Times tables / maths

[RandomHouseRules]

Ds is 5 and in reception. V bright, free reader etc. Has, off his own back(truly), over the Ht learned time tables to 12 - not 100% reliably but really v good, so you could ask him 3x7 or 9x5 or 4x8 and he would give you the answer fairly quickly. He thinks it is hilarious. We know he has a crazily good memory but he also 'gets' the concepts - for example if you ask him, what is 12x6 he will say it is 72 "because it is 6x10 add 6x2. We have not taught him that and I am certain he hasn't been taught it at school either - we had a parent evening pre ht and they had been talking about segmenting but in the context of higher number addition, so he has worked it out himself. This has literally all happened since half term real started.

Should I have a chat with his teacher next week so she is aware and ask what comes next or just wait for it to come out for itself naturally at school? I know that addition, subtraction is all they are covering at school. Curious as to what to do next really as I know he can go way beyond the higher number additions he is generally given as extension at school. His teacher is great and very responsive so this is just really about me having suggestions and consideration. Many thanks.

Please don't judge my crappy proofreading!

I take it from your post he did not get the concept of times tables by himself and it was just coincidence that he learnt them up to 12? (If he is doing this all by himself, then you have no worries as someone of this ability will go on to work out all the rest of maths by himself, regardless of the education he gets at home or school.)

If, on the other hand, you are teaching him, then he is clearly able to be taught to a higher level and has an enthusiasm for maths. You may well discover school is unable to differentiate suitably. It really depends on the school as to whether or not he will get teaching to a higher level. On other threads some have been lucky in what the school provides and some not.

If it is just times tables he has done then the school will most likely point to other areas in maths where he is behind (regardless of actual ability)and so insist he is not ready to move on. Arithmetic is only one part of the maths curriculum, so it is wise to ensure he is getting a rounded ability in the subject. You can do this by buying a KS1 revision guide or looking online at the KS1 content for maths.

The more communication you have with school the better. It is worth having a think about what you would like and what you think the school could sensibly provide. It will also give you an idea of whether they will take note and see what can be done to teach him to a higher level or whether they will just give endless reasons why he is not advanced.

I haven't taught him but there is a times table chart in the corridor outside his classroom at school so the 12x thing came from there, if you asked him for 15x3 or 5 he would be able to tell you the answer. I genuinely haven't 'taught' him although since he started talking about it I have thrown him questions to answer to see if he can, although I am not sure.i would class that as teaching.

Thanks for your post Richmal. How do I figure out what I would like the school to do! Should I just buy a KS1 guide and talk it through with him /school. He has done some ks1 papers at school I know. I know of one area where he isn't ahead (time) but then he has also never been taught. Is it for me to teach him, or to insist that school does (to ensure methods are consistent etc). I have a good relationship with his teacher but am a bit of a loss about what I should do and what I should expect of the school.

By ks1 'papers' I mean worksheets.

It is for you to choose whether or not you teach him. If you do not he will progress in maths at the same rate as the school teach him and as he sounds as if he has an aptitude for the subject, he will be at or near the top of the class. Unless you are concerned he will continue working out the next step in maths before he has been taught it at school, this could be an option.

However, children can be taught 1to1 at home a lot quicker than they can be taught at school. This will lead to a difference between his capabilities and those of the rest of the class, which, believe it or not, some schools may not even recognise, let alone cater for. Almost certainly if you ask at school they will tell you not to take this option. Also you have to ask yourself if you have the ability to teach in such a way that you keep the lessons fun and build on his enthusiasm.

It sounds as though you have a good relationship with school, but be cautious of terms such as "sideways learning" or enrichment. At its best this involves the child being taught things like problem solving. Look on the nrich website to get idea of the type of thing. However, it often involves the child sitting bored while the rest of the class is taught, then given a more difficult worksheet to get on with by themselves.

I cannot advise you what option you should take with your child. All that I can say is that I took the option to teach 1to1. At 11 and after years of struggle through primary, dd now still loves maths and is at a secondary which is catering well for her. Doubtless others will post with other perspectives to help with your decision.

your son sounds a bit like Ds2 who is in year 6 now.
I've been trying to puzzle out the answer to your question for years and I still don't know what I should've done for the best.
I am a SAHM and I have a degree in maths plus I love helping children to learn. So I had the time, ability and inclination to teach Ds2 maths myself but Ive only done little bits here and there.

He's had periods of acute boredom at school. They are always after I've taught him something.
I have thought of HE but he loves the social side of school.

Honestly, I don't think there is a right answer.

I agree with everything justrichmal says. Especially about being wary of what enrichment looks like in practice.

I'm sorry I can't answer your questions, we are not really sure what to do with our Y1 DS who is very into his maths. You could mention it, but I wouldn't expect them to necessarily do much about it right now if they are doing other stuff. When they do multiplication in class, then it becomes more relevant. Similarly if he is doing 12 + 4 at school but 1534 + 6432 at home I would mention it because it's relevant to his schoolwork. Not that I'd need to, his teacher is great.

At the moment I can't see the point of rushing him through the curriculum - as var says, doesn't that just set him up for boredom when it's covered in class? But I'm very aware that we don't have the experience of other posters here and we are just making it up as we go along. And anyway, DS started money and time before school did, because they are part of everyday life.

We don't teach DS at home, but he has an older sister and he naturally seems to extrapolate from basic ideas to stuff that's normally taught later. However here are some things he likes, and your Ds might too: Monopoly (only if he's banker, naturally), the Usborne lift the flap times table book, sudoku, top trumps, supermarket shopping with his own list - he likes to add up the prices, pocket money. He also has a big, bright A4 notebook to encourage him to write for his sums etc. This week he is running a football league between all his toys, and calculating their total points and goal differences.

Some great ideas flomple. We play monopoly a lot and no one else can ever be banker!