Math Anxiety. Do you have it? Or are you a numbers whizz? Perhaps you somewhere in between like me. Math came easily until it required complex computation, not just memorization. When I had to really understand what was going on on, not merely follow a formula, I began to struggle.
For many of us, a great teacher made all the difference. The gifted guide made the complex simple and therefore we made it up to the next rung on the math ladder. I wish I’d had a few more of those teachers to keep me going because as we mature, we discover that the math we snubbed really does have a lot to do with our real, everyday lives.
If you scratch below the surface of most any subject you find math. Music is based on math. 8 notes in a scale. If you flat the 3rd, you get a minor key—every time. The first, third and fifth notes make a major chord and so on. Basic cooking is all about fractions. Sewing has measurement at the core. Knitting is for those who love to count. Knit one, perl two… Math is about relationships between things: Hot/cold, Long/Short, Big/Little.
Why all this philosophizing about math? This winter, I’m teaching a unit on math for K-4th graders. My goal is to help the kids up that ladder a rung or two.
Peggy Kaye, a seasoned educator, wrote a classic book on math games called Games for Math that I’ve used for my class. Games are a great way to make the complex more simple. I think it worked. The kids proclaimed it the best class ever. I successfully tricked them into thinking that they were just playing games, not having learning about math!
Although she wrote the book for her work with Kindergartners through 3rd graders, many of them are easily adjusted for fun with the preschool crowd.
Here are a few games from Peggy’s book that you might like to try today:
The How Many Game:
While “doing life” you can play this game anywhere. Ask your child to count all the people who are standing up, or sitting down, wearing hats, walking dogs, carrying purses, etc. At the park, in the mall, or on a bus, or in a lobby waiting for sister’s gym class to get out, this game can fill in the spaces. It teaches your child to scan a group and sort categories, make distinctions and count. Let them tell you what to count too.
Number Collage:
This activity is designed to clear up confusion young children often have regarding one-to-one relationships between numbers and the objects being counted. First, the child chooses a number and writes it in the middle of a 14” by 17” sheet of paper. Then with the parents help, the child searches through magazines for pictures that she likes. If she chose a number 5, then she picks out 5 magazine pictures and cuts them out to paste on her page. Finally, alongside each picture a number is written: 1-2-3-4-5. The concept of 1 number per picture is reinforced as well as giving her fine motor practice in cutting and pasting.
Kitchen Calculus:
Sorting is a skill that can be reinforced while having fun when you work with your child to put away the groceries. The child makes the decision as to where the food should be put away. You help by asking clarifying questions as needed, “Is it hot or cold? Is it in a box or a can? Is it a vegetable or meat?” They feel so grown up as you let them decide what goes where and allow them to put the things away independently.
Number Ladder:
In this easy game, the parent draws a ladder with 10 rungs on a piece of paper with one number on each rung, not in order: For example 4,7,2,8,1,9,3,5,6,10. The child rolls a die and climbs the ladder by adding the number on the face of the die to number on the ladder. If he rolls a 6, he adds 4 + 6. If he gets the correct answer, he has “climbed” that rung and may go again—7 + 6. If he misses, he “tumbles down” to the bottom and rolls again. As the parent takes a turn, it is the child’s job to catch the parent making a mistake. If he does, the parent “tumbles down.” Kids love the success of climbing to the top, and are thrilled to catch a parent making a mistake.
Peggy Kaye concludes the introduction of her book with some good advice on teaching our kids math.
“The best advice on how you should play (math) games is…relax. Relaxing might mean changing the rules at the spur of the moment to better suit your child’s personality. It might mean forgetting about a game halfway through because it stopped being fun. Relaxing means not worrying if your child seems to have trouble playing a particular game. Give the child a chance. Don’t worry about the stumbles. Your child will learn to add and subtract and do all the other procedures in good time. Relax—all will be well.”
Playing math games was certainly the most relaxed teaching I’ve done in awhile. We all had fun and came through it smiling. What a great strategy for learning math! I want my kids to make friends with math early in life and enjoy all the various expressions of it they’ll undoubtedly encounter throughout their lives.
-posted by Donna Detweiler, who has a secret desire to study physics someday.
Holding onto the handles and moving the parachute up and down
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