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Primary education

Join our Primary Education forum to discuss starting school and helping your child get the most out of it.

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Original poster

DS wants maths for Christmas

38 replies

OhBuggerandArse · 03/12/2013 21:19

He is 6. In love with maths at the moment. His class is going a wee bit slowly methodically, he's getting some extra stuff to do in school but is desperate to do more, particularly multiplication.

Any ideas of what I can get for him that is enjoyable and might give him a bit of added interest without messing up the way they want to do things in class?

He thinks he wants worksheets, I'd quite like to see if I can find something that lets him play around a bit with concepts and stuff. Have had a bit of a browse around Amazon but everything I've found so far looks so linked to schemes and whole programmes that I'm losing my way a bit.

Any suggestions would be very gratefully received!

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nipersvest · 03/12/2013 22:08

what about a set of fraction cubes?

ancientbuchanan · 03/12/2013 22:10

If you need to occupy them, pre Christmas, have you tried the BBC maths ? It's quite fun. Been doing it with my goddaughter.

FossilMum · 03/12/2013 22:13

I'm getting my DS, who sounds a bit similar, The "Learning resources maths whiz": www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0006UHE8U/ref=pe_385721_37986871_TE_item

ThreeBeeOneGee · 03/12/2013 22:47

DS2 likes the Murderous Maths books.

SamAndDeanSandwich · 03/12/2013 22:50

How about this www.amazon.co.uk/Thinkfun-Maths-Dice-Junior-Multicoloured/dp/B004617DEU/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_nC?ie=UTF8&colid=3PL3W54QAIMH4&coliid=I19STJV8VYW111

DeWe · 03/12/2013 22:57

Ds is 6yo. He loves doing the bond books-both maths and verbal reasoning. He calls them his puzzle books.
He enjoyed the Murderous maths mostly, although he prefers the geography or science ones. Some of the maths was just that bit too far for him to do.
This morning I found him engrossed in a book called Maths Mysteries by Juliet and Charles Snape (published by Collins) which he'd got from his sister's room. Some of the concepts are a bit hard for him, but he was having a lot of fun with those he did understand.

swampster · 03/12/2013 23:05

Bond Papers are really good.

NoComet · 03/12/2013 23:07

Think of a number by Johnny Ball

Assuming they haven't messed with it, it was my favourite, book 35 years ago, it is brilliant.

Think Marcus du Sautoy for children, at 6 he won't get all of it, but it's a book to dip into again and again.

NoComet · 03/12/2013 23:10

Reading the reviews it looks like it's been updated without spoiling it. I think that's my DN present sorted

Original poster

OhBuggerandArse · 03/12/2013 23:14

Thank you all so much. I think we've got next Christmas sorted as well as this one, with all these suggestions!

OP posts:

lostintoys · 04/12/2013 10:06

DS absolutely loves the Maths Quest series www.amazon.co.uk/Museum-Mysteries-Maths-Quest/dp/184835634X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1386151435&sr=1-1&keywords=maths+quest. There are four of them, each of which focuses on a different area of maths.

PastSellByDate · 04/12/2013 13:41

Hi OhBug:

Does your DS like video games. You could get him set up for Timez Attack: www.bigbrainz.com/

It's up to you - you can pay for more platforms (so this can be a gift) or you can get the free two platform version. We've only ever used the 'free' version - but the previews of the more elaborate versions you can buy look good.

Timez Attack will test your DS at where he's at. He's cast as a little ogre who runs through a maze (free version has a castle and a dungeon platform) solving multiplication problems. The problems are presented as a traditional vertical problem, then dissolve into snails which you gather up. When you gathered all the snails, they turn into blue orbs which you throw back at the wall. As they hit the wall they are counted up (showing that multiplication is merely multiple additions - so for example if you had 6 x 4 - it would count up 4, 8, 12, 16, 20, 24. Then it shows the vertical multiplication problem and you type in the answer (product).

Then a Medium-sized ogre comes out and quizzes you on this problem and two others. If you answer fast enough you pass, if not he will thump you.

At the end of a level a giant ogre will come out and quiz you on a lot of multiplication problems. It will record what you get consistently correct and which ones you're struggling with. The ones that need more practice will reappear on the next level.

It can be very stressful - but it really improves speed and is very addictive. Most importantly you're getting your child to do lots of multiplication practice and they just think they're playing.

Apparently they've also launched a Division version (so inverse multiplication facts) - which he can move on to once he's conquered multiplication

HTH

swampster · 04/12/2013 20:35

Mangahigh is Marcus du Sautoy for children online. You have to register a 'school' to get a free account. My 'school' has two puplis, soon to be three. You get (or got when I registered) 30 free pupils. It is very gamey and quite fun.

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