Public Media from Michigan State University

Q: New math is difficult. Do you have any tips on helping children with math skills at home?

From Mrs. Pizzo's Workshop

A: Math is everywhere. Although new math can be difficult for many parents, reviewing foundational math skills your children have already learned is a much easier task.

Here are a few practical suggestions

 

Review old homework assignments and progress reports to determine what math skills were previously taught. Then turn your home into a Mathnasium. Shapes to geometry can be reviewed by labeling cabinets, dishes, photo frames and even garage items. Have your learner locate and label a rectangle, sphere or a cube just to name a few.

  

Measurements can be reviewed using cooking techniques.

 

Measuring out the ingredients for a cake and discussing how pizza slices represent fractions is not only effective practice but tasty also.  

 

Family pets are a great way to review algebraic skills. Basic algebra uses an equation to determine an unknown variable. Have your learner create and solve equations connected to the family pet. Here’s an example: Fluffy had four doggie treats, she hid a few and now only has one doggie treat left. 4-d=1 solve for d.  

 

Mrs. Pizzo

 

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Robin Pizzo leads the education outreach efforts of WKAR Public Media at Michigan State University, the PBS and NPR affiliate serving Michigan's capital region. Robin convenes partnerships and coordinates station initiatives such as WKAR Family and Ready to Learn to bring workshops, learning tools, and other resources into the community to help kids be resilient, lifelong learners.