Creating Enthusiasm

For Math Practice

Math worksheets can be fun.

• Start the sheets below the child's level. That way he can have an early taste of success.

• Help the student track his progress. For example, if you are working on 2's addition, then create a table or graph designed to track, by day, how many seconds it takes to do a sheet. As he fills it out day by day and watches his times decrease, this gives a sense of accomplishment.

• If he is competitive, have him compete against himself. That way he feels good even if he is not progressing as fast as a sibling or peer.

• Don't give too many problems at once, or make the sheets progress too rapidly to harder problems. A teary-eyed child means you need to back off to an easier level. The elementary years allow plenty of time to learn the math facts.

• Present the sheets in a positive light. Occasionally point out that learning the math facts is very important, and that you are proud of the progress he is making. Never commiserate, as it encourages a bad attitude.

• A little humor can help. For example, we made our own flashcards using 3x5 index cards. When I made the cards for plus and minus 5's I threw in a few odd cards like "1,000,000 + 5 =", "1 - 5 =" and "5+7=12" (answer is filled in). My son got a kick out of saying the answers to those. The Math Foundations 2.0 software allows you to generate a few oddball problems per sheet if you wish. See the help screen on Tips and Tricks.

Remember -- the goal is not simply mastery of the math facts, but mastery with a good attitude.