How to boost year 2 daughter in Maths

[needwine1]

Hi, advice needed for fun/non-stressful ways to boost my 7 year old in Maths before she starts year 3.

She consistently achieves standardised scores of 141 in English so clearly has an affinity for this but there’s a huge difference in this and her end of year 2 Maths result, which came in with a standardised score of 110. She’s literally at two ends of the spectrum: top of the class by some way and bottom 4 in maths!

It’s a long way off but we’ll be looking at some competitive schools in south west London, which she has no hope of getting into with a maths score under 120. Also not hugely happy with the school she’s in so may potentially move her before then but worry the maths might hold her back.

I found maths difficult and incredibly boring as a child and although we’re relentlessly positive in the language we use at home, I suspect she’s bored and switches off a lot of the time as some of the questions she got wrong in the 110 assessment she could definitely do (like circling odd numbers; she can do that standing on her head). She also lacks confidence - being put on the top table has clearly backfired and I feel her maths has remained pretty static this year.

Her comprehension skills are excellent so I’m hoping this will kick in at some point as she really struggles with word problems.

She likes the iPad but isn’t a big fan of numbots or mathletics. We’ve tried workbooks but again finds them boring.

She’s too young for platforms like ATOM and I don’t want to get her a tutor at this age.

TIA

You need to find out exactly what skills she needs support with and try and fit it in daily. Pizza cutting for fractions, telling the time - literally asking her to tell you the time, tables just need to be learnt (2, 5, 10 are expected for yr 2 and 3 for the more able), shape posters, buying things with real money at the shop. Orchard games are good. Everything in short bursts.

I used to play ‘shut the box’ with my grandson when he was little, it took a while to kick in but then it got very competitive and as a side effect of his improved mental arithmetic it boosted his confidence enormously.
There must be other games out there that are fun without being too obviously math related. I think a lot of math confidence is built up with familiarity around how numbers work , backwards and forwards so then you’ve got a decent foundation to build on all the other stuff.

Thanks: great tip re Orchard games!

She randomly knows her tables really well, even some up to x12 from listening to her older sister’s audio book in the car!

Get some maths based board games it will improve confidence

There’s a bit of guilt on our part as we did loads with her older sister and kind of left her to get on with it in comparison and now we worry she's been struggling and we had no idea.

Which things does she find hard?

Improving arithmetic is ALWAYS beneficial. Little and often is the best approach for that. "Can you do 5 flash card sums in 8s" or similar.

If she likes the iPad, have you tried karate cats? Might help you pinpoint exactly what she finds tough.

I’m confused by the standardised score of 110 being low- isn’t that above average?

Anyway, try topmarks for maths games. They’re great and child friendly.
Get the white rose maths app for one minute maths practise.
Real life maths is everywhere. Use shopping to practise rounding to nearest 10 and 100, calculate change and add totals. Talk about analogue and digital time. Apply it to timed events like cooking. Orchard games. Lots of timetables videos on you tube that are pop covers.

The Maths Factor works really well for us - very similar profile as very able at English and frustrated by their struggles with maths. The short videos before the practice are incredibly encouraging and reassuring. I watch with my DC to make sure concepts are understood.

I credit ipad app Math Tango with our dc progress in maths. Agree with others that finding out which bits are tricky is the place to start. If you go through some appropriate tests with her, you’ll soon spot the gaps and can focus on them.

Mine are a year younger, so not entirely the same, but a couple of things that have worked for us are

• cubie subscription - monthly subscription box of 10 mins of extra math a day, workbook format. I find mine engage more deeply off screen. We don’t restrict iPad use much, but do find the screen games are better for reinforcing skills rather than working through new or challenging concepts. I also find it helps me identify strengths and weaknesses in their math skills, so can do additional work in areas where they need more support/ practice. I have to admit that I was a bit underwhelmed with the first box as it looks really ‘school -y ‘, but once we got into it mine both respond really well to the format. Some days are more challenging than others but it is always the bit of homework they are most excited for, and are proud to finish a box / excited to start a new one.
• games - qwirkle (not obviously math, but important for pattern recognition), Zeus on the loose (good for mental math), mancala
• bedtime math stories (a book) we do 1-2 stories a night . It includes different levels of difficulty depending on age. Great for practicing word problems.

Maths Skill builder by hyperion games. Start at reception level and do it in the car or waiting for the bath to run EVERY day.

She may have dyscalculia if her ability is really at odds with everything else. Might be worth getting a professional opinion to see if she needs some additional support.

Nrich maths has lots of ideas for practical maths activities and problem solving which is ultimately much more useful than trying to cram the current curriculum.
My kids really enjoyed Albert junior, though you need to go through it with them as it's just questions with no explanation of how to do stuff beforehand.
Most important to me would be to not focus on this right now as something she needs to improve though, just make maths fun, focus on fun story maths problems as she's good at English. The worst thing to do would be to make her feel like she's failing at this at such a young age.

She finds reasoning and problem solving tricky, especially if there’s more than one step.

110 is the high end of average so I don’t think she’s weak, it’s just the confidence issue and the huge range between her English and Maths standardised scores that concerns me. I had no confidence at Maths as a child and I’d hate her to be the same.

Squeebles games are also good, if you’re happy for your child to use apps. Sumdog was something my dc liked too.

You could always try kumon maths

can I ask - when you say she gets standardised scores of x all the time in year 2, how do you know? I’ve never been told this for my kids.

I think they’re linked to the sats. I might be wrong though!