Math: The Numbers Just Keep Adding Up

Going back to school in the fall felt partly exciting and partly terrifying for various reasons when I was young.

The exciting part was having new school supplies - two sharp Laddie pencils, a shiny new box of crayons, a fresh, clean yellow pad of paper, and, of course, a nice, big, fat pink eraser. If I was lucky, I'd even have a new book bag to hold them all.

I looked forward to going to school and learning came fairly easily to me. Not to brag, but I learned to read well at an early age, had nice penmanship, and became an ace speller. I loved the subjects of geography and history, and I was pretty creative when it came to projects. This was the fun part of school.

Then there was math - the terrifying part. It started out easily enough with 1+1 = 2, then quickly accelerated to complex and difficult before I knew it. I was completely paranoid that everyone else was getting it except me. I would come home and go over and over math problems until I was bleary-eyed, but I eventually understood them. I knew I could not let myself fall behind. The numbers were just getting bigger!

Math is simply, or not so simply, one of those subjects in which you can't fall behind or you're seriously done for. Later in life, no one will care if you have sloppy penmanship or you can't name the capital of your state. You can live with those shortcomings. But math in some way, shape, or form will follow you around the rest of your life, so it's important to make sure your early learner understands math concepts and doesn't fall behind.

In ABC News this week there was a fascinating article about how kids learn math and what parts of their brains work while solving math problems. Memory-based problem solving is an important key to learning math.

Take multiplication tables. They're just one of those things you have to memorize. You'll never ever in your life count to 70 on your fingers. You just have to know and understand that 7 tens equal 70, meaning 7 x 10 = 70,  and inversely that 10 x 7 = 70, and also that 70/10 = 7, and so on. Forwards, backwards, and inside out, you just have to know it and be able to retrieve it in your brain.

Bottom line of the article is that it pays to drill your kids on simple addition, subtraction, and multiplication tables. It builds strong, stable, and efficient connections in the brain and develops skills they will use their whole lives.

Read more about math learning in the ABC News' article, Kids Brains Re-organize When Learning Math Skills.

Debbie Scholl
Owner, Fundamentally Toys

It's Not Whether you Win or Lose ...

NPR consistently presents interesting and fascinating stories. I sometimes find myself pulling off the road when I am driving so that I can listen more intently. Such was the case for me earlier this week with a feature piece called When Kids Start Playing to Win.

A story began with banter between a mom and her five-year-old son as they were playing Monopoly. Suddenly the son screamed, "Noooooo!" as his mom started buying some properties. He felt like he was losing and was not happy about it.

This exchange particularly struck me because Fundamentally Toys was putting together a Family Fun Game Weekend for August 8 - 10, 2014 and I thought, Hmm ... what could I learn here?

The story went on to discuss how by age five kids start to categorize - such as fast/slow or big/small, for example. They develop the ability to compare and start making judgments that fast is better than slow, or that small is not good. Between the ages of seven and eight kids begin comparing themselves to other kids and making decisions about where they personally think they rank on the totem pole. A kid might think, "If I'm not at the top, I must be a loser."

Unfortunately, at this tender young age, the part of the brain that helps children deal with the emotions of losing or not being on top is the last to develop. As parents we may try and shield our children by not allowing them to compete in any way. But that's a bad thing as well. Trying and failing holds valuable lessons for children, such as learning from mistakes and moving forward with confidence.

If you have young ones dealing with comparison and competitiveness, I encourage you to listen to or read more about this NPR story: When Kids Start Playing to Win.

A good way to prepare your child for the competitiveness of life is through playing games as a family. Keep the competition friendly and fun. Behind it kids are learning new skills, experiencing the joy of winning, and coping with losing as well. Try and teach your kids not to focus on winning and that comparison really is not the point of playing games, or life, for that matter.

Let the games begin!

Debbie Scholl