to tutor or not?

[lillybloom]

My son is quite bright but has lost confidence in his maths in the last year. He has just finished primary 3. He is exactlty where he should be but we thought that getting him a little extra help in maths might boost his confidence in the classroom. I help him where I can but I don't think I'm doing any good.

Has anyone here used a tutor with their kids? Has it been beneficial or did it make them feel less confident?

It depends on the tutor and the spin you put on it.
I always tried to get a tutor for my children when they hit difficulties I could not help with - this happened even when one of them was at university. It stops smallish problems turning into big problems. It can consolidate shaky knowledge by extra practice, or help with a deeper understanding.

There are 4 main options when looking to support your DS in his maths, in order of expense:

1. Get a tutor
2. Sign him up with a group for Kip McGrath/Kumon 3)Sign up with an online program like Carol Vorderman or Mathletics 4)Do it yourself

All the above will have pros and cons.

If your willing to continue doing it yourself here's some advice:

1. Look at it longterm, you won't see results straight away with any of the options
2. Try to do a little bit every day and mix it up a bit; arithmetic, word problems, maths games
3. Start with some easy work for the first few weeks to fill in any gaps in his knowledge.

Regarding workbooks, I like the Bond No Nonsense series and here's my DIY Kumon approach