What is one of the most common traits of successful people? According to a 2007 study in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, it’s the ability to persist at challenging tasks. And it makes sense. Those who don’t allow obstacles to get in their way have a better chance of accomplishing what they set out to do. But being persistent is not always easy. Here are 7 tips to help develop persistence in our kids: 1. Break the task…
Okay, that was fun! I handed my group of kindergartners and first graders tape measures (the non-metal kind) and told them they could measure whatever they wanted. What a hit! On so many levels. First, I showed them how they could measure how far they jumped. After being stuck inside all day due to rain, this was the perfect way to get them to move around a bit and still sneak in some great math. Once I showed them how…
Part of figuring out how to help kids grow up comfortable with math, is to understand what math is. If you ask a group of first graders to describe math, the responses are very similar. Math is adding and taking away. Older elementary students will add multiplying and dividing. When prodded to include more, there are often long pauses followed by kids giving the same answer but in a different way. Rarely does anyone describe math as shapes or patterns…
Kids who have strong number sense understand what numbers are, how they relate to each other, and the affects that different operations have on them. These kids can easily compose and decompose numbers and are able to make reasonable estimates making computation much easier. In other words, kids with strong number sense are comfortable with numbers. And when kids are comfortable with numbers, math becomes much easier. The good news is, helping our children develop a strong sense of numbers…
As parents we want our kids to grow up to be independent, healthy, happy, and financially secure adults. Getting them there takes a lot of hard work. But knowing what your goals are can help. For example, is it one of your goals that your kids be responsible for making sure they remember to leave the house prepared? If it is, then bailing them out every time they forget is not going to get them there. If you rescue your…