Convert Your Math Phobic Child into A Math Lover
Using Child Math Games

You may have doubt whether learning math can be fun. I assure you that yes, it can be fun. That boring and intimidating math can indeed be made fun and interesting by following these simple tips.

First, use math manipulatives when teaching a concept.Why are math manipulatives important ? Young children haven't developed their abstract thinking, so they need to see real things in order to know what the number means. For instance, number two is too abstract for a young child to understand. But once a child sees two apples, or two fingers, then suddenly number two is no longer abstract. So. math manipulatives make an abstract concept real. You can basically use any household item as math manipulatives or make your own. But you can also buy those from school supplier. One math manipulative which well worth the price is Cuisenaire Rods.These are collection of rectangular rods in 10 lengths and 10 colors, each color corresponding to a different length. Learners can explore whole numbers, fractions, measurement, ratio, area, perimeter, symmetry, congruence, three-dimensional geometry, patterns, and functions. They allow a concrete way of looking a math, and are available in both wood and plastic.

Second, incorporate math activities in your daily life. Use your weekly grocery shopping as a learning ground for math. Let your kids help you to figure out how much wallpaper you need for renovating a room, or how much fabrics you will need to make a new curtain. Your children will quickly appreciate math these ways since they can see its usage. A book which contains ideas for real-life math activities for grade K-6 is called Family Math by Jean Stanmark. In addition, you can give your kid story books which contain real life math problems. For instance:

• Sir Cumference series books .
• Math On the Menu by Jaine Kopp and Denise Davila.

Third, do a lot of child math games.

These are some books for you to look at for making your own child math games and activities:

• Games for Math by Peggy Kaye. This book gives simple suggestion on games to play to reinforce math concept for kindergarten and early elementary school students. .
• Math games and activities from around the world by Claudia Zaslavsky.
• Instant file folder games for math by Linda Ward Beech. Copy the games and stick them to file folders and VOILA -- they're ready for play.
• 25 super cool math board games by Lorraine Hopping Egan.

Alternatively, you can make learning math fun by buying ready-made buying child math games or toys which reinforces math concepts. For instance, tangram-like puzzles which consist of pieces of different geometric shapes, can be used for reinforcing geometry concept.

And don't forget about the board and card games. Some of these games were developed specifically for making learning math fun. For instance:

• Smath board game - this is a board game specifically developed for learning math.
• Moneywise Kids by Aristoplay - this child math game, as the name suggests, teaches kids about financial math.

• Hi Ho Cherry-o- -- it is a classical board games to teach young kids counting.
• Monopoli games which can be used for reinforcing some math concepts.

Fifth, use electronic child math games to teach math.

Math computer games are very interactive and fun; and can be played alone or with friends. There are two options for obtaining these child math games. You can either buy an interactive educational software that teaches math through games such as Jumpstart series by Knowledge Adventure, or you can let your kids play math games online -- some web sites offer free online math games, but some require subscription. In addition, you may consider a new educational video games V-Smiles which are developed for fun learning.

Alternatively you can get interactive electronic pads which teach math -- your child can simply touch designated spots in the pad by either a finger or a specific pen, and the pad will respond back by giving out a sound or a blink. These pads also contain lots of child math games and are definitely fun. Since the pad is the size of a book, your child can bring the pad anywhere and anytime. They can be good companions during traveling.

Examples of such pads are the famous Leap Pad Phonics Series by Leap Frog and the Power Touch Phonics Series by Fisher Price. We think that the Fisher Price's Power Touch Learning System can be adapted to tots more easily than Leap Pad's since your child just have to touch the pad using a finger to get a response from the electronic book, whereas Leap Pad utilizes a pen for that. However, Power Touch is newer than Leap Pad, so it does not have many titles yet.

Sixth do not hesitate to buy new gadgets to replace those 'ol multiplication table drill sheets. These new tools, which can be electronic or non-electronic, will make 'math facts drilling' a little bit more pleasant.

Seventh, if your child is really sick and tired of his current math curriculum, then don't be afraid to switch to other curriculum. If you homeschool, then that's easy. But if your child is at school and your child cannot stand the textbook used by the school, you can always supplement it with another math curriculum which clicks with your child. Experiment with different curriculum and see which one works best with your child. Remember that every child has its own learning style, and each math curriculum teaches math in different ways.

Have fun with math !!

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