Let children help with projects at home such as cooking, and let them do the math that's involved in measuring and in calculations necessary to divide the recipe in half or multiply it by two.
Even very young children can begin to see how numbers affect their lives. Help them to count things, such as the dogs in the park and items at the grocery store. Help them sort their clothing and put dishes away to learn to group similar items.
Help girls learn to analyze and work through problems until they get an answer. Boys tend to be more analytical, but girls often want quick answers. Parents should encourage children of both sexes to incorporate math into their everyday lives.
Help children who are building with blocks to understand that they are using math when they count, measure and figure how to make something balance.
As young children get older, use car trips to teach math. After children count the number of horses in a field, ask them what is the total number of legs among the animals. Point out the different shapes of signs or other objects and ask them how a square is different from a rectangle and how is it the same. As you read with them, make them aware of how math and numbers are used in everyday situations.
Math is like learning a language; children naturally learn the language people speak around them, and math can be learned as naturally if it is incorporated into normal learning situations when children are small.
— Mary Ellen Kettle, Jim Barta