Math always seems to give kids (and adults) trouble. But the best place for a kid to learn good math skills is right there with their parent. It may seem like a daunting challenge to get kids interested in math but if you make it fun for them they will see it less as a struggle and more as a game to master.
There are many self help books for parents to teach math at home but why go out and purchase something when it’s easy to help your child out yourself.
Before you start to think about how tough math was in primary school, remember that it was a lot easier with help from someone who knew how to solve all those problems. Without further ado, here is an assortment of ways to help your child learn the basics of math. It can actually be a great way to spend time with your children.
One of the best ways for me to learn was when someone made math practical. The ‘x’ and ‘y’ problems always seemed to be the toughest but when you adapt the lesson to something they know it becomes a lot easier. Make the lesson about money or teach them basic math when you go grocery shopping together. Add up two or more items then subtract them by another item. You just made yourself a ‘x + 2 = y’ problem. If you can show something tangible to your child it will make much more sense to them.
Remember your multiplication tables.
5 x 5 = 25.
2 x 4 = 8
All multiplying is basically repeated addition. If you learn how it works together then it will be no problem for them to work out the basics of any multiplication. Make some number cards and have them move the addition and equals sign around with the numbers until they get the correct answer. Make a game out of it.
If you want to work with something tangible give them candies to count and divide by. They remainder they can eat. If you show them that 8 divided by 3 gives them a remainder of 2 then they get to eat those remaining candies.
Something we do at Brilliance is making songs out of lessons. Work with all the students’ senses so that they can develop ways to look at problems and find new solutions. Singing helps them stay focused and drive home the point of things like multiplication tables.
Work with their memory by doing games that focus on concentration. Memory practice helps with recall and visualization. Athletes train their muscles to react to specific situations that result in quicker movement or explosive performance. You kids mind is a muscle and just like your bicep it can be trained to work quicker and remember more.
Work with them so it becomes a game to see who can solve a problem faster. Make it a game to them. Children love to play games and even the most stubborn of students will take to a game quicker than staring at a board with numbers on it.
Always be focused when you work with your kids and make sure that even if you can’t answer a question, the problem can be worked out with a few easy steps. You don’t know everything about math and neither does your child but if you work together you can show them the way to solve any problem.
The work you put in together will allow you to spend more time with them and increase their already expanding brain power. Just remember to not let them show you up!

How important is it for children to have messy and fun art time? Very important! You may think that children need structure and rules, they do need these things, and they also need time to express themselves artistically and creatively.

How do children learn to draw? They learn by doing, the best way for children to learn to draw is by practicing. Give a child a pencil and some paper and they will start to put together shapes to express themselves.

But there seems to be a lack of people teaching art to children. If you do a quick Google search you find a lot of websites but many of them are devoid of content. Shabby websites from 1995 are all over the web preaching about how they can help your children learn art from various sources.
What’s the answer? Practice. Let your kid learn how to draw themselves. If they show a lot of talent then it would help to get an art teacher to assist them. When I was in high school I had an art class where the teacher left me alone to my paintings, time from time she would come by and help with questions I had, but she left me to my own devices. What was the end result of me being left alone to practice my own art? I won best in show of an art show.

I’m not saying every child will immediately take to art but give them the chance and you never know where it may lead.

The question of when children should attend a half day preschool or full day preschool has dominated parents’ conversation from an early age. Many times it is the school board that has the final say on when they think children should begin to come to preschool. There are many private options for day care and school.

Parents may be leaning toward full time day care due to the way families are structured today. Increasingly parents are working more and a lot of the time both parents work. 73% of families now have both parents working a full time job. So they are left with few options for child care but one of the most logical seems to be going with a full time day care.
Even if there is a full time parent in the household they may not have the time to take care of the children, run errands and handle the day to day activities. Many families have multiple children so that makes juggling not one but two or three kids a very difficult task.

One excellent benefit to a full time day care is that children start in a day care and can progress in that environment when the day care has extended schooling such as K-6th grade. Many parents are opting for a program where they feel safe and know that their kids are being looked after by competent people. Many people remember the latch key kid days, but those families are few and far between, it’s much easier and safer to have a child with an adult who can watch over them while at the same time providing quality education.

25% of children with working mothers in 2006 were in a day care of some type. Others stayed with a relative or sitter. A growing number of people are beginning to put their children in a day care as soon as possible to foster educational benefits. Many parents are learning that it’s never too early to plan ahead.