Y3 DC struggles with number bonds despite being good generally at maths. Suggestions?

[bowerbird]

That's it really. DD was behind in maths all of last year (not a great teacher but let's not go there), started to hate maths and generally feel bad about the subject. I have very gently been working with her (10 minutes or so on most days) last year and over the summer to improve her skills and boost her confidence. Her attitude to math has completely changed, she's very positive and "can-do" now. She knows her times tables (2,3,4, 5, and 10) and is good at geometry, measurement, time etc.

But she seems to still really struggle with basic addition/subtraction stuff - number bonds, up to 10 and up to 20. For instance, she instantly knows that 3 times 4 is 12. But she has to really think about 3+4=7, or 5+7=12. In this one critical area, the information doesn't seem to have stuck.

I hate to go back to doing number sheets all the time, but perhaps it's necessary. I remember being quite good at maths except for telling the time. It took me ages to "get" it. Perhaps this is one of those things and it's just a matter of more practise and eventually it will click.

Anyone else had this? Suggestions or reassurance gratefully received!

When my DD (7) gets bored with memorising times tables, I do problems with her instead.

"You invite six friends to the cinema. Children's tickets cost 5 euros each. How much money do I need to give you?"

(6+1) x 5 = 35

Can you do little problems for her number bonds?

Yes, DS also good at maths (top set of 5 in his school) but still counts on his fingers for things like 4+5. I did find in Y3 the school did more mental maths and he is improving.

We have invented a (what I think is stupid but he seems to like) stupid game at home whereby I sit with a pack of cards, put 2 down and he has to add them up (we also do this for tables). If he doesn't get the answer quickly enough his toy dog "wins" the card, otherwise he wins it. (I did say it was a stupid game).

He also seems to be motivated by DD (now in Y2) who is practising her number bonds. He enjoys telling her the answer with a superior smile

buttons - lots of buttons..... take 5 first and make the different bonds, then 10 then 20 etc... Can work really well as the kids also "get" the fact that taking away and adding are related..

I parent help at our school in Y1 - and my afternoon in term 1 consists of counting buttons..... it is soooooooooo lovely to see the "ping" when a child just "gets" it.

Hi there are some number bond practice games out there - which with there video game format means that it's more fun than slog:

Woodland Junior school website has great addition work specifically on these number bonds to 10 / to 20: here: www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/maths/numberskills.html

Mumsnet learning pages have put up Mathschamps (from Pearson) and there is some good gaming for addition/ subtraction there: www.mathschamps.co.uk/

DD2 did this in Y2 and it really helped her visualise what she was doing: Save The Wale number bond game: www.ictgames.com/save_the_whale_v4.html

We moved on to Ghost Blaster: resources.oswego.org/games/ghostblasters2/gb2nores.html

You can play ghost blaster with your child and chose the target number for addition - so anything up to 99. Really useful as you can work on numbers >30 and gradually build up to anything up to 100.

DD2 doesn't like time pressure games - but if your DS doesn't mind - this speed grid challenge challenges you to select two blocks from a grid to make a sum - you can control the number of problems and the amount of time. Speed Grid link here: resources.oswego.org/games/SpeedGrid/Addition/urikares.html

Finally a good old fashioned card game can be nice family time together. Believe it or not playing 21 (black jack) really does help. Stress that Jacks/ Queen's and Kings are worth 10. Just make ace's worth 1. The challenge is to get as close to 21 as possible (no limit on number of cards) without going over (or busting). It's great fun and you can include betting (have a big bowl of smarties/ m&ms) give each player 10 - pay out 2 m&ms for every 1 bet.

Add a challenge to good old fashioned snakes and ladders - add up the consecutive rolls of dice (say sum of 3 or 4 rolls). Can also review multiplication tables - need two dice if doing numbers over 6 - your choice to practice whichever table. So say you're practicing x10. Roll two dice - say you get 8 - then ask what is 8 x 10. We play that you have to go forward and back over the board 4 times when 12 x number >48 (so 5 - 12 x 12).

HTH

Fantastic suggestions! Thanks so much everyone. I really really appreciate you taking the time to write.

Shut the box is another good one for number bond practice.

My DDs play pontoon endlessly in the back of the car.

I'm a primary teacher and I'm exactly the same!! I can do tables no bother but if you ask me to do mental adding I have to get my fingers out! No words of advice- what the others have suggested is fantastic but I just wanted to say that personally, I don't think it's the end of the world as long as she has some accurate way of working them out.

Thanks citrusy. That's interesting that you think it's no big deal. Her previous teacher kept banging on about number bonds being the building blocks of everything, which I accepted. It's nice to hear another view, especially as you're a primary teacher.

Bonds ARE important, and if they can get rapid recall of them then great, but I know of children- me included, who can work them out just as quickly in my fingers! I think it's just as important that children understand 'concepts' if maths too- understand + - x and dividing for example. Recall of facts is just a small part of maths.

Play darts (supervise carefully at this age). It's brilliant for mental arithmetic.

My yr3 dd was also struggling with number bonds. I found this number bond machine activity which she really enjoyed doing :www.amblesideprimary.com/ambleweb/mentalmaths/numberbond.html It has has made an instant difference to her performance and confidence in maths.

With my classes I tend to play games- ten pin bowling (ie if you have knocked 2 down, how many will be left), card games like snap or matching pairs, darts, throwing bean bags into bucket or hoop ( how many more to 10), toys labelled with prices ( which 2 will you buy to make 10). Hope this helps! Bonds are really useful when using written methods to add and subtract but I agree with Citrusy that if she can work them out quickly it is not the end of the world if she doesn't have them memorised yet.

For numbers which add to over10, eg 5+7, dd (now Y5) does this:
7+3=10
5-3=2
so 7+5=10
Basically, take the larger number, see what you need to make 10, take that from the smaller number and what is left is the units.

Or even 7+5=12 Oops

Just a basic question- does she have a good concrete concept of number? Does she really know how many "things" make he numbers she's learning about?

When mine started school they had unifix cubes (like square lego- which you could easily use at home).

Make a tower of 10 or 20 or what ever and break it - how many in each part? If there were 10 and it broke with 4 in this hand, how many, without counting does the other hold?

Actually do this with lego. and repeat and repeat.

computer games are great but sometimes they just haven't quite securely clicked on exactly what it means.