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Yr2 Child - not keen on Maths. How to make it fun?

8 replies

skateboarder · 12/03/2012 13:18

Dd is in year 2 and not keen on maths and therefore she is not progressing. I feel her understanding is poor.
I am very happy to support her learning and try and spend time one to one with her most days (have two younger children too, so not as easy to do as I write!)
I have spoken with her teacher and she suggests games and worksheets from the internet. We play games sometimes and I have worksheets and numeracy work books for her to practice.

We sometimes go on the i-board too.

Dd is very good at reading and would much rather read a book - we have numeracy books / dictionaries etc, but she never chooses to look at these, would much rather read to herself one of her favourite types of books.

Is there anything else I can do to stop maths becoming a fear?

tia

OP posts:
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Kellamity · 12/03/2012 13:22

I have been recommended [http://www.mathlesson.com/ this]] for DS. We are currently working through the reading equivalent and although I have the maths one I haven't started it yet. I have also got a copy of Maths for Mums and Dads to help me understand how they are taught maths so I can help with their homework.

Kellamity · 12/03/2012 13:23

Try again - this

SunflowersSmile · 12/03/2012 13:40

It definitely would not have appealed to me as a child to read a numeracy dictionary/ book!
I understand why you want to stop fear of Maths. It may never be her favourite thing though. BBC Bitesize is good with Max and Molly [I think].

PastSellByDate · 12/03/2012 14:13

Hi Skateboarder:

My DD1 also was clearly struggling by Y2 (unable to take even 1 from 10 in March of that school year). So we did a number of things.

We decided that there were problems with the school provision - so we opted to do a lot at home. This may not be your situation.

If you think your DD's problem is that she learns better with practice (learning through doing) than I would highly recommend Mathsfactor www.themathsfactor.com/. There are a number of options. You can just get worksheets to doing on-line tutorials by monthly subscription. You can try a bit for free and decide what suits you best.

I also know that others have posted here on MN saying Mathletics and Maths Whizz are very good.

Now from what you are saying your DD needs practice with number bonds. There are a number of great free on-line games here: www.maths-games.org/adding-games.html. You have to test these out because some aren't working that well (e.g. Count Hoot is missing bottom off screen, so hard to choose numbered ladybirds).

BBC Bitesize KS1 has lots of revision games in the run-up to SATs & you can select ability level: www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/ks1/maths/

BBC Learning [BETA] webpage has two places to go for support materials for maths: www.bbc.co.uk/schools/teachers/keystage_1/topics/numeracy.shtml - you can select activities/ worksheets or games.

Or the main KS1 numeracy site: www.bbc.co.uk/schools/teachers/keystage_1/topics/maths_ks1.shtml where you can explore curriculum by topic.

Don't undervalue visual aids to learning about number bonds. We tried simple addition/ subtraction with numbers under 10 and under 20 by using smarties and raisins. You could use anything buttons, game pieces, etc... - as long as they don't have numbers written on them because that may confuse your DD.

We also found playing snakes and ladders forwards and backwards really helped with counting up or back. However most games only have one die (so adding/ subtracting nubmers to 6) - to make it interesting you may want to include a second die - (so numbers up to 12) when she's ready.

In terms of stopping maths becoming a fear - we were there with DD1 who said quite happily she was 'no good at maths because Mrs. X says so'. Our solution was to just say that is rubbish - you have 40 fingers and toes - so there is no excuse not to be able to add and subtract to 40. Sure it isn't easy - but that just means you need more practice until it is.

However, everyone has their own way of understanding and envisioning numbers - and the trick is to try a number of different methods explaining concepts until you find a way (visual - so eight cupcakes take away 4 cupcakes, numerical 8 - 4 [either horizontal or in traditional column] or even coneptual (so utilising the 100 number square and either physically or mentally jumping ahead/ back the appropriate number of places). These are so imbedded with adults that it is really difficult to explain how you know 10 - 2 is 8. The solution is patience, seeking to find a method(s) that help understanding and practice (nothing beats learning through doing).

HTH

PastSellByDate · 12/03/2012 14:15

Sorry - that should have been together we have (me and DD1) - so we could just count up and down. She has 20 fingers/ toes - in case you're worried.

skateboarder · 12/03/2012 15:21

Thank you so much for all the ideas. will have a look through the websites tonight when I have bit more time.
sun - just wanted to explain that she has some resources available to her, not that I expect her to read it from cover to cover!! She seems to like to know the reasoning behind things so thought a numeracy knowledge book may help her understand.

Thanks so much

OP posts:
NobodySaidItWasEasy · 12/03/2012 18:35

Pora Ora is also a great online game for kids and has loads of maths content .... My eldest boy (yr3) absolutely loves it, and my youngest (rec) plays the number bond games a lot. They find it very engaging because of the in game rewards. check it out on www.poraora.com

Lucy88 · 13/03/2012 08:48

Its also good to relate maths to something they are interested in. My DS doesn't seem to have any interest in anything unless its football.

To help him with his maths, we relate it all to football. Just a couple of examples:

If Man City played 10 games, won 6, drew 3 and lost 1, how many points would they have? This helps with problem solving, adding/times. I would then say something like, 'If they played 4 more games, won 1 and drew one, how many points would they have?'

If you had £30 and went to the City store and bought 1 football for £10 and 2 City cups that were £7 each, how much would you have spent and then how much change would you have out of £30.

I do a similar thing with writing, which he hates - we relate it to football, holidays and things that are familiar to him.

May not work for all children, but it works for us.

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