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Original poster

Maths for advanced 6/7 year old - recommendations?

69 replies

Snowboardmum73 · 07/10/2025 09:31

My daughter has a natural love of maths - she’s year 2 aged 6 soon to be 7.

She loves maths esp maths with numbers.

her school maths is way to easy for her - I have spoken to he teacher and will again. They give her handouts but the last lot we got were from 4 years above her. She did 40% on her own but nothing in the handouts explained the principles first, and which for some maths she still needs.

we have tried numberbots and doodle maths - none of which are varied enough for her…she likes to learn different types of maths and not on timers - she would have had time to solve and think.

Any recommendations for programmes? I don’t mind paying. I really want something that will explain the principles first.

we also do all the KS2 and KS1 workbooks online but she’s done most of them and again, it would be nice if it was something more of a game..

she does it because she likes it so i want it to still me fun for her - thanks

OP posts:
YourPeppyAmberTraybake · 07/10/2025 16:49

My DS loved maths (and still does, he has an Economics degree and a finance job now) from a young age. I had a meeting with his headteacher and she said to encourage a love of all knowledge, science, different countries, flags, currency and definitely chess.

Superscientist · 07/10/2025 16:21

@Snowboardmum73 at that age I used to enjoy watching countdown with my grandparents. It was mostly for the number rounds but the letters rounds were beneficial too, I really liked the playing around with numbers it doesn't have to be fancy mathematics to get enjoyment.

Original poster
Snowboardmum73 · 07/10/2025 15:10

Thanks all, I don’t push her…she asks to do maths - she sees it as a game rather than a chore…we don’t do it all day each day just when she wants - she just wants it harder / different. We stopped using the books because I didn’t want her to get too far ahead or get bored. Which she doesn’t seem to be …Also I can’t explain it very well as my Maths isn’t that good and as she gets better I am struggling…

Hence Asking for recommendations on other ways to learn…I still want it to be fun and still have want her to learn in an enjoyable way.

she knows she’s ahead but that she might not always be and that she’s good a some things but not others - none that of that bothers her. She’s a very contented child with a good degree of emotional intelligence to know people are all different and everyone has a talent…she doesn’t do it to be ahead or anything like that…it’s a very basic need for her…she does it because it’s her thing - maths makes her happy…just as going to the park might another child.

I will explore all the suggestions so thanks…she tells me she doesn’t even want to do a job in maths..even though she likes it…she wants to be a food critic as she loves food…so who knows how long the love of maths will last…:) thanks again

OP posts:
Superscientist · 07/10/2025 13:30

I have always loved maths and my brain definitely works better with numbers than words. When I was 10/11 I tutored one of my dads friends through a maths test he needed to pass to get on a course.
I'd focus on critical thinking, moving into sciences a lot of physics and chemistry is applied mathematics and practical applications might be interesting - things like mechanics can be moved into practical experiments/projects. I ended up focusing on chemistry as it brought together my interest in maths and biology.

Cantseetreesforthewood · 07/10/2025 12:26

Lots of excellent ideas above.
One to add I've not seen mentioned yet is rubix cubes. DS has adored them since young - a pyramid from about 5y old, and since secondary will happily make a pattern in a dodecahedron and put it back to plain sides.

Penfoldfive · 07/10/2025 12:19

CuriousKangaroo · 07/10/2025 12:07

I could not disagree with this more. One should let a child follow their interests and passions, and for some that interest/passion may be an academic pursuit. I do not see why that is any different to any other interest they may have. My 7 year old DD loves the piano. Am I wrong for arranging lessons and letting her play piano all the time? And no one bats an eyelid if children read books which are advanced for their age, so what’s the problem with doing more maths if that’s what she loves? I really think there is a subset of weird anti-intellectualism going on for some people.

OP - I’m sorry, I don’t have any suggestions for resources, but wanted to say that you should ignore this sort of nonsense. It’s clear your child is pushing for this, not you, and it’s right to finds ways for her to follow her interests. It may all change and she may suddenly not want to do it anymore. As long as you don’t force it, I think you are doing exactly the right thing. Best of luck to you and DD.

Show quote history

I think the poster is warning against talking to the child herself about being "advanced". It can put a lot of psychological pressure on a child, and encourage perfectionism, especially if she has areas she "average" in later on.

Also - you probably wouldn't push higher level English curriculum on a child - you'd let them read books for fun. There's loads of maths enrichment you can do for fun that reinforce what she's learning.

CuriousKangaroo · 07/10/2025 12:07

Implodingyourmirage · 07/10/2025 09:44

Let her be a child, encourage other interests, there's plenty of time for extra maths later. Also, it's generally unhelpful labelling young children as 'advanced'.

I could not disagree with this more. One should let a child follow their interests and passions, and for some that interest/passion may be an academic pursuit. I do not see why that is any different to any other interest they may have. My 7 year old DD loves the piano. Am I wrong for arranging lessons and letting her play piano all the time? And no one bats an eyelid if children read books which are advanced for their age, so what’s the problem with doing more maths if that’s what she loves? I really think there is a subset of weird anti-intellectualism going on for some people.

OP - I’m sorry, I don’t have any suggestions for resources, but wanted to say that you should ignore this sort of nonsense. It’s clear your child is pushing for this, not you, and it’s right to finds ways for her to follow her interests. It may all change and she may suddenly not want to do it anymore. As long as you don’t force it, I think you are doing exactly the right thing. Best of luck to you and DD.

Penfoldfive · 07/10/2025 12:05

Zanatdy · 07/10/2025 11:43

I have 2 young adults who are great at maths. DS got 97% in his maths and FM A levels and a 1st in his degree now working in finance. DD got 9’s at GCsE (in everything) and is predicted 4 x A*. None of them did any extra work. Maybe encourage some competitions, a bit of fun. I’d be worried they’d become bored in school if start skipping ahead too much.

I agree with this.

My daughter is studying maths at a top uni and she was strong but not particularly ahead in primary. Her best friend was better than her in year 6 but ended up preferring history and english. Higher level maths is actually quite different to primary level.

It's great she enjoys maths but I would try and keep it low key and encourage her with extra fun stuff rather than pushing ahead in the curriculum.

MrsKateColumbo · 07/10/2025 11:58

My DD enjoys thr carol voderman books

OneRealRosePlayer · 07/10/2025 11:54

i loved maths. Try some logic puzzles. I saw maths as a puzzle that needed solving. It uses similar thinking skills

Softcitrusfruit · 07/10/2025 11:51

Makingpeace · 07/10/2025 09:51

Deepen her knowledge rather than rushing ahead to other year groups. Opportunities to think deeper and practise what she knows. Lots of suggestions of problem solving here

https://nrich.maths.org/

Yes, this. We use in schools as a resource for breadth, problem solving and deepening understanding.

Useyourfork · 07/10/2025 11:48

What about watching countdown together? 😊

Zanatdy · 07/10/2025 11:43

I have 2 young adults who are great at maths. DS got 97% in his maths and FM A levels and a 1st in his degree now working in finance. DD got 9’s at GCsE (in everything) and is predicted 4 x A*. None of them did any extra work. Maybe encourage some competitions, a bit of fun. I’d be worried they’d become bored in school if start skipping ahead too much.

sundaychairtree · 07/10/2025 11:41

TeenToTwenties · 07/10/2025 09:53

If doing anything, I'd aim to go sideways not up.
So not advancing through the national curriculum, but doing interesting things outside of it.

Obviously there's coding which is maths adjacent.
There are logic / maths puzzles which provide lateral thinking.

Then, maybe not quite yet, there are things like number bases (binary, hexadecimal etc) and converting to and from them is quite good fun (i did it at primary but it doesn't seem to be taught these days).

Looking into prime numbers etc.

There are masses of fun things with numbers that aren't just doing higher primary stuff.

For example did you know that 6x8 is one less than 7x7?
And that is true for all square and not quite squares? So 14x16 is one less that 15x15?

if you think of it as an array it is obvious even to, or even especially to, a young child. I am not sure what you can do with that?

Useyourfork · 07/10/2025 11:39

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Whats-Point-Maths-DK/dp/0241343526

and this one

99bottlesofkombucha · 07/10/2025 11:22

The mini sudoku games (Ken Ken?) to work her up to full sudoku, code cracker activity type books, an app called funexpected maths isn’t bad. We have maths aptitude tests in Australia called icas and I have bought sample papers and done the year 2 papers with my year 1. (It starts at year 2, but he could easily tackle year 3 as well)

Original poster
Snowboardmum73 · 07/10/2025 11:20

Pallando · 07/10/2025 11:04

Just to add (before I get back to work!) there are thousands of problems on nrich (Its been running for over 25 years and I think there are over 15000 pages - some have been unpublished). It can be quite tricky to find problems which is why I linked to some "collections".

I am much more au fait with secondary/Post 16 maths but if there is a particular topic that you want to find a problem/game on let me know and I'll see if I can find a problem on it (or ask my Nrich colleagues for suggestions!)

Thank you, I really appreciate the responses.

I don’t want people to think I am a pushy parent, I’m not, it’s more she has a love it and I’m trying to go with it and keep up but I’m getting lost along the way…

She doesn’t learn like me..I add numbers as they are but she rounds them up and adds onto them then takes the difference away…to me that seems harder but I think that’s why when I explain things to her she looks at me like ‘that’s a silly way mummy’…our brains clearly work differently…

Maths for her is a game, she loves games - board games, top trumps, any maze style game. So I’m trying to keep it fun…while trying to meet her need and thirst for numbers…I wish I was better as maths! ;) she clearly did not get this from me…

OP posts:
Original poster
Snowboardmum73 · 07/10/2025 11:09

Ashersmom · 07/10/2025 10:55

HRTFT. DDis now doing a Masters of mathematics in mathematical physics and would have been what you describe as advanced. I would point her away from the curriculum. All that will achieve is a bored child. I'd encourage her to do a basic coding course and go that way. That will be far more beneficial.

Thank you, I will look at some coding games. She’s a big fan of dungeon crawler games and board games. She has a code cracker game she loves - so maybe I should look at more versions of this..as it’s travel and anyone can play it with her…you create a code of coloured pegs and she has to crack it in 7 moves or lines…I will see if it can find similar things…

OP posts:
Pallando · 07/10/2025 11:04

Just to add (before I get back to work!) there are thousands of problems on nrich (Its been running for over 25 years and I think there are over 15000 pages - some have been unpublished). It can be quite tricky to find problems which is why I linked to some "collections".

I am much more au fait with secondary/Post 16 maths but if there is a particular topic that you want to find a problem/game on let me know and I'll see if I can find a problem on it (or ask my Nrich colleagues for suggestions!)

Original poster
Snowboardmum73 · 07/10/2025 11:03

CrowMate · 07/10/2025 09:55

You could Try some of the CGP books. They sell them on Amazon in bookshops or there an online CGP shop. The ones for the 11+ have explainers along with some more fun puzzles.

It’s lovely that she enjoys maths. I strongly disagree with the previous poster who says let her be a child. What an unthoughtful and inflammatory comment. How is this any different to encouraging a love of reading or sport?! Aren’t we supposed to encourage our children’s passions and talents.

Edited

I agree and thanks, it’s okay…she loves Maths - her teacher has told me she’s got a natural understanding - she can work it out and she’s articulate in her answers- she can show working out on paper if asked. I was never at that level - I wish I was - I just wanted to try and help support her love of it, while she loves it and when she doesn’t we will move on… my parents never in anyway pushed me or even helped with homework so I also don’t want to do nothing as I feel I was left as a child just to mull along with no real encouragement or praise so it’s finding the balance! :)

OP posts:
Pallando · 07/10/2025 10:58

One of the issues with maths is that, in schools at least, it can be hard to make sure that everybody has the opportunity to "get stuck" and then "get unstuck". It can then be very hard for those who have always found maths easy to then suddenly have to deal with the fact that maths is actually quite hard!

Quote from Matt Parker "A true Mathematician doesn't find maths easy, they enjoy how hard it can be" (or something like that).

It's great that you are looking for ways to help support her! I would put an emphasis on "problem solving" activities rather than trying to teach her new content. The primary curriculum map might be really helpful here, so if they are working on number and place value in year 2 you could explore https://nrich.maths.org/problems/light-lights at home together.

Not maths as such, but you might also enjoy doing some escape room puzzles - "Exit the game" now has a kids range aimed at age 5+ (available from amazon and probably other places!). We are quite a mathsy family and enjoy doing these!

Original poster
Snowboardmum73 · 07/10/2025 10:57

TeenToTwenties · 07/10/2025 09:53

If doing anything, I'd aim to go sideways not up.
So not advancing through the national curriculum, but doing interesting things outside of it.

Obviously there's coding which is maths adjacent.
There are logic / maths puzzles which provide lateral thinking.

Then, maybe not quite yet, there are things like number bases (binary, hexadecimal etc) and converting to and from them is quite good fun (i did it at primary but it doesn't seem to be taught these days).

Looking into prime numbers etc.

There are masses of fun things with numbers that aren't just doing higher primary stuff.

For example did you know that 6x8 is one less than 7x7?
And that is true for all square and not quite squares? So 14x16 is one less that 15x15?

Thank you, I will take a look. She’s seems to learn it in a way I can’t - she counts everything, she talks about numbers before bed, she loves numbers - she has favourite numbers…she talks about numbers all the time..she’s a very well rounded happy child who has loads of other interests…just numbers and maths seem to be her thing at the moment and I’m trying to
go with it! :)

OP posts: