Mumsnet Talk

Hi there,

Just wondered what methods are best for helping children with their maths. DC not struggling but would benefit from some extra practise but wondered if an online type program would help or doing some workbooks.

Thanks

Mine like squeebles and stuff like that, but the absolutely best thing has been just talking about numbers and maths, asking them questions, showing them cool stuff, adding up stuff in the supermarket, getting them to work out how long until tea, how many months to birthdays, getting them to read train timetables etc. ds like it if i write him sums, much prefers that to workbooks!

There is loads of online stuff nrich is good and i signed up for TES which has lots of resources

Carol Vorderman's website?

My DD is LOVING mathletics...you can subscribe to that as a parent and it's not that pricey.

My kids are using a new maths site called Komodo and they like it. Three months on and I can see an improvement in their arithmetic. What I like about it is it's very easy to use and I can shout "have you done Komodo yet" and 15 minutes later it's done. It works on the ipad too - which is a bonus because I can send them into an empty room to do it.

I suppose this might help www.komodomaths.com

well I have to say www.IXL.com - it is fantastic. Our kids do a couple of topics before they go to school. If they have time they go on Mathletics and race kids from across the World for 5 mins. Yesterday morning they were competing against Australian kids and one from Cape town. Its amazing! we saw this kid was from some school in Western Australia - I dunno Wooroloo Primary or something and my kids could actually see a picture of the kids in Aussie at their school and it brought it home to them that it is such a small world. Try em both and see what you think. kumon is good but try and mix it a bit but I have to say IXL is the best

Thanks everyone. p.s kids did use mathletics back when they were in Australia in year 1 so ages ago. Wasn't sure if that was still a good route. Have you found that the online practise transfers to their school work?

Online practice does transfer fairly well to school work, though I did discover my eldest was coasting with stuff that was far too easy for him, so I had to get him to hit the button marked 'something harder' - at which point I had to roll up my sleeves and help him with it (topics were estimating square roots, multiplying mixed numbers etc, e.g. -3 1/2 x 4 1/4 ).

I blog on how to improve English levels and have just started blogging on Maths here.
englishtutorhome2.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/Maths%20age%204-6
There's only one post tho and it's for age 4-6! If you have a specific issue, I'd love to know so I can post on it (if it's one I've dealt with with my three - up to age 11).

Hi stopthinkingsomuch:

We've gone the Mathsfactor route (the Carol Vorderman - of Countdown of past - www.themathsfactor.com/) and have never looked backed.

Yes the learn things differently from school, but usually they also are given the skills to tackle problems by chunking which many schools admire.

The Maths curriculum is in fact set to change in 2014 (link here: media.education.gov.uk/assets/files/pdf/m/mathematics%20-%20key%20stages%201%20and%202.pdf) and there is a strong indication that the chunking methods employed in addition/ subtraction/ long multiplication & division (although now called short division) will be abandoned for more traditional methods (i.e. ye olde tried and true methods parents can support at home).

My personal feeling is it is more important to ensure children have key calculation skills in addition/ subtraction/ multiplicaiton and division than that you please the school. Children are quite adept at doing the maths the way the teacher wants, but working it out in the way that makes sense for them on the quiet.

HTH