DS1 (7) struggling badly with maths - can you recommend .......

[oopsadaisyangel]

some books to help him.

Have asked the school but they haven't came back to us yet.

There are lots of workbooks etc that you can buy - I will have a hunt for some old threads for you. There are some books that are very highly recommended.

There is also lots of on-line resources. Some free and some you pay for. One of the paying ones is called Maths Whizz. I signed DS up for that and I like it as I can see what he has been doing (nothing for months unfortunately but that is set to change!) and follow his progress. I came across it on here but then discovered a friend's DD was using it and it had really helped her.

There's a website called Topmarks that my DS(7) teacher recommended- they use it in the classroom too. HTH

My nephews both did Kumon and have found this helped immensely, it works with lots of repetition and patterns. Check out the Kumon website and see what you think.

I was going to suggest Kummon too, is pricey and i dont recommend English as lots of americanisms but the maths are great for repetition stuff (tables etc)

Thanks everyone - will look into some of these websites.

I would ask the teachers to recommend 'games' you can play. Lots of children hate sitting down and doing books. Try doing 'mathematical' things throughout your time with him (I don't mean sitting down and doing it like a lesson, but in the car or when you're walking along).

Here are some examples -

• counting in 2s, 5s and 10s (from different numbers and forwards as well as backwards)
• look at the clock - 'What time is it? What time will it be in 2 hours?/We go to school at 8.30 - how long do we have to wait? etc
• empty your purse and add up the coins together
• cook together (looking at all the amounts that you're measuring)

Don't spend hours a day doing it (as if!), just 5 minutes here or there when you can.

Find out from the teacher where the particular concerns are and work on those in particular.

Hope this helps...

Thank you.

When we spoke to his teacher last year she said that he was really good at maths and seemed to take it in really easy but this year so far (and granted its only been a few weeks) he seems to be really struggling with even the most simple of sums. Don't want to bombard him with maths stuff just the odd thing here and there to keep him going.

I think the websites are a good idea because he loves the computer and wouldn't see it as much as work more as play.

I think his problem lies with his concentration - he has the attention span of a flea!!!

Thanks for the tips and we'll put them into practice!

Well, my name here says a lot about my approach to maths. I wonder if the problem lies in the fact that you can get sums either right or wrong; sometimes children are discouraged by experiencing 'failure' early on in this area. Reading and writing are more open-ended, as far as results go. How do they approach it in school? Is the focus on the thinking skills or the correct answers? Does the teacher like teaching maths? Some are more into language arts and the negative attitude rubs off. Also, does he think better if he has visual aids in front of him, like objects or an abacus to help with adding and subtraction? Anything your DC can do at home is going to help him develop confidence.

He may enjoy some of the games at CoolMath-Games.com Math-Lines may appeal to him for simple adding of one number with another (you shoot a number at the number which makes the target number).