A Zany School: Building Math Skills

As homeschooling parents we often wonder if our children are getting the math reinforcement they need. Understanding mathematical concepts can be difficult, and until this is mastered it just feels like meaningless work to them.

I find that my focus lies in three areas:

1. Understanding math concepts

2. Learning basic facts

3. Applying math to the daily routine

Understanding math concepts
Our children need to manipulate objects so they can learn the basic math concepts. In addition, they need to know the rules and guidelines for basic math concepts (ie: difference is subtract).

Learning basic facts

In order to master the basic facts you will have to do a lot of drills (ie: Math in a Minute testing, flashcards) Children should be able to give basic fact answers in less than three seconds. This is often difficult and you will need to revert to counting objects.

Applying math to the daily routine

Find ways to apply math to the real world (ie: cooking, time and distance, grouping)