Has your kid ever said “I hate math” or “I’m bad at math”? Have you?
A lot of people lack confidence or enthusiasm for math, but math can be fun, practical, and empowering. It can even come easily at times — whether you’ve ever considered yourself a “math person” or not.
Here are seven easy ways to help your kids practice math skills, without having to explicitly tell them they’re practicing math skills. That way, they’ll be able to explore mathematical concepts as they relate to their own interests, instead of being scared away by a worksheet or assignment.
The following activities can build up spatial reasoning, number sense, geometry skills, and just having fun with numbers and measurement! Plus, they’ll be learning other valuable life and social skills at the same time.
And remember…with a dose of creative thinking and growth mindset, anyone can become a “math person” — including you!
Play card games or board games
Virtually all card games and board games require some counting, comparing, keeping score, or thinking ahead using numbers or spatial reasoning. All of these skills are important math skills, but kids definitely won’t feel like they’re doing homework while they’re playing.
Almost any classic or modern game will do, from Spit to Spot It, Crazy Eights to Catan. Plus, in-person gaming promotes social skills and bonding! Some schools or public libraries offer free afterschool board game or card game clubs, or you can organize your own.
Participate in a sports fantasy league
If your child is a fan of any sport, discussing stats can be a fun way to encourage their interest. Becoming part of a fantasy league (either as a family or by supporting them in joining one with their friends) will require them to track things like rosters, points, rebounds, and penalties. They’ll be so into the drama and excitement of the sport that they won’t notice having to crunch so many numbers. Major win!
Plan a room redesign
For a kid who wants to make their space their own, encourage them to create a floor map, measure furniture and decor, and plan it all out in detail! They’ll be enhancing spatial reasoning, geometry, measurement and estimation, addition and subtraction skills without minding the effort — and getting a cool new room setup out of it.
Cook or bake together
Following a written recipe — or even a family recipe you know by heart — requires some measuring, keeping track of times and amounts, spatial and time awareness, and planning ahead. So for kids who like to help out in the kitchen, consider it natural nourishment for their math brain. It’s great for the parent-child relationship, too!
For those who are really crafty, other hands-on activities like woodworking, knitting, and sewing also promote math skills.
Give kids a cash allowance
Providing kids with a weekly or monthly allowance will give them more opportunities to practice addition, subtraction, decimals, and more. Encourage them to keep track of their funds, and budget how much they want to save, spend, and donate.
Most of us don’t need to balance a checkbook anymore, but keeping track of money is a skill we could all get better at! Kids can learn math skills from either a digitally managed account or a physical stash of cash, but the hands-on experience of counting cash and getting change can help kids learn those skills more deeply.
Go comparison shopping
If there’s something your kid really wants to buy, tell them you’ll go to two (or more) stores or online shops to compare prices, quantities, sales, and discounts. Don’t forget to include tax and/or shipping for a more advanced problem. You’ll be fostering life skills as well as math skills!
Check out these other creative ways to help your child learn with and about money.
Take music lessons
Learning to play an instrument, read music, write a song, or even dance to different kinds of music are all intricately related to math. Think fractions, ratios, patterns, and much, much more!
Whether or not you have access to in-person music lessons for your family, there are many free and inexpensive apps, video series, and at-home activities that can help. Here’s one collection of resources from Carnegie Hall, and here’s another list of tools from Common Sense.