Math Games to Enhance Your Children's Learning

By Amar Mahallati

Many kids find math to be confusing and frustrating, but there are some ways to prevent this from happening. Introducing your kids to math while they are young can help them become familiar with numbers and it will help them understand them as well. One great way to introduce your children to math is to use the various math games that are available for purchase. These games are usually a great deal of fun and teach your kids that math can be exciting. When your children associate learning math with fun, no doubt they will do much better in their math classes at school.

There are many different educational math games that are available, such as card games and board games as well. No doubt you will quickly see that there are many great card games and board games that can help your child to improve their math skills. If your kids are just starting to learn about numbers and shapes, one great game to consider is GeoShapes. This games uses both Metric and English measuring systems, and strategy is part of the game too. No doubt your whole family will have a great time playing it.

Computer games can be another great way to help your kids learn and enjoy math. There are many math computer games that are great for kids, especially since so many kids are comfortable with using a computer and enjoy playing games on it. You can even find great math games for the computer that will allow your whole family to play. Some kids may have difficulty with math because of a short attention span, and using computer games is a great way to keep their attention while they learn math.

If your child learns in a more traditional way, there are many great books that teach more about math too. You can find excellent books for every level of math that will help you kids understand the concepts in a fun way. There are books on graphing, geometry, and other types of math too. Even though they are books, they do not have to be boring; in fact, many of these math books have Disney characters or other characters that your kids will recognize and love. Kids that love Disney characters will no doubt enjoy a math book that has their favorite character teaching them about math.

Even if your child has not entered school yet, there are great games available to introduce them to math. There are also educational math games available for kids of all ages in school as well. Math games are a great way to get your kids more comfortable with math. These games will also help them have fun with math, which will help them associate math with a great time. Math games are very entertaining, and no doubt you and your kids will have a great time when playing them.

Picking up math skills can be fun, and games can be educational. Give your kids the best of both worlds, come visit 123KidsGames.com - Educational Kids Games and discover the best, most fun way to grow and learn. Or go to 123KidsGames.com - Educational Math Games for Kids to find ... educational math games for kids.
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Math Games - A Fun Way to Learning Math

By Darren Michalczuk

Math games are a great way to get students involved in math. Just like chess, math games get students hooked. Each time they play, they have more confidence and better strategies. With the competitive itch, they strive to do better each time they play.

Math games should be specifically designed to work on math skills. It may work on addition, multiplication or fractions. Having the skills as part of the game makes it easy to make learning seem fun. Just like mothers often sneak vegetables into a casserole or pasta dish, teachers can sneak learning into games.

The games should have some elements that make it playable. The game should have simple rules. If there are too many rules, kids will lose interest. Soccer is relatively simply. You need to kick the ball into the net without using your hands. In golf you try to hit a ball into a hole in as few strokes as possible. With Scrabble, you try to make words with the highest point value possible. The general goal or core rules of the game should be relatively simple.

Once this is established, there should be room for developing strategy. The game Tic Tac Toe is not played by adults or even most kids as it is too simple. The game of chess however allows players to make choices that affect the outcome of the game. If you can’t develop strategy or feel like you are affecting the outcome, you probably won’t continue playing.

There also needs to be an element of chance. Even though players may have different abilities, each one should feel as though they have a chance to win. You wouldn’t enter a 100 meter race if you knew the other runner was a great deal faster. In Scrabble the element of chance comes when players randomly choose letters. When chance affects the game it evens out the playing field.

Games in the class create hours of solid practice. Students actually focus on the skills and develop their skills quickly. Aside from the math skills students learn, they also learn some much needed social skills by working with partners that they can’t get from video games. Games are the way to reach children and make learning a truly fun and inspiring activity. The skills they learn will last a lifetime.

Darren Michalczuk is the founder of the Brick School. He is an experienced classroom teacher who has developed many programs and resources for math, language and music. The Brick School offers quality educational posters, programs and worksheets online for elementary language arts, math and music. Materials are designed to promote effective learning strategies in an easy to understand, straight-forward format. They offer both practical solutions to learning problems and leading edge technology and techniques. It reaches both struggling students and those who need extra challenges in class.With the latest software and leading edge learning strategies, our materials are paving the way for learning. User-friendly porgrams give students instant feedback while they practice important basic skills. Lessons and study guides also include proven learning strategies and memories techniques. Please visit our website. http://brickschool.ca
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Helping Your Children With Their Maths At The Same Time As Enjoying Sport

By Steve Hill

My children are like me in many ways, one of which is their love of sports. I have utilised this love of sport as a way of helping them to improve their maths and will explain how I do this in this article. Playing the sports themselves is also very good for them as a way of keeping them fit and away from the television, which most children watch far too much of in my opinion.

I will use my five year old son as an example of how I use different sports to help him with his maths. I will never forget the first time I thought about including maths in a sport. I basically did it just by chance, for example it was not exactly planned. My son loves playing cricket and originally we would take a bat and ball to a local park and use the dustbin as a wicket. When he was about four I decided to introduce the concept of runs into the game for the first time. If he reached the tree with one of his shots he would score two runs, if he reached the fence he would score four runs and if he reached the fence without the ball hitting the ground he would score six runs.

Every time he played a scoring shot I would then ask him how many runs he now had, for example eight plus two. Obviously at the start he made quite a few mistakes when adding up the scores but he soon picked up how to add either two, four or six to any given number.
I then thought about which other sports that I could also use to help him with his maths. I am sure there are many sports out there which would have been suitable but the other two we used were snooker and rugby.

Snooker is actually the perfect sport to use as the different colours are worth different points and this gives many more options than just two, four and six. These are the values of the different balls in snooker, the red is worth one point, the yellow two, the green three, the brown four, the blue five, the pin six and the black seven.

I am sure that many other parents could use these same ideas to help their own children to develop their adding up skills in maths.
Stephen Hill helps to promote a number of websites including:
stuttering advice
stutter treatments
stutter cure
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Build Your Child's Confidence

By Cheng Cheng Tan

I believe that the most important thing a parent can give a child is confidence and self-esteem. All the degrees and certificates are useless if a child lacks self-confidence. With self-esteem, a child will be able to try new things and venture out on his own. He will not be easily influenced by others because he knows what he is doing is right.
On the other hand, a child who lacks self-esteem will be constantly seeking for approval by his parents and peers before he tries anything new. There is fear within him that he may not be accepted by others around him.

Here are some tips to build self confidence in the child:
- Encourage the child to do things on his own. It does not matter even if he does it wrongly(as long as he is in a safe environment). The most important thing is to let him try and he will definitely gain confidence after gaining some success.
- Focus on his strengths and not his weakness. It is understandable that as parents that we want the best for our children. However, we have to be aware that every child is special and different. Though Mathematics is very important, the child may not like it at all. Instead of forcing him to sit down and listen, try to incorporate Maths with something that he likes e.g. music. This will lower his resistance towards learning Maths and he may think of better ideas to learn maths with music too. You never know how creative they can be.

-Praise your child when he does something well. Children are constantly looking for approval. Parents are usually critical because it is easier to point out mistakes. Just be aware and remember that children (just like anybody else) prefer to listen to positive things.
-Differentiate the child from his behaviour. If parents are unhappy with the child's behaviour, tell the child. We need to reinforce that we still love the child but not the behaviour.

-Do not criticize. Criticism can greatly diminish confidence. It is easy for parents to say "See, I told you not to do that and now you are dirty all over." We need to remind ourselves constantly that everytime we diminish their self-esteem, it will take us a lot more effort to restore it. Or even worse, we leave it as it is and the child will hesitate to do new things in future. If you have nothing good to say, it is better not to say anything. Talk to children about their mistake in a positive way.

-What is your first reaction when you see your child in your room full of lipstick on his lips and all your lipsticks are spoilt? Will you start screaming at him? Most of us would. Then you would have fallen into their trap. What should you do then? Make them clean up the mess, even if it takes half the day. The child have to pay for the lipsticks by either not having a new toy or no Mcdonalds for the next two months. Screaming at them does not really help as they already feel frightened when they know you have found out the truth. Let them learn that they have to be responsible for what they do. If they can come up with their own punishment (which you are agreeable to), that would be better.

-One of the easiest way is to hang up their pictures on the wall so that visitors can take a look at them too. Encourage them to take about the story or idea behind the picture. If your kids are older, you could embark on a project to write a storybook. The child could write on a short chapter a week. They can also hang up short articles or jokes on the wall.
-Communicate with your child as much as possible. You will need to know what they are feeling and thinking before you can decide on the next course of action. Most parents spend time and money attending courses to find out about how to deal with their children when the most important thing they need to do is to spend more time with them.

-Help children to find their own interest and build on it. Try not to emphasize on perfection and competition. Instead focus on doing their best and enjoying the process. The process is just as important ,if not more important than the result. Children will realize that there are so many things to learn on the way which are so valuable to them.

Cheng Cheng is an Asian mother(Singaporean) with two boys age about four and five. I have learnt a lot from them, other parents and books. Find out more about how parenting can be fun and easy at http://www.raisingconfidentkids.com
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An Easy Cure For "Math Phobia"

By Kenneth Williams

Why is it that one person enjoys math, while another person hates it?
Why does one child happily and quickly calculate a simple sum, while another won’t even attempt it because they’re convinced they’re simply "no good with numbers"?
The problem certainly isn't caused by lack of intelligence.
In fact there are many examples throughout history of seemingly "stupid" people who could do amazing things with numbers.

Take the case of Jedediah Buxton (1702-1772), an illiterate laborer who became famous for his number skills. His employer once asked him:
"In a body whose 3 sides are 23,145,789 yards, 5,642,732 yards, and 54,965 yards, how many cubical eighths of an inch are there?"
Before giving the answer, Buxton asked "which end" of the 28-digit answer he should start at, as he could recite it just as easily forwards or backwards!
Of course, mathematical prodigies are born, not made. But it does beg the question:
"If somebody who can’t even read or write is able to perform these kinds of breathtaking calculations, what stops other people from doing even simple sums?"
Clearly, something went wrong along the way.

Young children naturally enjoy numbers. And even people who now have an intense dislike for math often say they once enjoyed it.
What has happened to them is generally an unfortunate event in their past.
Perhaps they were ridiculed for a mistake they made with numbers, in front of the entire class.
Maybe they missed some crucial math lessons and never really caught up.
Or perhaps they were taught to handle numbers mechanically - when what they really needed was some explanation of why the numbers work the way they do.
Whatever the specific reason, bad experiences with numbers left an emotional scar, which developed into a phobia to keep the sufferer safe from further harm.
The point here is that if you have "math phobia" or "math block", it isn’t a permanent state of mind.

As a perfectly normal, healthy human being, you can do math and enjoy it as much as anyone.
You can make this change yourself, anytime you want. You just need to ignore the disliking attitude and actually try manipulating a few numbers from time to time.
Start with something easy, like adding small numbers in your head, or on paper if you prefer.
Next time you get some change in the shop, check it’s correct. Or better still, reckon up the change you expect while you are waiting to pay.

Avoid perfectionism, especially in the early stages. Realize there are two ways of working with numbers: approximate and exact. Often, an approximate answer is all you need.
For example, when you pick up a grocery item priced at $3.98, just call it "four dollars". The next thing you pick up in the shop is priced at $7.95, so call that "eight dollars". Add them together and you now expect to pay "nearly twelve dollars".
Try it and you’ll see how easy it is.

The cure for math phobia is to allow a few numbers back into your life. Don’t make a big thing of them, just do whatever you feel comfortable with.

To summarize:
1. Recognize you have an aversion to math, whether it’s full-blown math phobia or just a few math blocks here and there.
2. Make a conscious decision to do something about it.
3. Give yourself a regular math workout, however small to start with.
You’ll find it all gets easier, and you’ll soon enjoy math once again.

Kenneth Williams is author of "Fun With Figures", which shows you a completely different and much easier method of doing numbers in your head. Check it out here: http://funwithfigures.com/
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Math Help Has Never Been This Entertaining

By Katie Robbins

Do you have trouble with math? Do you feel anxious when taking math tests? Do you want to improve your math skills, but don’t know where to do this? If any of these problems plague you then look to the Internet for extra help. There are several websites that provide information, lessons, tutors, and even games.

Let’s start with basic online math games. Check out Aplusmath.com at http://www.aplusmath.com/games/. This website provides games that will test and help you practice your basic math skills such as addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. You can play math bingo and hidden picture games. This is a great way to brush up on your basic arithmetic skills. Aplusmath.com also provides flashcards, worksheets, and a homework helper. Definitely try the homework helper. It allows you to input a math problem and helps you find the answer.

Once your basic math skills are mastered try your hand at critical thinking math games. A great website is Math.com. Math.com at http://www.math.com/ can be your one stop shop for all your math needs. Math.com provides homework help, practice, tutors, calculators & tools, and math games. The last word, “games” probably peeked your interest. Yes, you can improve your math skills through games. Learning multiplication and logic skills doesn’t always have to involve a textbook and a classroom.

You can work on your logic and planning skills when playing the game “Fiver”. This game consists of a grid containing all white pieces. The goal is to change all the white pieces to black pieces. That sounds simple enough, but how does it improve my math skills? There are conditions that are imposed on you each time you change a white piece to a black piece. These conditions affect the color of the surrounding pieces. This is similar to the conditions or rules in math.

For example, when working with positive and negative numbers you have to follow specific rules when you add, subtract, multiply, and divide them. However, the puzzle takes it one step further in that you not only have to follow the rules, but plan ahead. Planning ahead and using logic is an example of higher level thinking. These critical thinking skills will help you in math, science, and business.

These are just two of hundreds of math websites to help get you started. Playing a math game is a learning experience. Math games supply the extra help needed for basic skills and extra challenge that will help you to improve your math skills.

Katie Robbins, an independent author for Degreeclick.com, specializes in writing articles about online education. Some of the topics she covers include: online universities and tips on getting an online masters degree.
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Improving Your Child's Counting Abilities With Educational Math Toys

By Darren Lintern

Learning maths certainly doesn't need to be boring for your children in view of the wide variety of Educational math toys that are available. Make the learning of this essential skill fun and exciting. Take advantage of the many toys that have visual and moving elements, to make math more real. The learning patterns from using these educational toys have been proven to help children improve their counting abilities. And you kids with love all those educational toys!

Choosing the right educational toys and games for your children at a young age will make sure that they start out in live with the right learning environment. In order to learn, it is important to stimulate your child's creativity, curiosity, and discovery. All this can be easily achieved by making use of the educational crafts, games, puzzles and toys.

It may seem a difficult decision at first to decide on which educational toys and games to choose. Try starting out with a simple book or educational toy, and then slowly progress to more complex educational toys, music activities and puzzles. Attempt to create a fun environment for your child to learn in. Do this by taking note of your child's interests - if he or she is into monsters and dinosaurs then based your decision on choosing the educational toys on this fact. This will make sure that your child's interest remains with the toy.

Learn simple addition through play to encourage children to become familiar with numbers and slowly introduce them to math concepts, such as basic addition, counting and sorting. With some simple research into a child's ability level and toy quality, you should have no trouble in locating a variety of educational math toys to spark interest while at the same time reinforcing the importance of learning mathematical concepts.

Darren Lintern is the author and owner of www.educational-toys.andallabout.com, a popular informational website that provides information, guides and reviews on infant, toddler & pre-school educational math toys.
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