Making Math More Fun For Kids

As a practising math teacher I am faced daily with students who find the subject difficult, don't want to engage with it and subsequently act out. My job, as I see it, is to make math accessible to these young people, and the only way to do that is by making the subject fun.

They need to want to do it. I have tried many ways over the years, but by far the most motivating for students is something with an element of competition. But, this has to be the right kind of competition or the geeks win every time.

It must be possible for the weaker students to have some experience of success if they are to progress in the subject, other wise they simply see themselves as failures and opt out.
I like to tailor games to individual groups of students.
In any good math game resource pack there will be a wide variety of games for students at all levels. It is important that games are neither too difficult nor too easy otherwise students will become de-motivated.

Therefore the teacher needs a comprehensive resource pack.

For home-schooling parents in particular games can raise motivation and achievement in mathematics.

As well as printed out games there are some great websites available.
My favorite is which pitches students at all levels against others from all over the world in a competitive environment.
My son goes on there for fun, not realising he's actually doing homework.
That, for me, is the highest possible praise. In a classroom situation it may not be possible to have all students using websites, so a 'download and print' pack of game resources is a must have for the math teacher. It makes tailoring games to the target audience so much easier. I would never be without my pack on my memory stick.

If no printer is available it is useful to have resources that can also be projected onto the classroom whiteboard and still make sense to students.
Making math fun is not easy, but with the right resources it is possible to motivate even the most difficult students.

So, whether you're a home schooling parent or a teacher in a math classroom, it's good to be prepared with a pack of fun, colorful and ability-appropriate games and activities to keep students motivated, on task and learning without realising it.