all kinds or reasons why people grow up with this kind of math phobia. The point is, you do not want to influence your own child and have them grow up with the same anxiety about math. This article gives you some ideas of simple habits to get into and things you can do to make math fun in your house and hopefully many negative feelings.

 

Math is Fun - Tips For Parents - Avoid Passing Your Dislike For Math to Your Child

By Sue Gnagy Fegan 

 

http://ezinearticles.com/?Math-is-Fun---Tips-For-Parents---Avoid-Passing-Your-Dislike-For-Math-to-Your-Child&id=3118308

A common question found in educational forums is, "How do I avoid passing my dislike for math to my child?" These parents will cringe at the statement, "math is fun." They have an extra challenge beyond normal parenting concerns as they want to hide their dislike for math from their child. There are many reasons why an adult might have this severe dislike of math. The key issue for these parents however, is not what went wrong for them, but to put all that aside and focus on creating a positive atmosphere to make math fun for your child. The article will give a few tips to get a parent started.

Creating a number friendly atmosphere at home is important. Begin by creating a math rich atmosphere. Early picture books to read with your child should have numbers and counting and others with matching patterns games and puzzles . Watch popular PBS children's shows and quality educational DVDs . The parent who dislikes math needs to create a math is fun atmosphere for themselves as well. Begin by actively participating in all activities with your child. This way you will have some fun with early math ideas and establish a positive relationship with your child.

Once the child starts school, it is a good news bad news scenario. The good news is teachers take control of math education. If you created a rich foundation, they should be prepared to take it from there. Homework is for the teachers, not the parents, so separate yourself from correcting homework. That is the teachers job. Encourage conversation about the math homework, the student might explain what they are doing, or play school and pretend to teach you!

The bad news is you cannot disregard your quest to create a positive atmosphere at home. Finding some fun math games to play at home that match what is being taught at school will help keep the topic low key. If the parent with a dislike of math plays these fun games and activities from the get go, then they will build their own comfort level and possibly learn some math concepts for the first time, filling in holes from their own math education.

There is no reason to totally hide your feelings about math from your child. But it is not healthy to dwell on it. Something matter of fact like that math was not your favorite topic in school, but Aunt or Uncle So and So loved it, states the truth without dwelling on it. When the child has trouble with math homework one night, a confirming statement, with a hug, "I remember how it felt when I did not understand." or "Have you done the best you can?" That is all you can ask for.

Creating a positive yet rich atmosphere at home and showing how math can be used in everyday life is the best way to approach this issue. You may never believe yourself that math is fun, but you can raise children to have a positive experience.

Here is a link where you can find out about some fun math games you could have on hand to play with your child at home.  They should help make math more fun not only for your child, but help you feel better about it as well!
Make Math Fun

Math Homework- Make Math More Fun By Assigning Fun Math Card Games

The following is an article I wrote about using math card games as a homework assignment.  The debate could go on and on about how much homework is necessary, and even if it is needed at all, but with math, the everyday practice of skills learned in class seem to make a big difference. Just think, if you were to make math more fun by having homework assignments that include math card games that actually give the same drill that they would get on a workbook page...why not try it? It would certainly be worth looking into, wouldn't it?  What you could do is every once and awhile use a card game instead of flash card drills!

Make Math More Fun - Use Printable Math Card Games For Homework

By Sue Gnagy Fegan

http://ezinearticles.com/?Make-Math-More-Fun---Use-Printable-Math-Card-Games-For-Homework&id=3400720

Math homework is a fact of life. The extra practice each night helps solidify concepts being taught and creates reinforcing connections in the brain to enhance memory. Typical homework is a worksheet or two with exercises to complete or a page from a text book. Creating homework around card games that can be printed out from the computer could be just as effective learning tool while and will also be homework that continues to make math more fun even while away from school. Card games can be played with parents who are always wanting to know what they can do to help. Chances are with a card game the student will go above and beyond the call and play the game more often than the assignment says.

Innovative Involvement:

• Print out a blank card game template and have the students write problems on the cards.
• Give the students the cards to cut up to use in games. These can be cards already printed out or cards you created.
• Give the students one copy of a set of problems to use for a card game and have them create the second or third copy needed to make the game.
• Students can add to their decks of cards when new facts or concepts are taught.
• Let the student think of ways to adapt a card game they know to use fun math cards.

Happy Holiday Homework

• Math teachers would prefer students to do some work over long weekends or holiday vacations.
• Having several math card games for the students to play at home over the holiday will make it feel less like homework and make math more fun, even if it is a homework assignment.
• Educational math games usually allow a limited number of facts to be used, so the same fact will be practiced multiple times in the course of one game.
• Choose some different games that include higher level thinking skills or includes a problem solving element.

Parent Playing Practices

• Students want to please their parents, so they should not be put in a situation where the work is too hard. Be careful in your choice of facts used in these card games.
• Make sure the problems are ones that need solid review and reinforcement and are not ones that students only have a tenuous hold on. This also eliminated parent anxiety when they students do not know something.
• Make sure the math card games sent home are based on the element of chance, this will level the playing field.
• Have the rules written out clearly so the student is not left trying to explain the game.

Homework does not have to be boring and can be engaging with fun math card games incorporated into the homework mix. Whether these games are sent home for holiday homework,, over summer vacation or just for a long three day weekend, they will help to not only make math more fun at school but home as well.

It is absolutely possible for a teacher to make the materials and activities they use challenging and still have fun in their classroom and for homework. Keep your students interested, active and engaged. It makes the biggest difference in their overall learning experience.

Discover some printable math games that were created and used in classrooms by a real live teacher!  Digital downloads--easy as pie---

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Fun Educational Christmas Activites For Teachers To Use As Homework

Christmas season is a busy time for teachers, so having a supply of printable Christmas activities and games  to use as homework assignments will be a huge time saver. The students will be happy to have some fun stuff to do, and the teacher workload has been reduced. Everyone will be happy.  Here is an article I wrote on this topic giving some suggestions on different kinds of games to have on hand.

Classroom Teachers Need Fun Educational Christmas Activities For Holiday Homework Assignments

By Sue Gnagy Fegan

http://ezinearticles.com/?Classroom-Teachers-Need-Fun-Educational-Christmas-Activities-For-Holiday-Homework-Assignments&id=3349448

Christmas comes at a time when it is important to keep the curriculum gong strong, but it is also necessary to give students a break. Teachers might include homework assignments that use fun educational Christmas activities and not have to worry about losing forward progress. Most teachers take the time to create some of these on their own, others will benefit from buying activities to download.

Here is a helpful list teachers can use when choosing fun educational Christmas activities to create, purchase or download as a printable worksheets or games:

1. Word Search Puzzles-Create these with programs found online or use graph paper to customize them yourself. Printable puzzles are easily purchased online, downloaded and saved. Make sure the words used are at the reading level of your students. Boost vocabulary with word search puzzles by including ways students are required to use the words independently.
2. Fill in the Blank Word Puzzles- This sort of fun Christmas activity might be unscrambling letters to make words, or secret messages that can be solved. Students have another opportunity to build and practice their vocabulary during an in class review or orally reciting a sentences as they review their homework assignments in class.
3. Math Worksheets- Christmas math worksheets are often just pages decorated with candy canes or stockings and possibly a secret word. Christmas math homework could include something different that needs reviewed or a touch up like place value, or factors or review of order of operations. Look for quality fun math games and activities to use as a fun Christmas homework assignments.
4. Writing Prompts- Teachers are always searching for different variety of prompts to use for writing assignments. Motivating writing prompts on a festive holiday templates are an essential resource to have on hand for classroom and holiday homework.
5. Story Starters- Christmas is perfect timing to put those plot charts lessons to good use use and have children write their own holiday story, with characters, conflict, the climax and a resolution. Using holiday graphic organizers to help plan the plot elements ahead of time is a good motivator. This is a perfect long term assignment, with the story due during Christmas week.
6. Logic Puzzles and Mazes- Logic puzzles requiring students to solve mysteries or plan ahead when making moves to win games are a simple yet effective way to get students to use their problem solving skills. Mazes are an excellent form of problem solving activity that is disguised as fun!many of these sorts of homework assignments are games can involve the family as well.

Christmas comes each year whether teachers like it or not. As the month of December progresses, then it gets harder to keep students focused. Having some fun educational Christmas activities to use as holiday homework assignments may be the perfect thing to tap into their excitement and energy, and hopefully help keep their brains focused on some academics.

Here is link to all the  information you will need for where to find a ready supply of  educational Christmas activities you could possibly want to not only  make math more fun, but creative writing, and problem solving riddles and puzzles as well!

CLICK HERE:  KIDS CHRISTMAS ACTIVITIES

Discover Three Benefits Of Using Fun Math Card Games In Class

 

I have been writing articles on how to make math more fun and the benefits of using fun math games in class. The trick of course is to make these games part of  your daily lesson plan, and not just a game for the sake of playing game.  The facts or math problems that are used in these games must be the very same problems that they would have found on a typical worksheet page or their flash cards.This way, they will get the same drill, only with some fun added to the mix. This article explores the benefits of using fun math card games as one of the ways you can help make math more fun for your students.

 

Make Math Fun - The Benefits of Using Fun Math Card Games Explored

By Sue Gnagy Fegan  

 

http://ezinearticles.com/?Make-Math-Fun---The-Benefits-of-Using-Fun-Math-Card-Games-Explored&id=3370784

Using fun math card games during math class can be an effective educational tool as well as a way to make math fun for the students. Besides the obvious benefit of giving students a break from their routine, math card games are an effective multisensory reinforcement tool. They provide extra repetitive drill, and innovative ways to practice the same thing, using the same set of fact cards in a variety of different ways making it seem new and different. This article will discuss these benefits in greater detail.

Benefit #1 - Multisensory Reinforcement
Math card games provide an excellent source of multisensory reinforcement as part of a well rounded educational program. What a card game does is give the students something to hold, touch and move around while they see the facts on the cards and hopefully say them as well. Manipulating the cards in a variety of games, whether it is matching, making decisions on which answer is higher or creating groups of similar attributes, they all require manipulating and manipulating is a highly effective multisensory tool.

Benefit #2- Extra Repetition Drill Opportunity
When you play a card game there are a limited amount of facts that can be used. Most games require multiple use of the same fact for matching or making groups. In a regular deck of cards there are four of each number. Any fun math card games created will have a similar spread. As a result, when playing a card game, the same fact will present itself over and over again requiring the student to say and solve the problem each time If those same facts where placed on a worksheet, the complaints will begin about "I did that one already." In a game you will not hear any complaining.

Benefit #3- Variety Allows The Same Thing To Look New
Teachers can go crazy thinking of a lot of different ways to practice the same facts to help the students learn without getting bored and to make math fun for their students. There are many varieties of card games that are familiar to us and never ending adaptations. Then there are new card games clever teachers create with new and innovative twists. With all these varieties, practicing the same facts over and over again, will seem like a new activity with each new version of a game played.

Acquiring a supply of unique and interesting card games to use in math class that will help make math fun for the students will be beneficial to all. The students will be happy to play games and help their memories absorb the facts and the teacher benefits by keeping educational quality alive and breaking the routine with something fun at the same time.

It is absolutely possible for a teacher to make the material and activities they use challenging and still have fun in their classroom. Keeping the students interested, active and engaged makes the biggest difference in their overall learning experience.

DISCOVER:  Information on some math card games, and other printable math games for kids that can be instantly downloaded to your computer.  Created by a real live teacher!

CLICK HERE: