We strive to teach our kids all the important things in life. It is part of being a kid. They have to know how to socialize with peers. They have to know how to write and read. Add, subtract, divide, multiply, etc. It is all life skills that they will need throughout their entire life. The problem is, we become so involved with teaching them to be all that they can be, we fail to tell them why it is important. We forget to teach why it matters. How it applies to them. This is why primary school math enrichment is focused on learning fun.
Rediscover Learning As It Should Be
Learning does not always have to be hard. Think back to when your infant first began taking their first steps into toddlerhood. They were learning and you were joyful at every step. When they said their first words, it was fun. They wanted to learn more and you wanted them to learn more. The same thing with counting or singing songs. You would encourage practice through play and then raved about how smart they were for getting it right.
When did that change? Often it happens when they start school. School today is focused on the push. It is centered around getting past this so that they can learn more tomorrow.
Why the Push for More?
In school, kids have to learn as much as they can. Each year there are new techniques and ideas for them to focus on. Addition is no longer just this number plus that number. It is different techniques to find out that answer. The same is true for every other math skill. We want them to have a full concept of how to make the numbers work.
This makes it so that students and teachers have to hurry from one idea to the next. It is a push that leads to the idea of smarter kids, but what is the cost. Stress. Stress for the child because they lose the idea of loving to learn more.
Rediscover Learning Fun
When in school it is learning this and learning that. There is no time for fun and games. In the first year of school, kids must learn to write, read, add, subtract, and more. It works, but it is crazy. Primary school math enrichment is focused on making learning fun again. This takes the stress away and encourages kids to learn without realizing they have to stress over it. As a bonus, the fun they have today while learning will flow into other areas of study and last an entire life.
