Mental Maths Starters - please help!

[swedishmum]

Hi
I've just agreed to do my first day's supply in 2 years tomorrow - mixed y2/3 class. Please please help me - fun starters for Numeracy. It's not my age group so I'd really appreciate ideas. The rest of their work is problem solving about Pudsey and things based on a Nutcracker project.
Hope some teachers are still awake!
Thanks

[Dodsey]

Sorry Scottish so not sure what age group you're talking about.

[swedishmum]

It's a mixed class of 6/7 and 7/8 year olds. It's a small country school so a really wide age range.

[swedishmum]

For that read ability range

[soapbox]

Give them 3 numbers and ask them to make up a maths problem using the numbers, then pass onto the person sitting next to them to solve?

Maths circle. Make up a card for each person in the class. The first card has start on the top and on the bottom a sum. The next card has the answer to the sum on the top and a new sum on the bottom etc. The person with the start card is asked to stand up and shout out the sum. The person who has the answer on the top of their card jumps up gives the answer then shouts out their sum and then the person with the answer on top of their sum stands up etc etc until you get to the last card which has the answer at the top and finish at the bottom.

You time the circle and write it up on the board and then swap cards around and keep going through the circle trying to improve the timing each go!

Race to 100? Each child pairs with an other child and they race to get over 100 by adding one digit sums together, taking it in turns to write down their sums. Surprisingly sticking to 9's doesn;t seem to cross their minds

[swedishmum]

Many thanks Soapbox. Feeling better now and off to make some cards. It's amazing how easy it is to panic over something I did every day for years (though mainly worked in secondary before retraining and baby 4 and my primary experience is Y6). Nowadays am concentrating on one-to-one dyslexia course so I feel a bit out of the loop. Can't say I'm quite looking forward to it yet but I know from my many returns to work after an hour I'll forget I ever left...hopefully

[soapbox]

I forgot to say, but it is rather obvious, that each answer must be unique or you have more than one person jumping up at the same time!