Tips For Making Math Learning Fun For Children

It’s a known fact that children learn better when they are having fun doing it so making math learning fun for them should really improve how well they learn. When teaching children, it’s helpful to find ways to infuse fun into what you’re doing. This makes them more likely to want to engage with your lesson and it makes the information more likely to be retained.

Whether you are a teacher, math tutor or parent helping your child, there are lots of great ways to make learning math more fun. We’ve compiled a list to get you started with some ideas!

1. Try some math games. There are so many options, you can simply Google the term “Math Games” and get a ton of ideas. If you add a grade level to your search, you’ll get the most age appropriate games as well. Most math games use simple items such as dice, shapes, a calculator and other items you likely have around the house.

2. Check out some cool technology. There are also a lot of fun digital tools and games you can try out. There are websites to help students practice math equations, learn to plot graphs and explore 3D shapes. Head to the App Store and search for Math Learning to find some great options. Alternatively, there are many websites you can visit as well.

3. Use a hands-on approach. This means letting kids get in on the action and touch and feel everything you’re doing. Get them involved in baking (measuring ingredients), making a budget, paying for things and figuring out real world problems. Doing these helps them to understand the tangible benefits of math learning and also helps them to prepare for taking care of themselves more as adults.

4. Use real objects. Similar to the last suggestion, use real items from around the house when doing counting or simple functions. Use dried beans, paper clips or other items so they can actually see the impact of adding, subtracting, multiplying or dividing. Fractions work well this way too with a pie, cake or pizza!

5. Let them be involved. This sounds similar to hands-on learning but the difference is letting them choose the examples in an equation, or using real life situations such as “Jack wants to buy more items in Minecraft” to make the topics personal and including things they would actual do or situations they would actually encounter. This works because no one believes Mary has 36 watermelons, but they want to know if their friend is getting a better deal if they get ⅔ of the pizza.

Getting kids excited about is not always easy and can require some savvy sills and fun tricks to infuse just enough fun for them to get a new outlook on a subject that can be challenging and at times a bit repetitive and dry. Try some of these ideas with them on a regular basis and they will learn that math can be fun and it can relate to their lives so learning it has a meaningful purpose.