Far from being on the curriculum to torture children’s brains, Maths is a crucial part of life. You can’t go shopping, cook, drive, run a business, travel, do DIY, divide a pizza, buy a house or tell the time without applying a mathematical concept.
And yet interestingly, humans have been using Maths since early man walked the Earth. Discovery of the Ishango bone, originating from 20,000 years ago, is one of the earliest artefacts which show humans using number patterns.
Whizzing to 2000 BC, the Babylonians and Ancient Egyptians understood Pi and later Pythagorus Theorum.
Fast forward to the 1600s, and German astronomer Kepler used Mathematical thinking to determine how long each planet took to orbit. Later on that century, Sir Isaac Newton who discovered the law of gravitation, also created Calculus.
Today, Maths is the foundation for many professions from meteorology and medicine to accounting and engineering.
Even if you don’t pursue one of those careers, understanding Maths helps us to problem solve, apply logical reasoning and understand the world around us.
Is your child in battle with Maths? Are you?
Did you know that Maths anxiety is a recognised condition? Anxiety is a bit like an electric storm in the brain as it zaps logical thinking!
Once a child is intimidated by numbers and patterns, vocabulary and concepts, they find themselves in a hole and then keep digging.
Because children need to understand the connections between numbers, they often feel they just ‘can’t do it.’ If children can’t apply critical thinking or logic to Mathematical conundrums, they can feel utterly lost. Game over…
As a parent, you may well feel out of your depth too since Maths has changed radically since you were at school. So you find yourself torn: your child desperately lacks confidence, but you don’t feel equipped. Don’t panic: help is at hand.
How to help your child master Maths
- Our seasoned Maths professionals here at 121 Home Tutors agree that it’s important to start with the basics. Explore numbers and how they can be changed.
- Focus on addition, subtraction and then multiplication. Have a number line and times table grid to hand. Play Times Table memory games. Once times tables are mastered, introduce division since it’s the exact opposite.
- Use apps and learning websites to help you when your ammo is low. BBC Bitesize continues to offer excellent read-made lessons and information at the drop of a hat … or click! There are plenty of online games to leap into too.
- Still struggling? A private Maths tutor can make ALL the difference. Personalised learning means that whatever the issue, a one to one tutor can help your child first unravel it and then conquer it!
Get in touch with us here whether you are local to Cheshire or Manchester, or live further afield. With a brilliant online platform available, we can tutor your child anywhere on the planet – s0 long as there’s an Internet connection!
Tags: anxiety, learning apps, Maths Anxiety, understanding mathematical concepts