Math Journaling – Five Amazing Ideas for Your Child
Helpful tips on how to make math journaling both fun and enjoyable for young students
With summer now underway it can sometimes be a difficult task to keep your little one’s academic skills sharp over the long break. Of course you want them to relax and have fun before gearing up for the new school year. However, you also want to avoid the pitfall of them forgetting key information from the previous grade. Thankfully, math journaling allows your child to get creative, have fun, while at the same time helping them retain key mathematical knowledge!
In a nutshell, math journals are used to help students better understand their thought process and problem solving approach. It is also a way for them to reflect on a lesson they just learned and jot down their thoughts about it. Overall, math journaling gives students the freedom to express how they feel about certain math topics and brainstorm how they can improve. In this article, we will provide you with some great math journaling ideas to show to your child!
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Write Down Vocabulary Words
For students who are early in their mathematical journey, understanding the definitions of math terms is just as important as solving the problems themselves. If students can grasp the meaning of a concept on their own, it will be easier for them to succeed on test day.
By utilizing the math journal, have your child write down the definition of terms such as perimeter, exponent, and so on. Once they are able to explain the meaning of each term, let them put the definition into their own words so that they can remember it better!
Record Daily Reflections
Once your little one is finished with their daily math practice, writing down reflections in their math journal is always a great idea. Reflections allow your child to decompress and better break down what they just learned in their mind.
Written reflections are also a solid way for students to express their likings and dislikings of specific math concepts and chapters. If they encounter a topic that is tough or challenging, math journals are effective at enabling children to think of a new approach or strategy.
In addition, there does not have to be a minimum or maximum word limit for how much they need to write in their reflections. A few quick sentences will suffice! On the other hand, if your child wants to fill up an entire page, they are free to do so! There are no restrictions on how passionate a child can be about a math topic or problem.
Fill the Journal With Fun Math Related Content
This idea will allow your little one to unlock their creative side! If they see something in a newspaper or magazine that they both like and are math related. Have them tape or glue it into their math journal.
The options for this activity are endless as it can be a graph they thought looked interesting or even a mathematician that inspires them. They can then utilize these fun moments as a way to devise new problem-solving methods. Furthermore, they serve as a reminder of why they love practicing and studying math in the first place.
Make the Math Journal Memorable With Photographs
Similar to a scrapbook, including photographs in your child’s math journal is the perfect way to further make the activity interactive and fun. These photos can be of them either practicing math or partaking in a math event.
The photos can also be of your little one at school studying with friends or participating in a school related activity. In a sense, these photos act as a way to show your child how enjoyable learning is and emphasize that there will be many more exciting memories tied to academics in the future!
Decorate the Math Journal!
This final activity will certainly help them personalize their math journal. If your child wants to, let them draw pictures on both the front and back covers of their journal or liven it up with colorful stickers.
In addition, creativity does not have to be limited to only the outside of the math journal. Decorating individual pages on the inside with either drawings, stickers, pins, sticky notes, and so forth are also highly encouraged. Remember, at the end of the day, this journal is theirs to love and cherish. Customization is all part of the fun learning process!
About Think Academy
Think Academy provides online teaching services and classes for math students across grades K-Middle School. We also provide tons of free academic resources such as worksheets, webinars, and more! For those who are interested, you can join our WhatsApp group to receive free weekly math resources!
In addition, if you would like to receive free math resources via email instead. You can sign up to join our newsletter here!
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Think Academy’s Classes
We offer numerous different math courses for children in grades K-8. We have short-term math classes that can help improve your child’s fundamental math skills. These courses last only about a couple weeks.
In addition, we also have K-8 long-term classes to ensure that students master the math material in their respective grades. These semester-long courses are available in three different levels (Advancement, Mastery, ACE) to account for all learning speeds!
As for students who want to take their math skills to the next level. Think Academy provides math competition prep classes for events such as the AMC 8 and Math Kangaroo!
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You can register for any of our classes by clicking the link to our courses page here.
1-on-1 Evaluation
Lastly, before you register for our long-term courses. Make sure to schedule a free 1-on-1 evaluation if you have not already! Think Academy’s 1-on-1 evaluation contains an overview of our mission and academic structure, a 15-question evaluation exam, a one hour in-depth analysis, and a 15-minute teacher-to-parent discussion. After the evaluation, a customized study plan will be provided so that all of your child’s learning needs are met!
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