Additional Math tuition for 5 yo to prepare for Math Challenges, Olympiads

[WalkingDead99]

My DS loves math and I would like to support and develop his interest in math beyond the school curriculum.
I have heard of Mathnasium but do not know anyone who attended. Does Mathnasium help children to develop skills required for math challenges?
I have also heard of London School of Mathematics and Programming (LSMP). They do Math and Logic lessons for young children.
Just wondering if anyone had children attending any of these schools and what do you think of them?
My DS is very social. He does not like online lessons or 1-2-1 with a tutor. He enjoys group lessons. I know LSMP does group lessons.
Any recommendations? Maybe someone knows any other math schools/courses?

Not lessons, but Parallel, by Simon Singh, may offer some questions at an appropriate level.
There are also parallel circles, but I've never really investigated, given nothing like that happens round us!

Watching with intetest. My Year 1 son (just turned 6) is amazing at maths and loves it, and I'd like to encourage it.

You should keep an eye out at things run by the Royal Institute too and become a member for their family lectures if you are knackered the area.

No other recommendations though as we don't have anything like that in our area.

You can find First Maths Challenge and Primary Maths Challenge resources here, OP:

Primary Maths Challenge - Primary Mathematics Challenge

You need to be 7 to take part though (and can only be entered through school, not by parent / as an individual).

I was thinking that the past papers might be of interest.

Yes, they're quite nice, thanks.

My (now 13 year old) has gone to the LSMP on and off since he was about 7. The maths they do is based on a Russian approach (why rather than how) and is v v serious. They have some very very talented kids there.

My son enjoys maths and was (is) very good at it. But he never really engaged with their approach to maths. he focused more on the robotics and coding classes they offer. For us we found it ok in bursts. He still dips into it - he did a short course in the summer.

I would say it’s worth trying it and see if their style suits your child. It is expensive, so not something to commit to unless your child really enjoy it imo.

Thanks everyone for recommendations.

Husband is a Maths Olympiad champion from back in the day.

He said Nrich and problem solving is key and also arithmetic for speed. School have started giving our two Maths Ninja arithmetic too - you can do higher age groups and three different levels of complexity.

Our two also love TV programmes like Countdown "for fun" 🤔

At that age I was working through maths workbooks I'd spotted in a newsagent. Enough practice to gain real facility with arithmetic is a valuable base. The resources available nowadays make me somewhat jealous. Music lessons are also worth exploring as another outlet and support to developing pattern and logical thinking.

Good luck finding the right route for your child and enjoy the journey!
(another maths olympian here, non-UK)

My nephew has just scored 58/60 in the BMO. He’s never had tutoring or group lessons of any sort. But he lives and breaths maths. I get the impression he spends time online, YouTube, etc looking at maths stuff. He’s very self motivated for maths.

Home educated children can enter the FMC and PMC privately through a membership of HomeEducated.Org.UK - obviously that doesn't help schooled children whose school doesn't do it though.

LSMP doesn't prepare for maths contests at age 5 but their Maths and Logic classes do a good job of teaching your child to think logically about mathematics and will help them work on their basic problem solving abilities.

Think Mathnasium just tutors students with school maths and the 11+ though you could probably get someone to tutor for competitions eventually I guess. Not sure on this one.

Something like the First Maths Challenge (FMC), which is aimed at Y3 and Y4 students, is a great introduction to maths competitions and should be something you can help with. Don't think tutors are needed at this stage.

If your child is aiming for silver or gold at the Primary Maths Challenge (aimed at Y5 and Y6) then you might need a tutor, especially if you don't have the time or are not a very mathy person.

Books from Beast Academy are also very good and are aimed at students who want to be challenged beyond the standard curriculum.

If the kid doesn't like 1 to 1 then learning centers are definitely not his cup of tea. Is there a reason he doesn't like online learning (it has become pretty common after the whole COVID situation). We've been using Beestar and it has a really great online learning option. They also have math competitions which helps with preparing for other competitions in the future.

Beast Academy has an online program as well.

Please don't call it Math.

I ike Kidmathclubs. My son attended throughout the whole of last year. Beestar ans other online platforms didn’t really work for us, maybe someone could recommend something else?

My daughter started at LSMP around age 6. She loved the group sessions because they mix puzzles, games, and problem-solving instead of just worksheets. It gave her confidence and she actually looked forward to going. We tried Kumon before that but she got bored quickly, it didn’t really push her logical thinking