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Extra-curricular activities

Find advice on the best extra curricular activities in secondary schools and primary schools here.

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Original poster

mathsfactor.com

9 replies

Strix · 26/03/2010 17:10

Does anyone's children do mathsfactor.com (Carol Vordeman), and if so, what do you think of it? I have heard good things and am just thinking that it is a whole lot cheaper than Kumon... but I still like Kumon so can't say I really have any reason to get rid of it.

It appears that mathsfactor is aligned with the school curriculum, which would be a welcome change from Kumon. Right now, DD has to do one thing at Kumon and something totally different at school.

OP posts:

scully777 · 26/03/2010 19:04

Hi strix! I am sorry for not being much help, but I wanted to ask you about Kumon. Is it any good? My son is in a year 3 and struggles a bit at school, especially with multiplication. Do you think it might help?

Original poster

Strix · 28/03/2010 14:38

Hi scully. I can't really say because DD (year 2 and has been doing Kumon for just over a year) has not really gotten to multiplication in Kumon. My approach at home is to write them down repeatedly and then test little but ofter with flash cards. This works with DD. I'm sure there are other methods too.

OP posts:

Marjoriew · 28/03/2010 14:46

My grandson [10] is home educated. I signed him up for The Maths Factor when it started.
The concepts are explained clearly and they have warm-ups before each session starts.

He used to do Kumon and hated it - maybe because it was 'paper-based'. It was boring and repetetive and far too expensive.

Original poster

Strix · 28/03/2010 14:56

How long has he been doing it now? I think it comes with parental access to his progress. How does that work?

OP posts:

Marjoriew · 28/03/2010 15:16

I've just paid the second monthly payment of $14.99, so about a month now.
The child has their own sign in page to get access to their work.
The parent has their own sign-in page where they can see emails/messages from Carol Vorderman on your child's progress.
The child starts off with doing three 'homeworks' . The results of those define whether the child will start on Year One which is from littlies up to Yr 2, and then the next from Year 2 onwards.

One lesson went as follows.
Multiplication. Shows how multiplication is just adding again and again. It's demonstrated clearly and simply on the screen. Then there follows a lesson on that/ If the child gets any incorrect then they go back and do the ones they have got wrong. They have scores of the numbers they have done.
Certificates can be printed out with the child's name, what they have achieved and the date.
Each session has printouts of the lessons for practice, and they are also timed.

Marjoriew · 28/03/2010 15:19

That should have been '£14.99'.

In my opinion this is the better option - more so than the one that just does Times Tables which has the one-off price, because it covers times tables anyway.

Clarabel22 · 31/03/2010 21:05

My son started mathsfactor a couple of weeks ago. He's in year 2 and has struggled to keep up with maths at school, not helped by the fact he's not one to put his hand up if he doesn't understand. I was horrified a couple of months ago when I realised he couldn't do some really basic subtraction and number bonds. I was looking into getting a tutor but couldn't find anyone and it would have cost me at least £15 for one weekly session.

My verdict so far is that it's fantastic and really addresses his needs. He does 5 short sessions a week (can do 2 or 3 in one day if desired), so far only basic subtraction of 1 from numbers 1-10, then 11-30, then up to 100, using number lines and a 100 square. In a couple of weeks it has achieved what school has been unable to achieve so far - he is finally gaining a mental map of numbers 1-100 and working out sums in his head using this. The constant repetition, starting with the basics, is rapidly imprinting this in his brain. And he is getting the sort of practice that just isn't possible at school.

There is a reward system where you can type in the number of homeworks they have to do to get a specified reward, which has been very popular with my son.

Because it is done at home and in a relatively short time frame, I can just say, do your mathsfactor first and then you can watch tv or whatever.

The fact that the website crashed for a few days after it was launched is testament to huge demand for extra help with children's maths, but for many parents, like myself, there seems to be nothing out there that fits the bill. Getting the basics with primary school maths is sooooooo important and so many children are not grasping it with serious implications for their long term education. I am so relieved to have found something that seems to be doing the trick.

Hulababy · 31/03/2010 21:08

I ahted Kumpon and I really didn;t like it for DD. I was very sceptical after her first trial and we didn't bother signing up.

I dont know anything about mathsfactor.

If you want an online thing then I can recommend Mathletics. DD started a couple of weeks or so agao and is loving it. She is 7y and in Y3.

MillyR · 02/04/2010 00:04

DD is doing it and she has always been mediocre at Maths. I think the Maths Factor is fantastic. She watched the videos where Carol explains the patterns in the 3 and 6 times tables and DD then immediately knew both times tables, having not known them at all before. So she hasn't had to memorise each multiplication immediately - she understands the patterns. I asked her the tables again 2 weeks later and she still remembered all the answers.

I do think it is really good, although it only covers arithmetic, co presumably will not cover every aspect of the KS2 Maths curriculum. I wish it did.

I will buy the secondary school stuff for DS when they bring it out.

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