Academic success is what all parents aspire for when it comes to their children. For those who have taken the path of homeschooling, the job of creating an effective and interesting curriculum can be pretty daunting. Whether your child is a first grader or in high school, teaching math should not be boring and tedious.

The solution to a successful math curriculum is a diverse and well-rounded approach to teaching. While repetition of concepts is important, altering your teaching lessons will help in keeping the young learner engaged and interested in learning the subject. Most of us were taught math skills the conventional way – by using formal textbooks and solving problem worksheets. This approach is certainly not ineffective, but introducing additional materials enhances the process of learning and the educational experience at large. Adding projects, videos, games, math manipulative and songs to the lessons is an excellent way of helping the homeschool curriculum to become more interesting.

The way extra materials assist children in learning math:

Math is fundamentally an abstract subject which can be overpowering to learn. Complex math concepts are a lot easier to master and understand when they are taught through different approaches or perspectives. Math manipulatives and visual models help students in seeing math and how it connects to the real world. In this way, such supplements help in creating a bridge between concrete understanding and abstract concepts.

If you’re not sure about what math manipulative are, they are any of those objects that are used in teaching to assist students in learning concepts in a hands-on manner. Math manipulatives can be created or bought by the educator. Popular math manipulatives comprise of color tiles, tangrams, geoboards, interlocking cubes, and the like. You can buy them online or make your own using items found in the house like noodles, beans, popsicle sticks, toothpicks, and even toys.

If your child is really young, adding additional materials to the math lessons makes even more sense. Begin at kindergarten with lessons and fun activities that will develop a love for learning within the child. A child's conception is based on exploration. Having manipulatives lets a child explore and take decisions with tools that help learning in a fun and safe way. Playing games that are educational will also nurture good learning habits as kids will have fun with the activity they are involved in while learning new concepts simultaneously.

As we all know, not all kids learn the same way. Using a diversified program helps to address this issue. Presenting information only through textbooks can leave a lot of children unclear. Many times this insufficiency in understanding turns into disinterest or boredom within the subject matter. One of the best ways to avoid this is through the use of supplements to reengage kids. It has been proved that the use of math manipulatives as an addition to homeschool curriculum textbook assignments can enhance the test scores and knowledge.