Time Management in Maths

Why do we even need time management in Maths? Why can't we let our children solve their sums at their own pace? Well, time management is not needed for primary school. So, if grade 2 children are taking too long to solve their sums, it is perfectly fine as it is natural for little kids to be easily distracted or more importantly, the children may not have understood the concept and need help and guidance so that is why they are going slow.

Unfortunately, the story changes when children reach grade 5. They may perform very well in their monthly maths tests/evaluations but maths exams will turn into nightmares for them...this is a very, very tricky time. You have to understand that there are very few fields in this world in which maths is not required. You have to get good marks in maths to get into good colleges/universities; in essence, your future career depends on maths (a sad truth for those who don't like maths 😉) So, coming back to the topic of time management. The midterm and final exams are usually 2+ hrs in most countries. They are many, many questions and limited time. If you are lucky then your children may manage well by themselves without your intervention. If you are unlucky like me, your children will suffer. They will start hating maths (a mother's nightmare). You, as a parent, NEED to step in.

First, make sure that the children are understanding the concept. There can be no time management if the children don't even understand the concept of maths they are studying. Work with them and find out if it is an understanding problem or just a time management problem. Believe you me, the "time management" problem is an easier problem to solve than the "understanding maths" problem! 

Anyway, once you know that your children know their maths concepts and that they aren't just able to solve it in limited time, give them practice sums every day. I would recommend about 2-3 sums every day. Don't miss any day. Make it a ritual. Initially, just give the children 15 minutes to solve each question. They are pre-teens and want to be treated like grownups. Don't scold them and rush them to do better as it may backfire. Just be patient and challenge them that can't they do better than that! You will start seeing improvement. I brought my son down from 15 mins each question to 5 mins each question and using this technique, I brought him up from 67/100 to 98/100 marks in his grade 7 final maths exam. 

Again, this post was about time management. My son was having difficulty in completing his exam so my giving him 2 sums to solve in limited time every day improved his time management. However, I am sure that this technique will also work with children who are having minor maths conceptual problems as practice is the key to excel in maths.

Mostly maths is about concepts such as what are quadratic equations, linear equations, equilateral triangles, area of a square, etc? However, I believe that children need to learn their multiplication facts popularly known as times tables. They can learn their times tables as high as they want and higher the better but I believe that they should know them at least up to 12. My son didn't have a problem in knowing his times tables as I made him practice it on the app I made for him. He just was taking too long in reading the question, wasting precious time overthinking as his mind used to wander.

My app shows all questions in dodging for e.g. 5x1, 5x5, 5x7, etc if you choose table 5. Every time the app is used, the order is different. You can choose multiple tables. More importantly, it covers the entire table so that you know when your child is getting full marks, he/she knows his/her times tables. Moreover, you can hear the question and speak the answer. So, children can even revise their tables while drawing, painting or doing something with their hands.