Math Anxiety? Here's an Idea to Help

Did you read ERG’s blog about there’s no such thing as a math gene? Do you as a parent dread helping your child with math homework because you are unsure of your math skills?  Are you looking for something to help you and your child gain skills and confidence in math?  Then the answer may be the free app Bedtime Math.

Bedtime Math was developed after a team of researchers at the University of Chicago offered the app to 600 first graders and their parents for a year.  The results were remarkable.  At the end of the year, the Chicago team found that kids and parents who used the app were three months ahead in academic achievement than those who didn’t use it.  Even families who only used the app once a week showed improvement.  At the end of the study the parents reported they were less anxious about math.  The researchers believe that parents who have less anxiety about math tend to bring math into everyday life more often.

Bedtime Math can be downloaded for FREE.  It’s set up so that every day there is a new math problem.  First there’s a paragraph about a topic…say clocks.  Then there are three levels from which to choose a problem…Wee Ones, Little Kids, and Big Kids.  At each level the answer is given.  At the two higher levels a bonus question is asked.  The app is designed for parents and children to use together.  The problems need to be talked through with each other.  This is one of the reasons why both parents and children become more comfortable with math.

Again the Bedtime Math app is free.  It is no frills, so you and your child can focus on the math and not be distracted by the bells and whistles.

If you want to find out more about Bedtime Math, go to http://bedtimemath.org/

For more even more math ideas, try https://www.facebook.com/bedtimemath/

Math is like going to the gym for your brain.  It sharpens the mind.  Danica McKellar