Maths Anxiety

[shouldbedoingtheironing]

I think my ds is starting to develop a real fear of maths. He is going into Yr 4 and very behind with his maths so have been trying to help him over the holidays with some books and exercises the school have given me. He goes into meltdown if I try to do any with him and even if he does agree to do some maths he is so stressed out by it he cannot understand anything I'm asking him to do. He has a real problem with numbers and retaining any numbers in his head e.g trying to add up/subtract etc.

I wondered if anyone else has a child with this difficulty and how I might be able to help him?

I found with mine that an abacus really helped because it is very visual.

Also get him into the habit of jotting numbers down as he goes along - there is no way he should be trying to do it all in his head until he is comfortable with it.

The bottom line with maths is confidence - if you lose that it all goes wrong. You need to go back to basics and take it little step by little step.

Other things that are useful are adding and taking weights from a scales, and also using a tape measure to add and subtract.

By the way my DS was very similar in Yr3 - he was developing a real fear of numbers and struggled with adding simple numbers.

For a variety of reasons we decided to home educate at the end of yr 3, and one of the things we concentrated on was building confidence with numbers, using those methods mentioned before, plus pointing out numbers in life (eg on lego blocks, working out how big model cars are in real life etc). It gave him a reason to want to do it, and helped put it in context. He is now just 11 and maths is one of his strong points - so have faith - it can be turned around - but you have to help get over the fear.

Wow that is really positive throckenholt! It's great you managed to turn it around. It is exactly that with the confidence - he says the teachers 'shout at him' and he doesn't understand any of it. I'm not sure that is true but that is how he perceives it.

An abacus is a good idea - he is a very visual learner so things like that might help a lot - thanks for the suggestions!

i have the website details of a highly recommended maths tutor in hertfordshire if anyone would like the details.

Thanks - that's a bit far for us to go and I'm not sure ds would take very well to having a tutor. I know this would be great for him but I don't even think he would sit down with anyone to do it without huge tantrums

Have you had a look at the Khan academy? It's completely free and really helped my niece 'catch up' with Maths.

There are explanation videos followed by some questions and you can collect awards for getting them right etc.

www.khanacademy.org/

We spent lots of time on jigsaws, building railways, board games any sort of game with counting. As it's the school holidays re-visit games that you may have put away, or put aside time for Monopoly. (lots of counting, money etc). While we were out driving, we played "spotting games" who can be the first to spot a ...ie triangle road sign, 3 lamp posts, 2 tractors, 5 red cars etc etc etc. Have fun!

PedallingSquares - I have seen the Khan academy but not really explored the material so thanks - I'll have another look.

Nothingisimpossible - he's not a big fan of board games or jigsaws but I think a fun approach to maths is the right way forward. Problem is my dd who is 3 yrs younger is catching him up as she loves doing all those things and doesn't have the same issues with maths at all!

Maths anxiety is normally treated using cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT). (It's not usually the case that a maths tutor can help, for fairly obvious reasons.) This is designed to identify the sources of stress and develop mechanisms for dealing with it.

A friend of mine took her daughter to somebody in the Kingston area; if that might be of interest, let me know & I'll PM you the details.

Have just discovered dd end y1 doesn't know 3 is 1 more than 2. No wonder she's fine into melt down when I've tried to get her to count on when doing sums. In angry school never picked up on it. I suggest if it causes melt down they've bot yet internalised basic concepts. Go back 1 or 2 school years and get the right resources. Use a number line, coins etc. You can-do it. No need for a tutor. Also the computer programme Rm maths works very well.

I do quite a bit of maths at home with dd. When I introduce new ideas I tend to do so with an attitude of, "I'm just telling you about this, I don't expect you to understand it straight away." Then leave it to settle in for a day or two before going over it again. By getting them to indicate how much more they understand it each time gives an opportunity for them to see they are making progress.

Can I suggest having a look at Singapore Maths (very visual books, and well spaced out - only downside is that money stuff is in $) and the montessori style bead material - ie unit beads, tens, hundreds and thousand blocks. Singapore Maths have pictures of the blocks to help visualise 100s, 1000s etc. If the problem is numeric stuff, then I think tangible stuff that you can manipulate really helps.

Hi shouldbedoingtheironing:

I've posted a lot here about the complete turn around in maths for DD1 we've had by using mathsfactor (www.themathsfactor.com/). It's an on-line tutorial that your DS can work through at his own speed. He'll take a test and they'll start from where he's at. Carol Vorderman (of Countdown fame) used her unfair dismissal money (the fools let her go!) to set this up and it's absolutely brilliant. She uses computer graphics to visually display concepts she's also verbally explainng and slowly, slowly builds skills. There's lots of practice (both gaming and good old fashioned answering sums) and all that practice means that confidence grows.

Now to give equal air time - a lot of other parents have posted on Mumsnet that Maths whizz (www.whizz.com/ and mathletics (www.mathletics.co.uk/) have worked well for them.

Basically - I'd have a look at all three - there are free trials - so have your DS have a play and see which one he likes best. Mathsfactor offers two options: you can make a one-off payment for worksheets (~£7), you can join the summer school (~£15) or you can subscribe monthly to the arithmetic or multiplication school (depending on where your DS is at). We've been doing the arithmetic school for just over 2 years and the change in DD1 is phenomenal. She really understands number patterns, enjoys solving problems and playing with numbers - something I'd have never dreamed possible back in March of Y2 when she couldn't take 1 from 10.

The advantage of going over to something like this is that it removes you from the flash point of teaching your child how to do things your way (which can be stressful for the both of you & often 'isn't the way they do it at school') to just supporting him/ her. You provide a snack, pencil & paper if necessary, answer questions when things (including your computer) aren't working, but basically leave it to the programme. I had to help a lot when DD1 was in Y2/ Y3 (especially with typing) - but gradually over Y4, I've been doing less and less, and really handing over the learning to my DD1. I just am around now, usually getting on with other jobs.

On-line tutorials are great in terms of busy family life - it can fit around school, clubs, play dates, parties, etc... and in terms of mathsfactor (which we use) it is only a time commitment of about 1 hour to 1 1/2 hours a week - but the improvement in DD1's math has been remarkable!

Anyway - I'm just a Mum and I'm sure (as above) they'll be others to come on and suggest x or y programme - but what I'm trying to say is there are things avaiable on-line, which aren't that expensive, that can make a huge difference.

HTH