When your child is wrestling with multiple learning challenges, such as dyslexia, language deficits, or dysgraphia, it’s easy to put struggles with math on the back burner. Math skills often get glossed over in terms of remediation, especially when compared to reading, but it is just as important to shore up these skills.
When people think about math, they often comment, “When will I (or my child) ever use this?” but take a moment to think about how often we utilize math as an adult. It’s relatively easy to make a list of everyday consumer activities that involve math.
Math skills often get glossed over in terms of remediation, especially when compared to reading. But it is just as important to shore up math as it is to strengthen reading skills.
People often ask me, “When will I (or my child) ever use this [math skill]?” But take a moment to think about how often you use math as an adult:
- Shopping
- Cooking
- Balancing your checkbook
- Creating a budget
- Online banking
- Computing distances and travel times
- Planning how long an assignment or task will take
- Finding the best deal on a purchase
A primary goal of Educational Therapy (ET) is independence. And math is essential to your child being able to navigate the world outside of your home on their own. As an ET, I’m committed to ensuring my students are proficient – and have confidence with – these math threads:
- The four operations (adding, subtracting, multiplication, and division)
- Fractions, decimals, and percents
- Measurement
- Foundational skills of place value and number theory
Let me reassure you. Even if you’re not a math genius, there are still strategies you can implement at home that will improve your child’s skills with numbers.
Games
There are tons of great smartphone and tablet apps to help make learning math more like a game than a chore, such as Math Practice (iOS), Number Line (iOS), Fractions and Decimals (iOS), Prodigy (Android, iOS, online), Math Fact Master (iOS), and Math Balance (iOS). You can also play traditional card games with your child that require some knowledge of math to complete, such as Blackjack (21), War, and Racko.
Online Education
To help with homework (or brush up on your own skills), there are online lesson plans, videos, and step-by-step instructions available. I recommend checking out the Khan Academy, a nonprofit that provides a free, comprehensive online education. Click here to view a sample lesson on equivalent fractions.
Real World Experience
Finally, provide your child with a taste of real-world experiences with math as often as possible. Take them to the grocery store, and have them figure out which soup is the least expensive. Ask them how much one item in a 2-pack costs. Give them an allowance for completing their chores, then help them create a budget and a savings account.
The aim is to help your child feel more comfortable with numbers, so their math skills develop alongside their reading abilities.
Which of these suggestions will you implement first? Are you already incorporating math into your child’s activities? Let me know in our My Learning Link Facebook Group, and follow me on Facebook and Instagram.
