Struggling:  As a parent, there is nothing worse than watching your child struggle.  The awful truth is that every child, including my own, struggles. So, what do we as parents when our child is having a difficult time comprehending Math?

Some thoughts:  The help is at home.  It will take some time, patience and consistency, but it is doable!

1. Find a nice, quiet spot with space for math manipulatives and materials.
2. Try to work on math at a similar time every day.  I know how incredibly harried days can be. There are lots of extra-curricular activities and distractions, but it will really alleviate stress if you prioritize this difficult subject and give it some tender loving care.
3. Build in mental health breaks.  Don’t try to work through a concept or homework assignment without allowing time for a fun snack, or a 2-minute stretch break.
4. Celebrate the small successes and expect some frustrating moments.  Be ready for both and tell your child to expect ups and downs when working on something difficult.
5. Don’t be afraid to have your child write notes to the teacher.  And don’t you be afraid to write notes to the teacher as well. Communication is KEY! I am a big proponent on letting the teacher know what was tricky or letting him/her know that your child needs a bit of reinforcement on a specific concept the next day.  Also, don’t be afraid to talk about the amount of work coming home. If it is taking an inordinate amount of time, there should be no reason that your child cannot be assigned odd-numbered problems or half of the page so long as all concepts are being covered (Often homework assignments have many repeated problems and doing some of them can cover the concept).
6. Be flexible.  If one way of explaining does not do the trick, try another.  Some children need a visual explanation, others need to have their hands on blocks or unifix cubes, still others need to hear the information.  No one way is right, because every child is unique!
7. Try to be ok with allowing another person to do the explaining. This has happened to me!  While I was in the middle of working through a concept with one of my own children, an older sibling wandered in and explained it so simply I nearly cried. My child looked to the older sibling, had him repeat himself, and show her on the page and she got it.  It is ok if to look to others when your words and thoughts aren’t working.

Tips:

*Have a 100 chart nearby. The visual placement of numbers is useful.

*Keep manipulatives such as unifix cubes or place value blocks nearby.

*Store graph paper, blank paper, lined paper, pencils and a straight edge.  Get the graph paper with the larger sized blocks for younger children. There is graph paper that has larger squares on one side and slightly smaller squares on the other side.

*Most importantly, don’t be afraid to conference with friends who have children of similar age, peers who have slightly older children and have already gone through similar concepts with their children or the teacher.

*Remember, no one way of explaining always works.  When one way is not computing for your child, be flexible and try another.

****Don’t be afraid to use the computer to look up a strategy or method.  I have been doing this for years and do it all the time. *****

Math can be hard, but don’t panic.

Not everything comes easy to us.  This is true for all people.  Being an educator for over twenty years, I have worked with many students who have struggled to conceptualize mathematics.  Each individual brings a different story.  While some truly do have issues that need to be addressed, often children enter school without having had much exposure to numbers; or developmentally they need more time and just aren’t ready.  In these cases, what they need is a patient parent, caregiver or educator to assist them as they learn at their own pace. Keep in mind, we don’t all potty train at the same time. We don’t all walk at the same time. And similarly, we may not be ready to learn math concepts at the exact same time. So, what can we do to help the late bloomers navigate through math successfully?

Your speed doesn’t matter. Forward is forward. Slow and steady wins the race.

Late bloomers can finish the math race too.

As a teacher, there is a curriculum to follow.  As a parent, there are concepts to be reinforced at home to help children “make the grade”.  When a child is not grasping math, it can be frustrating for both the child and the adult.  As an educator, I often find myself calming parents down.  Panic is the first feeling to emerge in these situations.  But rather than panic, what can we do?

Check the foundation.

Rather than trying to play catch up and rushing through the lessons or concepts missed, it is much more productive to back-up and look at the foundation.

*How is number fluency?  Just as there is fluency in reading, you can bet there is fluency in math too.  How well can your child count?

Can they count forwards? Backwards? Can they count by 1’s, 2’s, 5’s, 10’s?

Learning math can and should be fun.  Number fluency has such potential to be exciting for children.  Use several 100 charts, highlight the numbers you are working on and allow the child to count while singing or playing catch.  Think of this fluency work similar to how children sing chants while jumping rope.  It is meant to be repetitive so the child can eventually memorize the numbers. Don’t be afraid to allow the child to look at the highlighted numbers as they practice. Eventually, they won’t need that chart.

For slightly older children the concepts advance, but the method stays the same.  Does your child know their addition facts?  Subtraction facts?  Multiplication facts?  Division facts?  These can be fun too. There are many tricks to be utilized, games to be played to assist in learning these.  Knowing these facts fluently will assist them with math for all of their years in school.  These facts don’t go away but are integrated into much more complex mathematical concepts.

This fluency and ease with the movement of numbers will build a foundation for your child to learn more complex mathematical ideas.

*Is your child comfortable with the hundreds chart? Can they maneuver to the right? The numbers get bigger by one.  Can they maneuver to the left?  The numbers get smaller by one.  How about up?  They get smaller by 10.   Down?  They get bigger by 10.

Understanding movement of numbers and adding and subtracting of bigger numbers with the number chart is foundational.  If the number gets smaller by one, the digit in the ones place gets smaller. If the number gets bigger by 10, the tens digit gets bigger by one.  Similar to puzzles, understanding how the relationships with numbers on the hundreds chart allows children more ease when manipulating numbers.

*How is their number comprehension?  Yes, just like reading, there is comprehension with numbers too.  Do they understand just what 5 looks like?  Not just how to write the number 5, but how many is 5?  Can they comprehend that 95 is bigger than 93?  Is there an ability to visualize number amounts?  Do they understand how many pennies are in one quarter? What does half of something look like?

This image and ability to visualize the number is important.

Acquiring these foundational skills does not happen overnight.  But it certainly doesn’t happen any faster if everyone involved feels panicked and frustrated.  What has to happen to move forward?  I have found that, ultimately, we have to move backwards a bit to finally be able to move forward.  Without the foundation set and secure, adding more new unknown concepts will only compound the challenges with math.  Instead, take a breath and remember the tortoise and the hare.  Now be the tortoise.  Slowly assist your child in building the important foundation that will benefit them in their mathematical life to come.