It is quite unfortunate that many students simply struggle with math. People who struggle like this may become withdrawn, quiet and misbehaving. Because students don’t the actual answer of specific math problems, this could cause problems to their confidence. The problem can be caused by various factors and it’s as simple as not understanding numbers. If children are dealing with such simple problem and they struggle with it, parents need to be very patient. It is important to implement methods that can change how children approach math problems and solve them. There are many tools that can be used effectively.
You can use mnemonic, visual learning, kinaesthetic and auditory wheels to make children remember numbers more easily. This is particularly true if children seem to struggle with such basic math issue. Obviously, parents need to use more effective tools than just fingers for counting numbers. As an example, you can use spider to remind children about the number eight. The insect has eight legs and its body looks a bit like the number eight. This method should help students to improve long term memory performance. They will also learn how to associate tangible objects with intangible concepts.
Using only fingers can cause confusion among very young children, it is easy for them to mix eight with seven or nine during addition or subtraction tasks. Associating numbers with tangible objects won’t take as many hours to achieve. Math is essentially about representing intangible objects into concepts that we can understand more easily. Things will become much easier if we are able to use vivid images. When asked to add eight with one, students will remember to add spider with golf club then proceed with the actual calculation process. They are able to connect all the numbers and things will be much easier.
Even after children are able to memorize all the numbers by associating them with real objects, the challenge is just begin. They could struggle with the actual math processes. The easiest is to start with addition. Other than with fingers, numbers can also be associated with the number of tangible objects that represent them. As an example, one can be represented with a single golf stick, while eight can be represented with eight spiders. Adding one and eight can be performed by putting these nine objects in a single box and children can be asked to count them. Subtraction can be represented with imaginative interaction between these objects.
As an example, we can subtract eight with one. It means that we can tell children that the single gold stick smacks one spider out of the box, leaving only seven objects in the box. Such interaction will make it easier to imagine. You can ask children to come up with their own imaginative interactions between these objects. If children are having fun, they will learn more and they will have much better performance with math and that’s what’s matter and what’s important.
