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<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\nI sat down with my son and discussed openly why he hated math in Grade 2. I knew that he understood the concepts of addition and subtraction. I also knew that he knew his multiplication tables quite well. I had made my Multiplication Flash Cards App <\/a>just for this purpose i.e. for learning and testing multiplication tables and he used to get full marks in it. After discussion, I realized that he was getting confused in deciding when to divide and when to multiply in math word problems. I worked on his concepts and gave him essential common sense tips about when to divide and when to multiply.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Once I knew that my son had the basic idea about handling math word problems, I tried to make his learning experience fascinating and fun. We used color pencils, blocks and crayons to practice problems of multiplication and division. We talked about ice-creams, cakes, candies, pizzas, etc. when thinking of word problems. The goal was to associate happiness with math. I had to wipe his slate of fear clean and what better way to do this than to talk about the things he loved!\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n The essence of excelling in math is practice. No one made me practice math at home when I was younger and I did it on my own. However, nowadays, children don’t practice as there are too many distractions in the form of Xbox games, cartoons, youtube videos, etc. Usually, a child does math practice only when he\/she gets math homework from school. This is not enough practice!\u00a0You need to do some math every day so that it becomes a habit or second nature. I did the same with my son. I gave him just 2-3 sums every day. I didn’t give him sums on the day he had math homework from school but on all other days, I made him practice and do some sums. 2-3 sums are more than enough for a grade 2 child. More may overwhelm him\/her! My son practiced every day and started finding math easier and easier. Soon, he got over his acute fear of math. He started excelling in math tests and exams and I was a happy mom. Unfortunately, this is not the end of the story. My steps for making math a favorite subject are kind of circular. Every time a new math concept is introduced, you have to repeat the same steps. This way you will make sure that the child has a good understanding of his\/her concepts, associates them with happiness and practices a few sums every day.\u00a0Khan Academy<\/a>\u00a0is a good site for understanding math concepts. You can make an account as a parent and add your children to it. You will have free access to math by grades. Your children can look at teaching videos, do practice and attempt quizzes and tests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For younger children, Khan Academy is amazing for practice but for older children, I still believe in the good, old paper and pencil approach. The reason for this is that in some countries, there are marks for actual problem-solving steps and not just for the answer. Hence, I normally use Khan Academy for helping me in teaching the math concepts and I give the actual practice questions from the exercise in my son’s math book. Another reason for going for paper pencil instead of Khan Academy for practice is time management. You can read more about this\u00a0here<\/a>. \u00a0I started using exactly the same approach with my younger one when he started school and math easily became his most, most favorite subject. I hope my steps help those parents who are devastated to hear that their children don’t like math. Please feel free to comment or ask questions. I would love to hear from you!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Please like my social media pages for more educational resources and tips.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Facebook:<\/strong> https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ObsidianSoft\/<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Instagram:<\/strong> https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/obsidiansoftapps\/<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Pinterest:<\/strong> https:\/\/www.pinterest.com\/obsidiansoft\/<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n For links to free educational apps, have a look at the educational apps page<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n
2. Make math interesting:\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/obsidiansofteducation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Screenshot2020-08-21at8.45.46PM.png\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n3. Practice, practice and practice:<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n
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After a couple of months of regular math practice, he started saying that math was one of his favorite subjects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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The following picture is the essence of what I have talked about in this blog. A picture is worth a 1000 words so I made a picture.<\/p>\n\n\n![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/obsidiansofteducation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/maths-infographics.jpg\")
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