Encouraging Mathematical Thinking

Parents, do you want to encourage your young people to think mathematically? Here are some ways to accomplish that.

Preschoolers

Nurturing Mathematically Talented Preschoolers—While it can be difficult to find programs for three- to five-year-old mathematically precocious children, there are things that you can do at home to encourage and feed their talents. Click on the link above and find suggestions that include

• Specific building materials, including LEGOs, Tinker Toys, Lincoln Logs, K’nex, Magna-Tiles, tangrams, and blocks of all shapes and sizes. Ideas are also provided for using these building sets.
• Ways to use mathematical logic in everyday conversations
• Ideas for working with fractions

There is no need for formal lessons. All of the suggestions provided are applied through play activities.

Elementary School Students

10 Practically Fun Math Games and Activities for Your Preteen—While the title of this article suggests that young people be close in age to teenagers, many of these activities are appropriate for much younger children. Author JC Ryan lists eight indoor activities and two outdoor activities that parents may not automatically think of as building math skills.

Kindergarten through High School

Have You Seen These 8 High Quality, Free Maths Websites?—Activities here cater to an enormous range of abilities and offer math related subjects from basic counting through calculus, current economic theory, and puzzles.