• When a child says this, it’s usually connected to the speed with which a child feels they can’t ‘do math’ – “I’m not fast at math, ergo I’m not good at math.”
• Emphasizing growth mindset and specific talk around building your child’s brain math muscles is important for ensuring your child believes in their ability to grow as a math learner.
  • This may mean looking critically at your own feelings around math, positive or negative, and internalizing your own attitudes toward math. 

• “Your brain is doing new math thinking. Remind yourself to try your hardest and to give yourself a chance to learn. Faster doesn’t mean better when it comes to math.”
• “Learning new things is hard and can feel tricky. Luckily you’re great at hard things and practicing will help your brain get more comfortable.”

“I don’t like math!”

• Expand your child’s understanding of math by showing them that math is truly everywhere in life.
  • If your child does not feel confident in one area of math (e.g., arithmetic → analyzing a grocery list), you may find another area that feels more natural for them (e.g., geometry → analyzing how items in a store are laid out). Help your child see the connection between math and the real world.
• Point out math in everyday tasks:
  • Telling time
  • Using calendars
  • Measuring when you buy new clothes or shoes
  • Money
  • Cooking
  • Reading a map
  • Tinkering and making crafts

• “When we follow a recipe, we use fractions and measuring to add our ingredients. That’s math!”
• “Grandma wants us to be at her house at 5:00pm. It takes 30 minutes to drive there, so let’s figure out when we should leave.”
• “If one bag of apples is $3.00, I can figure out how much two bags of apples will cost.”
• “Look at those windows. I see nine small rectangles in each window. Those smaller rectangles make one bigger rectangle.”

• When a child says this, it usually means a child is not feeling successful when they ‘do math’. Below are some strategies you could use when your child is feeling frustrated:
  • Break math down into steps and make it visual.
  • Encourage your child to start by stating what they know, and then what they are trying to figure out.
  • Ask your child to draw a picture or diagram to show their thinking is helpful, especially for children who are not yet developmentally ready to hold multiple numbers in their heads.
  • Provide manipulatives to help your child physically or representationally solve the problem. Manipulatives are ‘things’ that help children count and visualize the problem they are trying to solve. Fingers are used as our earliest manipulatives. Encourage using fingers! Manipulatives do not have to be math specific; a set of coins, a handful of beans, bits of paper, or even chocolate chips!
  • Provide context around mathematical problems can be helpful; avoid asking your child to solve problems using nominal numbers point-blank.

• Instead of asking “Six plus what equals ten?” try asking: “If you have six cookies and Ari gives you more cookies so now you have ten cookies, how many cookies did Ari give you?”
• “Can you draw out this problem for me? I’m going to divide these strawberries on plates between you and your 2 sisters. Can you show me how many each of you should get if you have 12 strawberries in total?”