Creating Strong Kids in Math is related to STEM
Are your kids interested in STEM? That’s great if they are. Is your child strong in math? Remember that many STEM careers require for the child to be good in math, so if your child seems to have an interest in STEM make sure he also has a strong math foundation. Getting a degree in many STEM fields will require the child to take even Calculus, so you want to properly prepare your child. Find out the highest level of math your child will need to take for a certain STEM job.
Slow Down and Fill in Math Holes
Are you expecting your child to be able to do square roots but he hasn’t memorized the first dozen perfect squares? Given a percent, fraction, or decimal, can your child give you the other two? If there is a negative sign in front of parentheses, can your child correctly use the distributive property? Is your child VERY comfortable with the order of operations?
Whether you homeschool or not, if your child has holes such as these in his math foundation, go back and fill in the holes. Don’t be in a rush to get to the next topic if very important foundational topics have not been mastered. Remember, you want to build a house on a GOOD FOUNDATION not a foundation with holes in it. I have written about 20 Possible Holes in Your Child’s Math Education. Below is one of the holes.
Was this helpful for you? It is much better to slow down and go back and reteach some things then to plow through if your child has major holes that need to be filled. Stay tuned for the book 20 Possible Holes in Your Child’s Math education and Worksheets for practicing!
Do you have a child interested in STEM? Check out Anna, Kid Engineer and Andre, Kid Aviator, books in a fictional STEM series. Inspire your kids to be little inventors and to use STEM to help others.
