Pham Dinh Vien

In the past few decades, the national philosophy of education has changed a great deal. When I was growing up, people would look at any class curriculum as a sort of epic journey. Every lesson was a challenge that each student would be required to overcome. If you had trouble learning something because of the way the textbook explained it, you would basically be out of luck. There was always one way of doing things, so as a student you had to hope that it was your way.

Nowadays, fortunately, people recognize the wide variety of learning styles and learning difficulties, and have changed their approaches accordingly. Thinking about picking out activities for math for my third grade class this year really opened my eyes to how different (and I would say better) things are. Math activities for elementary school children used to be essentially the same as with any other grade. Things would be explained in short, to-the-point sentences without visual aids, and then the math lesson would be drilled into the student’s scull ad-nauseum. This was not a good approach for anyone. For the students who were able to quickly master arithmetic, the math activity drills were boring and tedious. For the students who didn’t understand the lessons, the drills did not help. In the end, no one won.

In the class that I teach, I try to mix up different kinds of activities for math as much as possible. Particularly with young learners, the more senses you can bring into the lesson, the better. For example, activities for math fractions lessons often consist of actually dividing things up. A paper pizza can be cut up into eight pieces to illustrate what an eight is, for example. The kids don’t just work with paper and pencil either. They get to color things in, move objects around, and try a number of other different approaches in order to figure out what works for them.

Of course, even the best activities for math do require some repetition. Very few kids (or adults for that matter) are going to fully grasp an idea the very first time they are shown how to do it, so they need to have enough practice. Even so, the teacher could keep in mind that, with mathematics activities as with anything else, the goal is to learn. Too little repetition and the children miss the lesson. Too much and they will become distracted and forget it.

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Many moons ago, when I was a child, our toys and playtime activities were quite different than the children growing up today. I spent most of my time outdoors, playing in the sandbox or riding my bike up and down the sidewalks. There were days when I only came inside for lunch and dinner; my parents wouldn’t see me until after the sun had set. Nowadays, activities for children just aren’t quite the same. We’ve all heard that childhood obesity is on the rise and has become a problem. Children aren’t as active today as they once were.

Instead of playing a neighborhood game of kickball or jumping rope outside, children are finding more activities to keep themselves from being physically active. The internet and fancy game consoles have caught their attention. It isn’t uncommon for children to come home from school and spend several hours in front of a computer or a Playstation. Sure, parents know where their children are and they’re being quiet; but, they aren’t getting the physical exercise that they should be getting. Activities for children have catered more towards teaching them that it is more fun to remain docile than be active.

My daughter is obsessed with her Webkinz stuffed toys. She likes to spend time online playing with them. My husband and I don’t mind, but we set a timer for her. She is only allotted a specific amount of time each day that she’s allowed to be sedentary in front of the computer. We want her to spend some time interacting with the rest of the family and being active. We are very much a fan of outdoor activities for children and encourage it as much as possible. Of course, parents look at a lot of the negative happenings that are taking place in the present day. Kids are disappearing out of their yards and on their way home from school. It isn’t as comfortable to let your children engage in outside activities for children because of the safety aspects.

If you are able to encourage outside activities for children, perhaps you can spend some time outdoors yourself. It certainly isn’t a bad thing to spend some time in your backyard minding your own business but also ensuring that your children are safe. When my daughter is outside, I focus my attention on weeding my flowerbeds or planting flowers. Sometimes, I’ll lay on a blanket with a book. As long as I can keep her within my sights, I know she’s safe and getting some great exercise.

Even though times have changed, always try to encourage activities for children that will get them motivated and moving. Allowing them to stare at a game for several hours isn’t going to make them more healthy and active. Find activities for children that are creative, fun and allows them to release some energy.

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