HelpingyourChildgofromaBtoanAinMath

By Kim Ledger-Langen, B.A., B.Sc.(Hons), B.Ed CEO and Co-founder of Spirit of Math Schools For over twenty years Kim has been working in education both as a teacher and as the Head of Academics in public and private schools. Her passion for making very high quality programs available to students led her to develop the Spirit of Math afterschool program and write books that help to address the needs of high performing students in the classroom and at home.

Are we doing all we can to help maximize our childrens learning potential? If
your child is getting a B in math but you know they can do better, simple changes in study habits and the at-home learning environment can help them reach their personal best. This free report provided by Spirit of Math Schools Inc. covers some of the strategies for laying the foundations for productive at-home learning that will help your child go from a B to an A (or even an A+!) in math. By applying these strategies to your daily routine, your child will learn how to: 1. Make decisions quickly and easily. 2. Learn new material rapidly, accurately and with a minimum of effort. 3. Become more creative with solutions to problems. 4. Work with others and communicate their ideas effectively.

StrategiesthatWorkforYourHighPotentialStudent
If youre reading this report, you are already taking an active interest in your childrens education, which is proven to be the most important factor in their success so congratulations! As parents, you strive to do the things that will help your children be the best they can be. You know it will mean extra time and energy for you, but you dont mind because, in the long run, whats important is that your children develop to their full potential. Without a doubt, a B is a good math mark, but why not aim for that A+? The strategies in this report will help you create a supportive at-home learning environment for mathematics. Put them into action and you can help your highpotential child take their math skills to the next level.

1. Encourage your child to strive for excellence. Work with your child to
raise the standard and go beyond just finishing their homework. Make it a practice to complete all assignments prior to the due date and hand them in to the teacher to review. This teaches time management skills, allows for corrections before submitting final work, and makes sure your child
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fully understands the concept before moving on to the next level of difficulty.

2. Workwithyourchildtoincreasespeed. Whether your child is excelling

or struggling in math, improving their speed is a quick way to see grades improve. Practice is all it takes to become faster at calculation, memorizing prime numbers and perfect squares and at working through math problems, to name a few. In an exam situation, Spirit of Math Schools encourages their students to increase their speed to be able to complete the test two times during the allotted exam period. This may seem extreme, but by doing so, students catch small errors that add up to lost marks. Parents can turn this into a game at home by using a timer to track results. Your child will feel motivated and proud as they see their times improve.

3. Makemathaneverydayactivity. If your child has a solid understanding

of number facts they will have the foundation needed to solve more complex problems, be able to quickly calculate equations without a calculator, and better identify errors in number patterns. Parents can help their children with number facts by finding fun and rewarding ways to practice outside the classroom. During car trips, make a game out of knowing multiplication facts or see who can be the first to spot a license plate with digits that sum to 20. Try having a problem a day as part of a healthy breakfast. Seek out fun books and music about math. Work through drill exercises or challenging math logic questions together at home. Enrolling your kids in lively math competitions or social study groups are all great ways to make math an everyday activity.

4. Getinvolvedwithyourchildseducation. Create a daily family routine for

homework time. Make an effort to have regular communication with the school principal, teacher, and parent association, and reinforce childrens learning by finding educational leisure activities to do together. Taking an active interest in your childrens progress also allows you to take immediate action if any challenges should arise.

5. Challengeyourchildinawaythatwillmakethemunderstandthatthey are truly exceptional! Don't try to protect them from failure - kids know
that this is dishonest and insulting.

6. Lookfornonrepetitivework. High achieving kids are stimulated by more

thoughtful curriculum and quickly get bored by repetitive work. They will question why they have to continually repeat something when they
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already know it. Textbooks that contain repetitive types of questions and projects requiring a lot of busy work will only frustrate them.

7. Discussmathproblems. Group discussions will help develop ideas, and

allow kids to get through much more material than they could alone. If your child is struggling with a problem, rather than giving him the answer or even telling him how to find it, discuss what the question is asking and probe until your child comes to a conclusion. Debate possible solutions and have him defend or explain his reasoning (whether or not it is correct). These are the types of activities that get children to think creatively and become better problem solvers. Dont be afraid to work on a problem that you dont know how to solve yourself; this is a great opportunity to model perseverance and problem-solving techniques!

8. Mimicking. As parents, we subject our children to a barrage of

instructions for proper behaviour: say please and thank-you; dont hunch; eat your vegetables; use your indoor voice, etc. But be careful: if you want to change even the little habits that your children have developed, first take a good look at yourself. We may not realize it, but our children mimic our behaviour. The way you stand, the way you express yourself, the way you handle problems and the way you react to different situations will have a big influence on how your children act. Heres a test: How do you answer the phone? Listen to your children. Even their intonations will mimic you. Similarly, if you show that you enjoy a good math challenge, your child probably will too.

9. Explorehowmuchofachallengeyourchildisabletoaccept. Dont be
scared to challenge them. We all have the innate desire to be challenged. Conquering a good challenge delights us.

10. Givethemawaytomeasuretheirachievements
High performing children need some way to measure their achievements, and they appreciate competition. Writing a math competition is like running a race: students practice and prepare and on the big day, they do their best and then find out how theyve done compared to others. If they do well, they get to celebrate their achievements and feel good about the hard work theyve put in. Even if they dont do well, they can take the opportunity to learn from it and strive to do better in the next competition. A variety of math competitions are available to students in elementary and high school. Look online or call Spirit of Math to find out about appropriate competitions for your child.

The next step: Finding the right enriched math program for your high performingchild.
Incorporating the steps above into your daily routine is a great start to helping your child develop to their full potential in math, but enrolling them in the right
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math enrichment program can take them from the top of the class to the top of the nation. However, finding the right class can be tricky. Many after-school math programs focus primarily on tutoring and have added an advanced course. The problem is that their courses are often based on individual, repetitive work and do not address the real needs of high-performing children. To reach the top of the nation, students must have material that challenges their thinking in such a way that they know they must discuss the material with others in order to fully understand it. As Nima Arkani-Hamed, one of the worlds leading physicists and a former Spirit of Math student said, that the opportunity to discuss problems with others is essential to coming up with new ideas. One-on-one tutoring cannot produce the same results, as students miss out on the many benefits gained from discussing creative problem solving, presenting their solutions and working with their peers to achieve and overall goal. Use these tips to help you find the right program for your child.

1. Become knowledgeable about what educational programs are

available and how they have been developed. Ask the following questions: a. Do they have a proven record? b. Who created it and how was it created? c. Who is teaching it? What is the training required for the teachers?

2. Look at the people who will be working with your child. Do they
exemplify a person who you would want as a role model for your son or daughter?

3. Dont get caught up with the in thing as it might not be right for your
son or daughter.

4. Ask to see some of the curriculum. Does the content consist of high
quality problems, supported with a comprehensive program that teaches kids the fundamental skills?

5. Is the content combined with solid teaching techniques, where the

teacher has been specifically trained to get students to think differently? Each year we get many questions from parents who are seeking help in making the best decisions regarding their childs education. If you have any questions about your son or daughters future, then dont hesitate to ask. No one has all the answers, but discussing your childs schooling with an education expert may offer some insight. Contact us at (416) 223-1985 or info@spiritofmath.com

Copyright 2009 Spirit of Math Schools Inc.

1-866-SMS-MATH

www.spiritofmath.com