Alert the authorities…Math need not be boring! Math concepts will no longer be difficult to visualize!
There is no reason to put off the math lessons for your young kids. Start teaching them basic math concepts as toddlers by using what you have laying about the kitchen, dining room and car.
I am particularly fond of using sugar packets (but if you prefer sugar substitutes, the pink, yellow and blue packets work just as well) to show my daughter math. I am working on the assumption that most kids are visual learners and so to assist her in understanding the concepts of addition and subtraction I have taken to making this into a game, using the packets that are always reliably there on restaurant tables. And guess what? It has worked! She screams “Wanna do MATH!” and, at 2 and a half years old, can already solve math problems ranging from 1+1 to 5+5 and most everything in between.
Shortly after her second birthday, I started using sugar packets to teach her math. I would start by placing one packet down in front of her and asking how many she sees. Unless she was loopy or not in the mood, her reply would be “one.” Next, I would add a second packet and ask her “now how many do you have”. She would say “two” and I would then go on to reinforce what just took place (math) and further explain the lesson by using the correct verbiage back to her: “That is right kiddo! When you ADD 1 more it EQUALS 2. 1 PLUS 1 EQUALS 2. Very good!”
This method allows her to see the packets and count them first without math really coming in to play at all. My words after her answers bring math into the fold, so I am teaching math to her before she is even performing or solving the problem using math. But she is learning the concepts, terminology and function of math along the way. Clever, no?
Within a couple months she was using the terms herself, teaching her dolls what happens when you ADD 1 to 3 and seemingly having no trouble grasping basic addition.
Almost anything can be made fun, even the subject of math, if you use imagination and encouragement every step of the way. By using items sitting on the dinner table or laying around your home or car you can start teaching some complex subjects to young kids without it seeming like work or schooling at all. Your success rate is likely to be much higher when a child is having fun learning and when they do not see the lesson as a chore.