Many children are frightened of mathematics and this is very sad because mathematics can be extremely exciting and interesting. Do you like Mathematics or are you frightened by simple calculations? Can you work out simple arithmetic problems in your head? Do you foster in your child a love of mathematics and mathematical problem-solving?

Math learning is great fun at home. You don’t need specialized resources. Everything you need is in your home at this moment. You need enthusiasm and a creative mind to find math opportunities.

Math doesn’t just happen at school; in fact math is every where. Math is part of our world. Quick reasoning, problem solving skills and accuracy and speed in computation are vital skills in our technologically oriented world.

We rely on math almost every minute of every day. From awakening when our alarm goes off to resetting our clocks for next day. We constantly perform math calculations during the day. Time: 2 minutes to get to the train, 30 minutes to get this job done, an hour before the school bus arrives, birthdays, Valentines Day, Spring Break, Thanksgiving. Money: cash, credit card transactions, bank balances, meals, pocket money for the kids, bills, bills and more bills. Measurement: traveling, exercising, building, cooking, shopping.

Today’s children need to be able to problem solve, reason mathematically, use math language and apply math in almost every aspect of their lives. Our children have grown up with calculators and computers. Despite this they need to be able to know when an answer makes sense or is reasonable.

Calculators and computers are tools. They do not have thinking power- they are able to perform complicated calculations at lightning speed but they rely on the accuracy of the data input. They are only as useful as the person who puts in the numbers. The user needs to be able to determine whether the answer given is reasonable- does it make sense? To be able to determine this you must be able to estimate the approximate answer and in doing so key in the correct operation ( ,-, X, /).

You can help your child understand and love mathematics by doing fun things at home. You can turn numbers into an exciting challenge. You can play guessing games. You can estimate height, weight, temperature, and even thickness of an object. When you start to think about math being fun, you and your children will have a wonderful time together.

It’s not hard to come up with fun ideas for numbers at home. Depending on the age of the child, there are many opportunities. For example, you might like to do paper cut-out graphs of everyone in the family. Get some big paper and have everyone lie down on a piece of paper. Trace around each person. Then cut out the figure and paste it in the family room on the wall. Check every month to see how much people have grown (or shrunk!).

Interesting math travel activities keep the kids occupied when traveling long distances. Try adding the numbers in 10 car and truck license plates and compare which is greater/smaller. Tally the number of red cars that pass your car, continue to subtract distance traveled from total length of journey, and record the cost of gas and food and total at end of trip, estimate the time it will take to complete a trip, even record temperatures every 20 miles. Real life activities such as these help kids to see how math skills are used constantly and this helps them understand the reasons for learning math.

Encourage your children to talk about how they solve math problems. Help them to think about their math thinking. This is called metacognition – thinking about thinking. Think what processes and strategies they used to reason out a solution. Even very young children can do this. Build a positive attitude to math by incorporating math tasks and thinking into everyday activities. You’ll be pleasantly surprised at how quickly your child will develop a love for math.

The suggestions that follow may seem trivial but they work. It addresses the core reason why some schools do better than others even with all other factors being equal. It is easy when planning a new fundraiser to focus on the wrong things. Here are five of the right things to focus on.

Below you will find four things that a school or group can do that will greatly affect how much money is raised with their new fundraiser:

Step #1 – Profit Percentage Does Not Equal Profits.

A company offering 80% profit on it’s goods vs a company offering a 20% profit margin is not necessarily better for a school. One thing people often overlook is that banks do not accept deposits of percentage. Every bank I know of accepts only money. Profit percentage is the thing that many decision makers look at first when it comes time to pick what they are going to do for their new fundraiser. What I am saying here does not mean profit percentage is not important, but it should not be the school’s first and only priority when choosing their next new and unique fundraiser. It should be the school’s number one goal to raise the maximum profit possible with the least amount of hassles!

Step #2 – The Product You Sell Does Make a Difference, however, Not As Much As You Might Think! Picking the right product for your new fundraiser does make a difference, but, it does not have the importance that most think it does in having a successful fundraiser. You have probably seen this in your own town, how two schools decide to sell cookie dough and they both sell them at the same time and the same price. But the difference in their results were miles apart! Because of this, you could come to the conclusion that it is not the product which made the difference. So what is it that makes the biggest difference in fundraising results? Hint, see Step #4!

Step #3 – Time Your Fundraiser as Early In the School Year as Possible

When you start your fundraiser is a very important reason for it’s success. It is a fact that is indisputable, the first school to start it’s fundraiser wins. The first sales brochure that goes into the office or neighborhood has higher sales than the ones that come later. However, timing is not the #1 reason why schools have successful fundraisers. Hint, see the next step!

Step #4- How the fundraiser is Run is the Number One Factor in it’s Success.

Program Management is the element that makes all the difference in having a successful fundraiser. You as a fundraising chairperson may know that “How” the school fundraiser is run is critical to it’s success, but the main problem is not many fundraising companies train the sponsors in how to run their sale the right way. On top of that, it is very simple to do.

Follow These Simple Guidelines of Program Management to Get The Most Out of Your Sale.

A) Setting Goals for the School

B) Have A Memorable Kick Off

C) Maintain The Enthusiasm through the Entire Sale

D) Finding Helpful Volunteers

E) Motivate the Students/Sellers Like There Is No Tomorrow

F) Motivate the Teachers and Staff members to Promote and Participate in the Sale.

To get the best results on a new fundraiser the students/sellers must be properly motivated. You can provide motivation not only to the students but also to the teachers and the staff.

The main reason why one school will make $8,000 while another similar school will make $15,000, is in what they did with their prizes for students and for the teachers!

We at AIM have a saying “Students could sell $5 bills for $10.00 and do real well if you motivate them good enough.” The most important part of your fundraiser will be to provide incentives that truly motivate your students and teachers to participate in your sale like they have never done before! A school that typically has a 25% participation rate will more than double with only a 15% increase in participation. Increasing participation by 15% is not a hard thing to do.

Homeschooling is becoming an increasingly popular option with many American families. Not only are you in full charge of the homeschool curriculum, you can even adjust it according to the needs of your child and completely forget about the trauma of attending a public school. Teaching your children at home can be accomplished several ways. There are three options: 1) Purchase a program from one of the homeschool curriculum providers, or buy used homeschool curriculum 2) Read to your child from great books, and explore the world together paying attention to what interests your child or 3) Design your own homeschool curriculum for free using the internet and the library. Teach your kids to get more organized. Award the kids for doing a good job.

However, are you aware of the major mental and social damage you can cause if you don’t make the right choices? Children need friends, usually, they meet their friends in school so take a child out of school and where will they meet potential play partners? Many children who are homeschooled are often the brunt of jokes about their parents being strange or are taunted because they may have a disorder that prevents them from attending school. Your child might be made fun of or picked on because he isn’t considered normal. You ought to take these problems seriously and solve them if your child attends college just like any other child.

When you decide to homeschool the child, also take care of his companionship needs and this as important as his academic needs. For the child to have a positive social sphere later, here are some tips that would help you to put him on the right path. The best place to start is your own environment and neighborhood? How many children of the same age as your child live around your home? Do you know their parents? If not, try to get going now. Seek out parents nearby and let them know you have a child that you’d like to set up a play date. Because you have started the process, it is also up to you to take the initiative of organizing a kid party and calling a clown perhaps. Invite all the local kids over, their parents and organize a ballgame, fishing, bowling, or any other activity that children enjoy – even offer to baby-sit.

It is critical to organize sporting activities as, other than school, these are best chances which children get to make true friends. They spend a lot of time at practice and root for each other in games and you’ll be meeting other parents while watching all the games. If your child has physical problems or would embarrass himself on a playing field, get them involved in activities like Boy/Girl Scouts or any other local organization for children.

Some parents make the mistake of believing that homeschooling their children means they can keep them safe from the outside world but this too is an unhealthy attitude. While it is good to protect your kid from the so-called evils of modern society, remember the child also needs exposure to things which other kids are exposed to. Already your kid is getting branded as a ‘funny’ kid and having problems to cope with it, can you imagine where it would land him in the social circle if he was clueless about TV shows, the latest bands or even the current kid fashion trends? If they don’t learn about life outside their home and make other friends they will have a difficult time integrating into the world you so much want them to succeed in.