When it comes to helping your child learn, lots of parents feel daunted. Modern curriculums, classrooms, and lessons can feel like a long way from what parents remember from their own school days. One good tip is to focus on the simple stuff, like key math skills, letter formation, and reading daily. If your child is regularly practicing such skills, this will have an overall positive effect on their learning across the curriculum. Check out these three key math skills that your kid can practice daily until they’re fluent in using them.
Number Bonds to 10
If your child has recently started elementary school, you’re about to hear the term ‘number bonds’ a whole lot more often. Essentially, this is about pairing the numbers which will add together to make 10—eight and two, six and four, five and five, and so on. For adults, this may seem easy and simple, but kids need to feel absolutely confident using their number bonds to 10 if they are going to be successful in more complex areas of maths. You can offer support by playing simple addition games, using flashcards, or simply verbally reminding your child of which numbers pair together to make 10.
Multiplication
Most of us remember practicing our times tables from our school days. While it may seem like one of the more boring elements of maths, feeling fluent and confident in using the times tables up to 12 x 12 is really important when it comes to tackling more complex mathematical equations. Mastering multiplication can also help children understand the concept of division, something that many kids struggle with initially.
Number Lines
Being able to use a number line to support calculation is a really important step in developing your child’s independence when it comes to working out problems. If you ask a kid to show you how to use a number line to demonstrate that seven minus four makes three, lots of children draw a blank and look very confused. Help them by showing them (moving a counter or small object along the numbers in the line works well) until they can see the usefulness of the number line in supporting their maths.