It may be hard for your child to see a fraction or decimal as a number. Her entire young life, she's learned about whole numbers (one, four, 13, 298) and now she's expected to understand numbers that are part of a whole (1/2, 1.6, 3/8). Fractions and decimals are tricky concepts for children to understand. Many times, they don’t understand that fractions and decimals are equal to each other and are actual numbers on a number line.
Help your child understand that fractions and decimals are equal numbers. Encourage him to find a fraction in the real world and talk about that number not only as a fraction but also a decimal. Talk about where these numbers fall on a number line and how they relate to whole numbers. For example: “I see a sale for ¼ off the toy. That is also 0.25 of the total price. This is less than ½ .”
Practice this concept by matching the equivalent fraction and decimal on this printable. Encourage your child to talk about how she knows these numbers are equal.
