Skip to main content

HOW TO TEACH MATHS TO YOUR CHILDREN: MY EXPERIENCE



I was no wizard, still scared of Mathematics as I was before in my schooldays. Maths included arithmetic, algebra, and geometry. I was good in algebra and geometry, but arithmetic failed me at every step. Multiplication, division, addition, and subtraction scared me then and continue to do the same even today. Careless mistakes were a rule the more I tried the more disastrous were the results. This vicious cycle ended only when I opted for biology in class twelve.

Math is an integral part of life, this realisation helped me lay stronger foundations for my children. My progeny inheriting my math gene was a scary thought. I slipped everywhere in life in all the calculations, but I never wished this for my children so, I decided to give them a head start. A mathematical mind which I craved even for myself.

The early remembrances of mathematical marvels were my maternal grandmother and her sister who could do oral calculations of the grocery bought by their staff and the transactional differences which never went unnoticed.

The process began with my elder son doing counting exercises, mental math, oral math, what comes before/after, tables, dodging. I would initially tell him counting by sticks as 1111 is 5 and 1111 1111 1111 is 15. When we worked on these exercises, I tried to shut away all the distractions even though it was impossible all the time. As his classes changed so did our method. We even started paperwork and five sums everyday was our target. If there was a mistake two or three sums would be added for that session. If there were still more mistakes gauging the mood I would continue or end the session.

When addition was perfected, we would move on to subtraction then to multiplication and then to division. Five problems of each continued every day.

Tables and dodging were an everyday feature. While he dressed up for school our session on dodging tables continued, the rule of five was never broken. Meanwhile, my second son too had joined the same schedule but both boys were different.

With my younger son I had to be always on the move. When I was not moving, he was running in the room, and we were allowing carelessness. As time passed with him too carelessness began to disappear, and he started taking pride in scoring the highest marks in class.

Sometimes we even had a contest with my husband and my sons as opponents trying to beat each other sometimes my younger one would join any one of them sometimes he would be a cheerleader at other he would sit by the fence and be the scorekeeper. He too adapted to our methods easily and quickly.

As they scaled the ladders of class, they carved their own milestones, while we continued as their biggest cheerleaders.


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Flipping Pages, Flipping Fates, My Tippan Moment

  My call was gladly received by my sister, who was in the midst of a monotonous job of setting a question paper for her students. She needed a distraction, and I willingly obliged. These days, we enjoy our telephone conversations more than usual. The reason is that we dwell upon the stories from the past that have been handed down to us from our previous generations. They are not stories of valor passed down the generations in musical forms to infuse courage. They seem like tall stories stretched by imagination, not only to us but also to innocent bystanders. These have become so believable to us by being repeated many times during our family reunions. The stomach-churning laughter they induce keeps those anecdotes so lively until today. Tippan Chacha (uncle) was a guest who came from far away to take a departmental examination for promotion in the city where my grandparents lived. Our grandparents were glad to have him visit them. As for one of their broods, my mother, younger th...

WHATSAPP FORWARDS

"You will not read any of my WhatsApp messages and so it is useless to send you anything.” My mother said to me. I acknowledged her by my silence mentally reciting," I read all that you sent to me". So, here I am busy reading all about Indian spices and medicinal herbs used as daily household ingredients, thereby indulging in more studies on naturopathy as compared to any other ‘pathy’ which has side effects. I speed dialled my mother when my patient refused to undergo the procedure of scaling to clean her teeth in favour of 'alum', or "phitkari," a desi nuskha. No wonder patients shirk away from scaling. I ruminate. "I just called you up to confirm if you WhatsApped something to my patient "I vented. Ever since, I have been scrolling through all her erstwhile messages to know more about natural healthier medicaments, their benefits and roles in dentistry and health. Oh! WhatsApp was not there when I was a student. No wonder, my gold ...

World Book Day

Usha Vance became the Second Lady of the United States, following JD Vance, her husband ’s election as Vice President. An accomplished attorney and the first Asian-American holding the position. Last week, she occupied the center stage in India. A lot was talked about the book Iliad, which  she carried during the campaign for her husband. What interested me was neither of them, but her title. It reminded me of something I had read years ago. Irving Wallace’s THE SECOND LADY. In our younger days, we frequented libraries and often the shops at Janpath in Delhi to buy reasonably priced paperbacks or second-hand books. My sister and I visited our chachi to borrow her library books. She would recommend them, much like Goodreads . Those were not the times of the internet, and recommendations always came from word of mouth. I remember her narration of the political thriller. “ The first lady of the United States is abducted during a state visit to Moscow and replaced by a Russian actr...