UM Surabaya Lecturers Share Fun and Fun Tips for Learning Mathematics for Children

• 19 May
• 2022

Ilustrasi gambar (Indiatoday)

UM Surabaya Lecturers Share Fun and Fun Tips for Learning Mathematics for Children

• Article
• By Uswah Sahal
• Education
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The notion that mathematics is a difficult subject to understand is no longer a secret. Especially when introducing math in the wrong way, it will make children even more afraid and lazy to learn math.

Mistakes in introducing mathematics to children are common both in families and in formal schools. This certainly needs to be addressed so that children do not feel that mathematics is a frightening specter and very difficult for children to learn, especially children at an early age.

Junaidi Fery Efendi Lecturer in Mathematics Education at the University of Muhammadiyah Surabaya (UM Surabaya) shared several tips to make learning mathematics fun for children.

According to him, one way to introduce mathematics to children is through the family. In a good way, children will like mathematics more when it is taught in the right way.

"First, invite the children to play counting toys at home. Introducing the concept of algebra to children can be started by making use of objects around us," explained Junaidi Thursday (19/5/22)

He gave an example by inviting the children to count the toy cars without differentiating their color, then inviting the children to group the toy cars by color and inviting them to count the number of cars for each group of colors that had been separated. In this way indirectly introduce algebraic concepts from an early age.

"Another way is to provide types of geometric toys for children. This method is very good for introducing geometric shapes to children from an early age. For example, introducing quadrilaterals to children by comparing them to the blackboard at home, or other geometric shapes that are at home," he added.

According to him, by comparing geometric shapes with objects at home, it has indirectly taught children to observe that one object has the same shape as another.

Finally, invite children to measure objects around them, introduce children to simple measurements from an early age, indirectly children will have direct experience in measuring. For young children, you can use non-standard measuring instruments, such as using the span of a child's hand to measure one book against another. Or you can measure other objects with the span of a child's hand.

Teaching children in simple terms will build children's understanding of the concept of the importance of measuring one object to another.

"At least in this way, children will indirectly learn 3 basic points in mathematics, namely algebra, geometry and measurement. This method allows children to get to know mathematics very close to everyday life and parents can apply these tips and make it a game," he said.