I really hate those maths 'games' they send home. Anyone else?

[BettyPerske]

I know, I know they are meant to be fun and interactive and stuff, but I am in despair at ds2 being given a maths game once a week as well as ds1.

I really am. Ds1 loses his every time, to the point where I have told him to leave them at school because there is a charge for lost games. (I think it's a fiver).

We do have a fairly chaotic home and I'm sure we're not the only ones. But it's just the way the school has decided these are a 'good thing', and that they will send them home arbitrarily despite them being objects of value.

I don't want to borrow something that's worth a fiver, especially if it's entrusted to my children.

All this I should probably get over and just suck it up but for the fact that most of the games are inappropriately difficult and the ones that aren't are either impossbile to understand or are so dull as to not be worth playing.

I was hoping it isn't just me. Does anyone else have this? How do you deal with it?

Thankyou SQ, glad it wasn't just me!

I did have a similar problem when proper recorders were sent home with the children, for them to practise on for something or other - coming home with something that your younger brother is GOING to want yet not permitted to play with by the school is just a recipe for arguments and tears.

If I could separate my children for enough time for them to play with something like that then I would, but the truth is we're all together all the time they're not at school so there isn't the opportunity to segregate what they do very much.

I don't mean the school is wrong to offer the kids something like this - by all means, the intention is good I'm sure. But I do feel that if the item is worth cold hard cash, taking it home ought to be optional.

and just to be perfectly clear, it's not simply a case of 'Mummy will do your recorder practise with you while daddy looks after ds2 and takes him out so he can't hear it and want to join in' and I'm sure that's not even the case for many two parent families.

But many of the children will have no siblings or just older ones so for them it's a lovely opportunity. I just probably need suggestions on how to keep my kids separate occasionally! Some families are just, well, it just doesn't work like that.

We wouldn't get very far trying to separate them like that either. When DD1 has her homework we photocopy it so DD2 can have the same to scribble on

I personally think games are an incredibly beneficial way of getting children to practice their number facts - dd's school sent lots of games home last year to be played with dice - but like another poster they were photocopied on A4 paper. They did expect us to find our own dice. She enjoyed them and got a lot of benefit from them.

However I did think at the time that it would be very hard if you had a younger child who wanted to get involved but wasn't able to play the game yet.

I've also found blackjack very good for maths practice.

Dustinthewind I made the comment you objected to. To be clear - yes, I do realise that teachers have houses full of resources etc. I am a church children's worker and I have a similar house.

But I do think that the specific staff in question - at the OP's school - may not have thought through what they are doing. Particularly as it becomes apparent that they are sending games home randomly, without tying them into the child's ability. How disheartening for a child to be given a game that they find difficult and frustrating - and for a parent to feel obliged to persevere with it when it's not appropriate for them.