As parents you play a significant role in your child’s learning by setting expectations, nurturing curiosity, and encouraging a love of learning.
You can help build your child’s numeracy through doing the following:
- be positive about their numeracy experiences and praise effort and perseverance
- let your child know that everyone can be successful
- seize everyday opportunities to capitalise on numeracy development
- involve your child in numeracy-related activities
- describe what you are doing in situations that involve numeracy
- explain why you make certain numeracy choices
- explore numeracy with your child
- learn alongside your child and encourage a sharing of numeracy ideas and thoughts
Helping children to become numerate does not need a high level of mathematics. It means:
- encouraging children to try, then keep trying
- encouraging children to think (reason)
- supporting children while they do homework (which means encouraging them and taking an interest, but not doing the thinking for them)
- modelling numeracy with children (including interpreting data, charts and diagrams)
- talking aloud when solving problems (every day or mathematical)
- getting children to check their answers (Does this answer make sense?)
- encouraging children to help with
- cooking (especially measuring out ingredients)
- paying bills
- scheduling events in the day
- reading maps and giving directions
- shopping
- measuring –– and thanking them for their support
- do not say “Maths is hard” or “I was never good at maths”. Numeracy capability is not inherited but attitudes are contagious.
To focus on your child’s problem-solving approaches and their reasoning:
- Ask questions and give instructions like
- “What do you already know about this problem/question?”
- “How might you work it out?”
- “Explain why you think that is the answer?”
- Do not focus only on the correct response, the process/approach is important
- Allow your child to experience some confusion. It is an essential aspect of the learning process.
Jump in and have a go!
Leah French
Numeracy Learning Specialist