Y2 maths levels

[honoroakmum]

Hi all.

My dd is good at maths. At the end of y1 I was told she was level 3b which was very pleasing. Her teacher also says that she is very quick to pick up ideas and only needs them to be explained once. She is also a summer baby.

Yesterday she found a Y6 maths workbook belonging to her brother. I had bought it to help him as he was struggling with some aspects of maths at the time. She happily worked her way through a large chunk of it before I noticed and she did really well with it.

My question is this. Do I need to do anything? She is very happy and fulfilled at school, enjoying all the lessons including maths. Should I be asking the school to extend her more now that I realise her potential is greater than I had imagined or, if she is happy, just leave school as it is and perhaps do more challenging stuff at home.

I should say that she doesn't strike me as a maths genius type of child - just a clever kid for whom ideas just click very easily.

DS1 is similar - tested 3b early in year 1. He refuses to have anything to do with extension work at school - he doesn't like doing anything different from other kids in his class, but will work on other stuff when he is having time out with his 1:1 (he has ASD/ADHD and a statement with full time support provided). I don't worry about that too much because he does occasionally find himself some maths to do at home and then works at his own level.

We involve him in lots of real life maths situations at home, working out how much of something we need, how long something will take us to do (the cake takes 50 minutes to cook, so when will it be ready?), etc and even if a calculation is too difficult to do in his head, we work through how to either break it down or estimate the answer, as appropriate. You can cover an awful lot of KS2 concepts in this way without ever forcing the issue or boring her.

How about you get some workbooks she may like at various levels which she can work through when she likes. If maths is one of her favorite subjects at school (being good I know does not necessarily mean you enjoy it) just ask her every couple of weeks "What is your favourite lesson?" as long as it is still maths then all is well. Enjoyment is everything.

Ouryve's ideas are great.

Always do stuff about telling the time too. And working out money problems. Thats always good.

3b at the end of yr 1 is very good, she obviously has a real talent for maths. Perhaps you could ask at school, how work is being differentiated for her & check what progress she has made this year (end of term report maybe?).

Like Iggly said do extra work with her if she enjoys it, but as long as she is happy that is the main thing, she is still very young. My ds (yr3) is a couple of years ahead of his peers but hates doing anything he perceives as extra work out of school, so I'm just letting him enjoy playing football & ds etc for now. We do however, live in a grammar school area so I have told him that he will have to do more work at home once he's in yr5, if he wants to do the 11 plus. In the mean time I keep abreast of his progress at school & make sure he reads every night, does his homework to a decent standard & he also has music lessons & so he has to practise regularly.

If you want to do something enriching, then my best suggestion would be to start her learning an instrument & also get her involved in something like brownies (they start at 7) or beavers (start at 6).

Thanks all.

It's interesting that no-one thinks I should be pushing school to extend her further. My instinct tells me that isn't necessary at this age but I was wondering whether I was letting her down by not doing so. If she is capable of doing some y6 maths without guidance, should she be stretched more by school?

Joyn - she would love Brownies - I am going to look into that straight away.
Thanks

I think build up the interest and enjoyment (this is what will last-DS loves maths). If her interest in school maths is waning (espcially if homeworks are completed very quickly and school work as well) then look to the school to fill the deficit (and the workbooks may help). the propblems with jumping about the years is areas get missed. Your DD has "maths intuition" (sorry I know it's a mad up phrase, but it is something DS has and as a family we have).

You are absolutely right Iggly2 - she does have maths intuition. At the moment she is happy and has no problems with school so all is well and nothing needs to be done.

I can provide access to maths ideas/workbooks if she is interested but if not Brownies, a musical instrument and lots of cooking sound just as good if not better.

Can you try piano lessons? My DS1 also loves maths (no idea what level, but working at least two years ahead at school). He started piano a few weeks ago and loves it.

If she is capable of doing some y6 maths without guidance, should she be stretched more by school?

If she was assessed as a 3b at the end of year 1, then I would imagine they are already stretching her! She must be working on 3a stuff in Y2 - and so are lots of Y6 children.

Totally agree with you Sun, Music lessons are great for high achieving children! I actually started ds on the guitar when he went into yr2, as I thought it would be good to him to have to practise at something rather than just 'get' things first time. Didn't actually work out like that, as he's taken to it really well & is now on the gift list for music too, but I'm just as happy with that outcome! Music is wonderful way to enrich a bright/'gifted' child. I like brownies/cubs too, as it gives them a different perspective, learning co-operation, working towards things (like badges,) and something else to focus on.