Reception Maths

[Rosebud05]

Can anyone recommend a website or other resource for helping my sister's son with adding and subtracting please?

He can do maths with words eg if you have 5 sweets and eat 2 how many are left, but not 5-2= as a sum.

That's because he is in reception. He has yet to make the mental connection between the written sum and the concept of 5 apples take 3 apples. It will come with practice and having fun with numbers.

To be pedantic 5-2 = isn't a sum

there are a number of steps before he starts formally recording calculations

using real objects using pictures tallys and finally standard number and symbol recording.

It's more important that he can do it at this stage and developing mental recall.

It is the sum of 5 and -2 to be more pedantic!

The problem with that is you can't start off with negative sweets only positive ones which you subtract.

Well, that's lost me a bit!

Is it not a sum because a sum is adding up? My sister seemed to think that he 'should' be doing written sums by now. Is she jumping the gun?

yes.

yes

yes! She is jumping the gun. As a reception teacher I am often telling parents that the children need to do 'hands on' maths as it's quite an abstract concept - the children can't picture 5-2= but they can see and do, 5 sweets eat 2 sweets how many left.

Does that make sense? It's been a long day! :)

Thanks! My dd is also in reception (different school and part of the country) so I thought maybe her school was doing things differently.

While I'm here, are there any interesting maths websites for 4/5 year olds?

BBC Bitesize, the KS1 stuff is quite simple.

I'm a reception teacher. I agree BBC bite size, but I would recommend playing games before that. There are some good Orchard Toys ones, and Dorling Kindersly do good ones too.

Developing the mental skills required to be good at Maths is about so much more than formal written 'sums', and at this stage, that is what you should be concentrating on.

Using those gloves with pigs or whatever on each of the fingers can also be a fun way of introducing the concept of adding and subtracting.

It might help if you could get a copy of the EYFS, because it breaks down all the individual steps children need to take with numeracy, then you can work on the ones that your dn hasn't got yet. These things will all be of much more benefit than concentrating just on written sums.

Thanks. Dd's school seems to do lots of games and songs, though she has brought home a number line and gets the idea of it. Her cousin is at a more formal type of school, so I think they're taking a different approach.

I'll look at the Bitesize stuff for both of them - will make a change from the Cbbies website!