Math Tips for Parents
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- Ask your child, “How do you know?” and “What do you notice?” to understand and extend your child’s thinking. Listen to your child’s ideas and encourage them to see mistakes as part of the learning process.
- Use household chores and everyday opportunities to engage your child in mathematical thinking. Daily opportunities might include:
- Counting and Comparing: Ask questions like, “How many trucks do you see?” “How many people are ahead of us in line?” “Can you put 10 containers of yogurt in the basket?” “Are there more apples or oranges in the bowl?”
- Adding and Subtracting: Ask questions that encourage children to engage in adding and subtracting with everyday situations: “You had 6 crackers, and then you ate 2 crackers. How many crackers do you have left?”
- Multiplying and Dividing: Ask questions like “If there are 6 juice boxes in a package, how many juice boxes are in 3 packages?”
- Geometry: Ask your child to describe and compare shapes while taking a walk.
- Measurement: Use a ruler or other measuring tool to find the length of various objects in your home. Have your child compare the length of these objects.
- Fractions: “If this recipe calls for ¼ cup sugar and we want to double the recipe, how much sugar do we need?”
- Learn how to help at home with these online resources:
- Parent Roadmaps to the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics, www.cgcs.org/Page/244
- Family guides that include mathematics: www.doe.mass.edu/highstandards
- Parents’ Guides to Student Success that also include mathematics: www.pta.org/home/family-resources/Parents-Guides-to-Student-Success
- Homework help and lots of links to resources: figurethis.nctm.org/fc/family_corner.htm
- Videos for families that feature Boston educators talking about the Common Core State Standards in Mathematics:
nctm.org/standards-and-positions/common-core-state-standards/teaching-and-learning-mathematics-with-the-common-core/
- Keep in touch with the teacher to learn whether your child is working at grade level and what the family can do at home to help improve academic progress. Many schools have Math Nights for families to learn about the school’s approach to math instruction.