Since the longest time I have been challenged with Maths. The whole idea of doing Maths gives me the creeps I must say until I had to do the Maths module for my degree and I managed to pass it. Not just pass it but pass it well.
I am a Tutor and one subject I steer away from is MATHS because in my mind I still "suck" at it. If you ask my daughters if I can do Maths , they will tell you that I am not good at Maths.
Since the beginning of the year I decided to embark on the journey of doing Maths and understanding the new curriculum for Grade 4-7 because eventually I will need to teach Maths whether I liked it or not. I find myself challenged most of the time because I had to sit with my daughter who is grade 4 and help her with Maths and the things I have learned with her is that she knows the answers she just need someone to give her time and sit with her one on one. And so we both enjoy doing Maths together and I also use it as a time where we bond (yes, we bond over doing Maths). If you are anything like me, time is something I do not have a lot of and I believe in making every second count and also to make it meaningful.
About 6 weeks ago I started my teaching practice and what I love about this process is is that I can again for 5 weeks sit in school desks and just listen to teachers and learn in the process. So in the process of my Maths understanding journey I continued to be very attentive in the Grade 7 Maths class, I made notes, did the exercises and all of this to assist my daughter who is in Grade 7 with her Maths as I knew she struggled a bit.
When I initially shared with her about the notes I made and how she must use it to help her, she wanted nothing to do with it and I just let her. About a week ago she brought home not so good Maths mark and once again I reminded her of my notes. She then had last attempt to prepare for her Maths test to improve her marks and I found myself standing in front of my MATHS mountain, looking at it and asking "WHY CAN YOU NOT JUST LET ME BE?".
I fear Maths however since I decided to not let it get the better of me so that I am more equipped to help my daughters I missioned on to help her and so we spend whole weekend figuring out prime numbers and prime factors, exponents, expanded form and the list is endless. So why am I sharing this?
Well it's the lesson I want to share with you. Though I am challenged by the whole idea of doing Maths and understanding its complexities, I am forever grateful for the moments I get to spend with my girls one on one. I have three daughters and they are all three very different and different ages, having alone time individually with them is so enlightening for me and I appreciate those moments so much. We learn to work together to solve a Maths problem and here I get a chance to be Mommy-Teacher. The best part of assisting my daughter this weekend was when I saw the understanding take place and the light bulb goes off. That was the best part for me. Another highlight was when I saw an hour has passed and she was busy with a revision test I told her to take a break and he said "No, Mom I want to finish this and then I will take a break." That showed me that what I have shared with her about "being focused" has sunk in.
I guess for the most part it's the "TIME" I was willing to sacrifice to spend with them that enabled them to better understand the Maths. We often forget the value of spending time with our children because our lives are so fast paced.
For me I am able to let my world collide with theirs and spend time building on our relationship as Mother and daughter. What I also learned is , that it doesn't matter what we are doing together as long as we are doing it together and we are giving of our time to one another, that means so much more than anything and it doesn't cost money.
I am a Tutor and one subject I steer away from is MATHS because in my mind I still "suck" at it. If you ask my daughters if I can do Maths , they will tell you that I am not good at Maths.
Since the beginning of the year I decided to embark on the journey of doing Maths and understanding the new curriculum for Grade 4-7 because eventually I will need to teach Maths whether I liked it or not. I find myself challenged most of the time because I had to sit with my daughter who is grade 4 and help her with Maths and the things I have learned with her is that she knows the answers she just need someone to give her time and sit with her one on one. And so we both enjoy doing Maths together and I also use it as a time where we bond (yes, we bond over doing Maths). If you are anything like me, time is something I do not have a lot of and I believe in making every second count and also to make it meaningful.
About 6 weeks ago I started my teaching practice and what I love about this process is is that I can again for 5 weeks sit in school desks and just listen to teachers and learn in the process. So in the process of my Maths understanding journey I continued to be very attentive in the Grade 7 Maths class, I made notes, did the exercises and all of this to assist my daughter who is in Grade 7 with her Maths as I knew she struggled a bit.
When I initially shared with her about the notes I made and how she must use it to help her, she wanted nothing to do with it and I just let her. About a week ago she brought home not so good Maths mark and once again I reminded her of my notes. She then had last attempt to prepare for her Maths test to improve her marks and I found myself standing in front of my MATHS mountain, looking at it and asking "WHY CAN YOU NOT JUST LET ME BE?".
I fear Maths however since I decided to not let it get the better of me so that I am more equipped to help my daughters I missioned on to help her and so we spend whole weekend figuring out prime numbers and prime factors, exponents, expanded form and the list is endless. So why am I sharing this?
Well it's the lesson I want to share with you. Though I am challenged by the whole idea of doing Maths and understanding its complexities, I am forever grateful for the moments I get to spend with my girls one on one. I have three daughters and they are all three very different and different ages, having alone time individually with them is so enlightening for me and I appreciate those moments so much. We learn to work together to solve a Maths problem and here I get a chance to be Mommy-Teacher. The best part of assisting my daughter this weekend was when I saw the understanding take place and the light bulb goes off. That was the best part for me. Another highlight was when I saw an hour has passed and she was busy with a revision test I told her to take a break and he said "No, Mom I want to finish this and then I will take a break." That showed me that what I have shared with her about "being focused" has sunk in.
I guess for the most part it's the "TIME" I was willing to sacrifice to spend with them that enabled them to better understand the Maths. We often forget the value of spending time with our children because our lives are so fast paced.
For me I am able to let my world collide with theirs and spend time building on our relationship as Mother and daughter. What I also learned is , that it doesn't matter what we are doing together as long as we are doing it together and we are giving of our time to one another, that means so much more than anything and it doesn't cost money.
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