Your child uses you as a model, he or she tries to be like you, to do what you do, and to think like you do. Girls tend to model themselves on their mothers, boys on their fathers. Young students also model their behavior on that of their teachers. There is nothing surprising or new about this.
But what if the teacher doesn’t like math and feels that their math skills are weak? What kind of role model are they then?
Research from the University of Chicago has found that female teachers who are concerned about their math skills may be passing that concern along to the girls they teach, and that as a result, the girls become anxious about their own ability in math and do less well in math tests.
Ah, the power of modeling.
Modeling is one of the 3M’s of how parents influence a child’s learning. (You do know all three don’t you? Just in case you have forgotten they are Modeling. Mentoring and Mediating). I often think that it is the most important of the three.
So, how good are your math skills? What attitudes to math are you modeling for your child? Are you stopping your child from being good at math by passing on your concerns? Do you sigh and run for the calculator whenever you have to work out a math problem?
Or do you model your enjoyment of math, your lack of fear of numbers?
Here are some ways you can show your child that math is fun.
Play guessing and counting games.
Let your child guess how many buttons he has on his clothes, then have fun counting them.
Guess how many trucks will pass while you are waiting for a bus, then count and see who had the best guess.
Guess how many fries are on a plate, or how many peas he can eat.
Count in two’s and threes. starting at a different number each time.
Play number games.
How many ways can you make 10? 25? 100?
Make number patterns, and ask someone to solve them. E,g, What number comes next? 3,4,6,9,…
or 10, 9, 7, 4,…
Buy a book of number games and do them together.
Measure things,
Get a tape or ruler and use it. Measure books, chairs, wrists, anything that can be measured.
Weigh things, guess the weight before checking to see who is closest.
Try and stay quiet for a whole minute – use a clock or watch as a timer.
Now can you do it for two minutes? Five minutes?
Look for numbers and try to work out what they say.
Cereal boxes are good for this- how many numbers can you find? What are they telling you?
Check page numbers, do they always start at #1? Why/why not?
Teach your child to use Roman numbers, where can you find them? What do they mean?
(Hint – look for the date at the end of movies)
I am sure that you can think of hundreds (numbers again!) of ways of helping your child find math fun, no matter what your level of math skills.
Don’t prevent your child becoming a math whizz – show him or her that math is nothing to be afraid of and that it can be enjoyable and fun. Then, if they do get a teacher who models a poor attitude to math your child will be immune.
Do you help your child
