PLAYING WITH NUMBERS

Although numerous experts have pointed out that parents are the most important teachers for their children, today's parents are spending a great deal of effort, time and money making sure that their children are being taught by tutoring schools.

In an education system in which competition is seen as the path to success, children as young as three or four year olds are being sent to tutors, who often demand a five-figure fee per course for entering famous schools, from the willing parents.

But, then, there are also a number of parents who believe that no one but themselves can provide the best education to their children. These parents see the opportunity to build a good relationship with their children through teaching and, in the process, get to know them better, not to mention getting to save a good amount of money as well.

CHALLENGE FOR A FATHER

A father of twin daughters who goes by the alias "Pho Thee" has discovered a method to teach math to very young children.

Now a stock investor, Pho Thee has an education background in engineering, as well as math tutoring for middle-school children planning to take the tough pre-cadet school entrance examination.

Years ago, Pho Thee read Kindergarten is Too Late, a book written in 1971 by Sony's founder Masaru Ibuka, which claimed that the toddlers of the age of two or three have the natural ability to learn algebra.

With a personal interest and passion for numbers, Pho Thee wanted to test Ibuka's claim.

In particular, he wanted to test whether a very young child can answer a math challenge that asks "if there are eight animals and 20 legs, and the animals are comprised of only birds and turtles, how many birds and how many turtles are there?"

At the time, his wife was pregnant but Pho Thee was determined that he would find a method to teach his would-be twin daughters to solve the math problem before they enroll in kindergarten.

This practically meant that he would have to teach his children to calculate even before they were able to speak fluently or to write.

As challenging as it was, he discovered a method to teach math to his twins, who were able to solve the turtle-and-bird problem before they turned five.

Wanting to share the experience with other parents, Pho Thee posted his story on an online web board to show that "math is easy and can be taught to pre-kindergarten children".

For about a year his original post were kept alive on the web board and was viewed by 170,000 people. The web post also got more than 1,500 responses.

Many parents tried his method with their children and added feedback to his original post.

Recently, the original post was reedited and published as a book: Math is Easy and Can Be Taught to Pre-Kindergarten Kids, and is co-authored by Mae Bhujong.

Three thousand copies of the first print were sold out in less than a month, and the second print is being published soon.

GOLDEN MANTRA: NO EXPECTATION

The golden mantra for parents using Pho Thee's method is to allow children to bring out their own potential without burdening them with expectations.

"During the first year of math learning, parents found that their children became so good at math and could win any math competition they contested. But that was not my intention. I wanted parents to have the confidence that they could teach their own children, without having to resort to tutors," recalled Pho Thee.

"Each kid has potential. If the parents knew how to teach their children, they would be able to realise that potential. So, the kids can become good by themselves, not by the parents. Once the kids are able to use their potential, the parents must not pressure them with their expectation, which I found that many parents fail to do so."

Pho Thee has seen a number of children who are well-versed in mathematical theories and formulas, but he believes that for these children math has become a dull and boring subject. To him, math learning is more than memorising formulas, as the essence of math is about imagination. The more imagination the children have, the better mathematical skills they can develop.

As mathematical thinking utilizes the left brain, Pho Thee encourages the parents to supplement their children with activities that will allow the right brain to work as well. Painting, drawing and music listening, for example, can counter balance with math and reduce the stress of the children.

"I have seen some really intelligent mothers quitting their jobs in order to spend their time raising their kids. This is a good thing, but such mothers with so many talents tend to impose their expectation on the kids unknowingly. They tend to expect their kids to be good and perfect, to be like themselves. When they see that their kids can be good at math, they send them to compete in a contest. When the kids win, they even put more pressure on them."

"With so much expectation from the parents, and often from the teachers too, the kids eventually become regulated by their expectation and have to carry it as a great burden. Such strong hope that their kids can be geniuses can become a force that works against them, which can be dangerous," explained the author.

A TRAGIC CASE

Sufiah Yusof was an internationally famous child math prodigy from Malaysia who was able to enroll in Oxford University at the age of 13.

A few years later, her life in the UK turned upside down and she was found working as a prostitute. She blames pressures from her family, colleagues and the school for the tragic twist in her life.

"We teach our kids in order to allow them to learn and to practice. Do not teach your kids because of your fear that they will lag behind and not be able to compete with their peers. Do not have the expectation that your first grader will one day grow into a doctor," said Pho Thee who cited Yusof's case as an unintended tragic outcome.

"I only want the parents see the math teaching as a chance to create a good time for the kids, so that they will gain some good childhood memory. It should be used to build a good relationship with the kids, while developing their mathematical skills, which will allow them to become self-learners."

He said when the parents sat with the young children and taught them how to calculate the numbers, the children would remember the experience and gain the confidence that the parents would always be with them whenever they faced a challenge in life.

''You don't need to be a good learner yourself. If you can count from one to 100, and know how to add, subtract, multiply and divide, which is the basic knowledge for numbers and operations, you are already capable of teaching your kids,'' said Pho Thee.

DESIRED GOAL: AN IMAGINATIVE MATHEMATICIAN

Parents should keep in mind that the desired outcome is the creation of a mathematician who is full of imagination, not the ''soulless'' one who cares for nothing but winning the competition.

Pho Thee explained that many individuals who are good with math tend to be competitive and relentless or obsessive with solving problems. The parents who are teaching math to children should not focus on having their children competing with others too much as this will encourage the negative mathematician's traits.

''Children of the elementary school age are not good at discerning things. When they keep winning math competitions, they will be obsessed with trying to win. And it is even more dangerous if the kids always win and never lose,'' said Pho Thee.

''It is necessary that the kids are familiar with losing. This can be done by teaching them games that they can win and lose, such as chess and the ancient game of Go. Sports, too, can help establish the sportsmanship. Overall, the parents should not pressure the kids too much.''

According to Pho Thee, the brains of the children younger than three are growing at a fast rate, and a proper stimulation at this age can help the brain cells of the children to work better at connecting and integrating the knowledge.

''The parents who did not teach math to the kids at this age have lost a golden opportunity. But the danger is greater if the parents have trained the kids and burdened them with expectation and pressure. So, if you want to teach them because you expect them to be good, then you would be better off not teaching them at all. Otherwise, your kids will suffer and find math dull and soulless,'' said Pho Thee.

Four math activities for the young

Through trials and tests, Pho Thee has found four activities suitable as tools to teach the pre-kindergarten and kindergarten kids to learn math as follows.

1. Counting Practice:This is a one-minute practice for young children. The parent repeats every number from one to 10 aloud and has the child has do the same. Once the child becomes fluent at the one-to-10 counting, try backward counting from 10 to one. Keep track of the amount of time used on the counting in order to observe development.

In a more advanced step, increase the numbers and reduce the time allowed.

2. Guessing the beads:This is also a one-minute activity. Use five beads that are large enough to prevent them from being swallowed. Hold a number of beads visibly in your hand and ask the child to look at them and ''guess'' how many beads there are. If the child is not able to count, the parent will show them by counting the beads out loud and have the child repeat the numbers.

For example, show the child that there are three beads in your hand and say ''one, two, three, so there are three beads.'' Soon, the child will be able to count without your help.

3. Hundred Number Board:A 10-minute activity utilising the Hundred Number Board, which has a chart of numbers in numerical order from one to 100.

Say a number and have the child put a tile piece with that number in the cell with the same number. Use only five tiles at first. You may demonstrate how to do this and repeat it as needed before allowing the child to perform. As the child becomes better with the activity, reduce the time allotted and increase the numbers of tiles to 10, and then 20, and so on, until the child is able to put all 100 tiles in the cells. At an advanced level for older children, the parent may have the child write the numbers in the cells instead of using the tile pieces.

4.Writing the numbers:Use large cards, each with a large number on it. Read each card to the child and have him move his finger on the card along the number as if he was writing it. At the end of the activity, you may allow the child to paint the numbers in the card, which is a good way to relax.

Once the child has completed the four math activities, they should be allowed to play or do whatever that they want to in order to allow them to relax. The parents must remind themselves that young children have a short attention span, so they should try to make children feel that they are playing fun games when they are doing the math activities. For good results, children should also practice the four activities regularly.

Story behind the Hundred Number Board

The Hundred Number Board is tool invented by Japanese elementary school math teacher Hideo Kageyama. He was able to use it to successfully teach math to his students, which later help them to gain spots in universities. The teaching with the use of the board is sometimes called the Kageyama method.