Help With Maths

Multiplying Success - Preparing Your Child for a Standardized Test in Math

2007-11-05T23:13:00.000-08:00

One half of the students at Booker Elementary School went to the soccer game. 1/3 of the students wore blue.1/2 of the students who wore blue were boys. Forty boys wore blue. How many students were in the school?

A. 120

B. 240

C. 480

D. 560

Please hurry and solve this problem, because you have 37 more like it, and only 90 minutes to finish them all...And you're in the third grade. (A variation of this problem appeared on a standardized test for 3rd graders.)

Whatever your opinion about the necessity and validity of testing, you cannot change the fact that your child will soon be handed a bubble sheet and asked to remember material from an entire year. In A Bubble of Confidence, I addressed ways to boost your child's test taking confidence. Comprehending Comprehension has strategies for the reading portion of the test. This article lists several ways to help prepare for the math portion of standardized tests. I must emphasize, however, that it is important to approach test taking with balance. Don't add to the inherent stressfulness of the situation by loading your child down with extra study and work. Your goal is not to add to your child's knowledge, but to help him or her effectively use and retrieve what they already know.

We have four boys, three of whom have ADHD Inattentive Type. Each one approaches a standardized test differently. Our youngest son Ash loves the event, although his scores are no higher than his brothers'. Joe has a 504 plan and has special modifications. In the past, Ron has relied on medication to concentrate during his exams, and now he drinks caffeine to help focus. Mike is always terrified; on testing day we email family and friends for prayer support.

Here are some of the strategies that have helped our guys. I hope they will give you some ideas as you work with your child.
1. Ask your child's teacher for old copies of "test prep" books, or buy books designed to prepare your child for testing. Let your child do a little bit of the test each night.
2. Look for any gaps in basic understanding.
3. Standardized tests demand proficiency in word problems; some state tests have no 'straight' math problems at all. Help your child decode the math words in a problem. Get a good math vocabulary list that will help turn a sentence into an equation.
4. Find out where careless errors occur. Misaligned numbers, incorrectly copied problems or answers, misread operation signs, and sloppy handwriting cause children to miss problems they understand. When a careless error is made, make a notation of why, and work out a strategy to minimize these mistakes.
5. Since most standardized tests have an entire section that requires use of a calculator, make sure your child is proficient on the type your school uses for testing. Purchase one for home use. Use it for regular homework, test preparation, and for games.
6. Familiarize your child with the various types of measurement tools. Rulers are notorious for creating confusion, as some have leading edges, and some do not. Schools use a variety of compasses and protractors that are not available at Wal-Mart. Check with your school to see what they use.
7. There are several ways to approach math problems. Help your child find the ways that work best for her.

Standardized tests aren't fun. But the above hints will help your child maximize what he has learned, and will multiply her chances for great success!

NOTE: We have a resource list we can send you that includes books, math vocabulary, and different ways to approach problem solving. Email us for your complementary copy.
A Bubble of Confidence
Comprehending Comprehension
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kayla_Fay

1st Grade Math - Ways to Help Your Child Love It

2007-10-04T01:56:00.000-07:00

By Amy H

1st graders don't seem to have a very long attention span, especially when it comes to studying his or her 1st grade math lessons. Kids like to be outside playing the dirt or with their friends. That is why this article is going to talk about making 1st grade math fun and something your child will actually enjoy. The trick is to help your child get excited about learning and that is exactly what we are going to do.

Keep it Colorful:
Making math lively with pictures, characters and items are a great way to keep your 6 year old engaged. One program that is really great at keeping kids entertained while doing math is the Singapore math curriculum. This curriculum is known for teaching your child in a fun and exciting way, so your child doesn't get bored and tired of math.

Actually, the proof is in the testing. Singapore math students scored higher on math tests than with any other math curriculum. When your child's mind is stimulated with colors and pictures, they will be less likely to lose interest in learning.

Make Math a Game:
Every child enjoys a fun game so why not turn math into a game? If your current math curriculum does not offer games, it is easy to make up your own.
When your child learns 1st grade math in a game style curriculum, he or she doesn't even realize they're learning. Yes, it's perfectly acceptable to trick your child into learning math!

Rewards:
Who doesn't love to be rewarded for their efforts? Find a way to reward your child for their math efforts. You can use candy every time they get an answer right. I wouldn't suggest a big candy maybe one skittle or M&M per answer. Another way to reward your child is with a penny per right answer or something similar.

They will really like the fact that they are earning their rewards, and this will give them the motivation to learn 1st grade math. Children at this age really love to feel independent, and allowing them to earn extra allowance or treats is a great way to keep them interested and happy with their math lessons.

Tips for Keeping Your Child Interested in 1st Grade Math:
You know how difficult it can be to keep your child interested in learning when they find a subject boring. There are some great ways to spice up your lessons. Here are a few great tips for keeping that little one interested and enjoying the lesson.

- Use candy or other household items to represent numbers in math. You can use anything. Some favorites are jellybeans, Sweet Tarts, crayons, paperclips, cotton balls or anything else you can think of. This is a fun, hands on lesson trick that will keep your child from getting bored.

- Convert the problems into word problems for them, using the members of your family. For example: 3+2= can be, "If Mommy, Daddy and (Child) were making dinner, and Grandma and Grandpa came over to eat with us, how many plates would we need at the table?" This is one good way to ensure that your child is having a good time.

- Use tickles for numbers as well. Three tickles minus one is...and make sure you get the tickle spot!
Want to save money on your homeschool programs? Visit Used Homeschool Curriculum to snatch up great deals on used curriculum and to discover more about different homeschooling options.

There are many ways to keep your child interested in 1st grade math. Use your creativity and have a great time with it. This will keep you and your child happy.
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Home Schooling Your Child In Math?

2007-09-24T02:00:00.000-07:00

By Gaurav Tekriwal

If you enjoyed maths at school - or since leaving school - you will probably already use mathematical language comfortably with your children and find that they understand basic concepts such as the counting numbers and simple fractions at a young age. Unfortunately, a large section of the population found school maths so confusing - or even distressing - that they avoid anything remotely mathematical. Fear of maths can put parents off the whole idea of home education. Yet parents who know little about history or geography don't find this off-putting, as they usually expect to learn from books as they go along. Parents who are unmusical, or don't know any foreign languages have few worries about educating their children themselves. But fear of maths is somehow over-riding, and becomes almost irrational.

If this describes you, your fear may be passed on to your children even if they are in school. If they see you looking in horror at their maths homework, they're unlikely to be inspired and confident! So whether or not you're considering home education for your children, it's worth re-thinking your whole attitude to maths.

What is maths anyway? It's the underlying structure of the world, which we see in patterns, shapes, quantities and intelligent guesses. Why do we need it? We need to understand the concepts of numbers and quantities when we bake cakes, or decorate a room. We see patterns in art and music. Businesses need to make intelligent guesses (or ‘estimates') of how much something is going to cost, how many people need their products, how fast it is going to sell. We need to keep track of our bank accounts, and ensure we do not spend more than our income.

Unfortunately the modern system of arithmetic does not stress on learning mathematics by pattern recognition and hence it becomes uninteresting and painful to children.

So How would you like if suddenly all your math worries are taken care of and your children not only adore math but they sleep, eat and breathe math? Wouldn't it be amazing if such a system exists and they be able to master and learn it easily?

The solution to all the worries and boredom lies in ancient Indian scriptures called Vedas. Well you must be wondering What on earth has ancient Indian scriptures got to do with your high school kid struggling with math? A lot if you read carefully the next few lines.

The ancient Indian scriptures called Vedas are a storehouse of knowledge of every field including mathematics and science. Through this System of Mathematics every mathematical problem no matter how difficult can be solved faster and easily without much effort. The system is called High Speed Vedic Mathematics and this is the secret to the distinguished edge of the Indians in Mathematics over the centuries. It is a worldwide fact that the zero was invented by the Indians and the numbers we use today form a part of the Hindu System of Numbers.

These ancient techniques are absolutely applicable in the modern day curricula and they increase the skills, performance and speed of a student by over 1500%.
Sounds Unbelievable, Read on.

Here's a quick example of a Vedic Math Technique:
62 x 68 = ?
It is quite simple since both digits start from 6, so you take 6 and multiply with the next number 7 which gives you= 42 , the first part of the answer and take 2 and multiply by 8 which gives you 16, so the final answer is 4216.
How much time did that take?

No wonder this is the World's Fastest Mental Math System!
These methods were lost over the span of time and were rediscovered by the Sankaracharya Swami Bharti Krishna in 1918. He wrote a book where his ideas were published which created a revolution in mathematics. He then toured the USA universities and colleges in 1958 teaching his system. Some computer programming language which were founded around the same time, give their credit to this very system. Even NASA uses these methods in Artificial Intelligence and Microsoft's engineers are taught a compulsory course in this very subject.

A big part of this method is learning the recognition of patterns in numbers , letters or pictures. Once the student has learnt efficiently how to find symmetry and pattern of numbers or objects, learning mathematics becomes fun and simple! It arouses interest in mathematics and the children suddenly want to discover more and more of this beautiful method cause it gives them speed and accuracy which they desire. Vedic Maths is a zero-error technique and this take care of the very root of the phobia of mathematics.

You may want to home school your child into Vedic Mathematics and get him the edge which he deserves. Any teenager can learn Vedic Mathematics and enhance his numerical abilities. It helps the students not only inside the class room or traditional academics, but it also enhances the IQ by enhancing the analytical skills and thought processes. This happens cause the system is very coherent and intuitive and uses both sides of the brain thereby giving the student the winning edge.

It is very satisfying to see young children's eyes brighten when they see and learn the Vedic system and techniques.
Thomas, a 16 year old at a school, was able to apply these techniques in his school when he learnt the Vertically and Crosswise Formula of multiplying two and three digit numbers. He was able to solve 100 problems in less than 10 minutes. This is simply incredible.

To know more about these Vedic Mathematics methods and tutorials visit http://www.vedicmathsindia.org
This Article is by Gaurav Tekriwal, The President of the Vedic Maths Forum India who has been conducting High Speed Vedic Math Workshops for the last five years and has trained over seven thousand students across the world in the field. He is an expert in the field and revolutionizes the way children learn math.
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Mental Math, Making Math Fun!

2007-09-04T09:31:00.000-07:00

By Susan W

The world of online tutoring is gaining a new player, Mental Math. Launched on July 11, this innovative online tutoring program offered by www.esumz.com is targeted for children ages 7 to 12 who want to gain an edge on learning math. Mental Math is a program designed for children who are looking to accelerate his/her learning, or who are having difficulties in school.

Drawn upon math principles developed hundreds of years ago, Mental Math formulas are direct, powerful, and are very different from the traditional form of math calculations. The methods are truly extraordinary in efficiency and simplicity. Complexly arranged modern math problems can easily be done using these simple mental math formulae.

“The beauty of this program,” explains creator Venkat Radhakrishnan “is that we incorporate live audio and visual learning in the lessons. Children will learn math through reading engaging stories, working with a US tutor, and working with each other. By presenting simple formulae in a casual learning setting, children will learn how to complete complex problems with ease in a matter of seconds.”

Over the course of nine lessons, children will receive course material prepared by teachers and experts through Email. Each lesson starts and ends with a 10-question quiz to gather each child’s level of knowledge, before and after the lesson. The students meet in a virtual classroom and, together, read a story. Throughout the course of the story, a Mental Math formula will be introduced, explained, and used. During the lesson, the online tutor will use audio and live white board technology (a web based interactive application) to explain the application of the formula. At any point throughout the lesson, a child can ask for one-on-one help from the tutor.

For only $99, children will learn how to mentally subtract large numbers, multiply numbers like 85 by 85 in less than 3 seconds, and divide two digit numbers by 9, learn how easy multiplying by 11 can be, and more!

Mental Math provides a fun and friendly site to children to foster an interest in learning math. EsumZ is a one-stop portal for math supplemental learning for every child. For more information, log on to http://www.esumz.com
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Math Games to Enhance Your Children's Learning

2007-08-31T07:38:00.000-07:00

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

2007-08-30T08:12:00.000-07:00

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

2007-08-26T09:23:00.000-07:00

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

2007-08-22T03:02:00.000-07:00

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
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Cheng_Cheng_Tan

An Easy Cure For "Math Phobia"

2007-08-21T06:42:00.002-07:00

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/
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kenneth_Williams

Math Help Has Never Been This Entertaining

2007-08-21T06:42:00.001-07:00

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

2007-08-21T06:42:00.000-07:00

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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