maths - adding up in columns

[mintyneb]

In which year are children taught to add up in columns?

My daughter is in yr 2 and has recently brought home some maths involving adding numbers in 100s and 10s. She tried to explain how she is being taught but I'm afraid it made absolutely no sense to me and didn't seem to make it that easy to add up.

Dh and I showed her how we were taught using columns and it seemed to make more sense to her and she enjoyed it.

I don't want to go against the school and confuse her by combining methods so was wondering how long I need to wait until she is taught in the way that I understand and can therefore help her?

Thanks Teen&Tween:

I fear I am a bitter and twisted woman who vents her spleen here because I have had to go part-time in order to teach my kids the nuts & bolts of the English primary curriculum - especially math. The ABSOLUTE RAGE I feel over this is sometimes overwhelming.

However,

Past, definitely no wilful misunderstanding on my part.

I basically understand maths - adding and subtracting - the column way. That's how I think in my head too - I 'see' the number as if it was written down and I work through the sum as if I was actually writing it down.

I genuinely don't understand KS1 maths methods - which is why I started this thread - so whether one way or another is meant to be the mental maths way or the written down way doesn't really mean anything to me.

I'm pleased for your DD that everything is working out so well in her new school :-)

I do column adding/subtraction in my head - asked DH a mathematician and he says that how he does it.

Yr 3 top group started column addition/subtraction. DD1 came home worried she wasn't being taught this but top group was. It was mid yr 4 at school before she was. However we'd started DS start of YR 1 with maths factor so started her as well.

DS now year 2 - his teachers very pleased he can do column method already- he's been learning with mathsfactors for last few months.

I was worried about helping the DC with maths - as I didn't get the methods used. DH insisted it didn't matter as knowing different methods in maths is actually good but I wasn't sure at the DC ages.

The whole idea of placed value seems to be taught badly and very late.