Reception and Number Bonds to 10

[Imperialleather2]

Ds is August born and started in Reception Last September.

He'a just got his head around addition and subtraction and addition using a number line/ or his fingers and can often do simple sums in his head.

They came home with a number bond sheet a couple of weeks before Easter and their easter home work is for the to learn the number bond rhyme.

So he knows the rhyme by heart but when I tried to.see if actally understood what he had learnt he didn't have a clue about what it meant. We tried an abacus drawing dots ETC.

I'm Going to.speak to his teacher after the holiday but is,this normal at this age or should I be worried worried?

Thanks

My DC is in year 1 and from what her teacher tells me doing well in maths - number bonds to 10is only something she has mastered in the last few months. I expct there are lots in her class that don't yet. But I thibk the national cirriculum changed in Sept so maybe they expect them to know them earlier now?

It sounds as if he's way ahead of expectations for new reception children

the number bonds rhyme just doesn't work for some kids, don't worry about it would be my advice.

dd2 would sit there and sing "8 and 2, polish my shoe" etc.. and then you would ask her what is 8+2 and she would count them on her fingers.
yr4 she still does and her maths is very good.
she is a visual learner, buttons, abacus all v helpful in the infants. rhymes not so much! even now she tends to use paper for working out a lot more than DD1 did.

I think it's a bit daft to teach them a rhyme without physically making sure they understand with objects, numicon etc. He sounds like he is doing fine though.

I'd keep going with using apparatus to help him understand how the pairs of numbers make 10. IME as a teacher the rhymes are pretty pointless unless the children have the understanding already as they just learn the words but don't relate them to the actual maths.

I'm sure the school is doing lots of practical activities with physical resources but it's vital for future progress to have automatic recall of number bonds (not just to ten) and actually learning through songs and rhymes is a very effective way to do it.

Here is my standard Numeracy information:

Practical things are best for grasping number concepts - bricks, Lego, beads, counters, money, shapes, weights, measuring, cooking.

Do adding, taking away, multiplication (repeated addition), division (sharing), using REAL OBJECTS as just 'numbers' can be too abstract for some children.

Number Bonds of Ten forms the basis of much maths, so try to learn them. Using Lego or something similar, use a LOT of bricks (of just TWO colours, if you have enough) lay them out so the pattern can be seen of one colour INCREASING while the other colour DECREASES. Lay them down, or build up like steps.

So:

ten of one colour none of other
nine of one colour one of other
eight of one colour two of other
seven of one colour three of other
etc,
then of course, the sides are equal at 5 and 5; after which the colours 'swap over' as to increasing/decreasing.

To learn TABLES, do them in groups that have a relationship, thus:

x2, x4, x8

x3, x6, x12

5 and 10 are easy

7 and 9 are rather harder.

Starting with TWO times TABLE, I always say: "Imagine the class is lining up in pairs; each child will have a partner, if there is an EVEN number in the class. If one child is left without a partner, then the number is ODD, because an odd one is left out."

Use Lego bricks again, lay them out in a column of 2 wide to learn 2x table. Go half way down the column, and move half the bricks up, so that now the column is 4 bricks wide. That gives the start of 4x table.

Then do similar things with 3x and 6x.

With 5x, try and count in 'fives', and notice the relationship with 'ten' - they will alternate, ending in 5 then 10.

It is important to try and UNDERSTAND the relationships between numbers, and not just learn them 'by rote'.

An inexpensive solar powered calculator (no battery to run out!) can help learn tables by 'repeated addition'. So: enter 2+2 and press = to give 4. KEEP PRESSING = and it should add on 2 each time, giving 2 times table.

There are good web sites, which can be fun to use :

www.ictgames.com/

www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/page/default.asp?title=Woodlands%20Junior%20School&pid=1

We used to play a fast snap game - I would have cards in my hands with numbers from 0 to 9, turn one card at a time and DSs had to shout the number bond to ten. They are so competitive that they both learned them very quickly! Make games with it if you can!

The best way we've found for our children to visualise and understand the relations between number is to use Numicons.

Try 10 frames
And rainbow addition to ten nrich.maths.org/content/id/10742/BlankTenFrame.pdf www.acupcakefortheteacher.com/2013/01/rainbow-to-10-freebie.html

Finding dominos where the pairs of spots add to ten

Thank you everyone.

That's my worry he's learnt the number bonds but doesn't seem to have any concept of what it actually means.

He definitely learns by doing rather than watching. I made him.some card games when he was learning his numbers and it really worked so I'll try that.

Thanks again

We used to have a dice with 5 sides to play games. I also remember "spooky cards" spent hours playing with those... If a 6 is top of the pile the next player needs to put a 6 on top or make 6 with the cards in hand. I remember playing these games when they were reception. I uses to stay clear from sheets as such. Car journeys are brilliant too to play card games..

I taught dd her number bonds to ten by painting her fingers - we did 9 red 1 yellow, 8 green 2 blue etc and made pairs of handprints on the back of some wallpaper and then stuck it on the wall where she sees it often.

Oops... Meant number games are good for car journeys. Would not recommend cards whilst driving!

But if he lays out the bonds of ten, using two colours of blocks, Lego, whatever, doesn't that help him to see the 'pattern' of one side increasing, while the other side decreases.

If I come across any on-line demonstration I'll try and send it to you.

If you want to throw money at the problem, numicon is fab for helping the understanding. A full set is ££ but a starter kit for a fiver could help him see how the pairs fit together

www.amazon.co.uk/Numicon-Bag-Shapes-1-10/dp/0198487312/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1428100252&sr=8-4&keywords=Numicon

Or you could make your own out of bits of cereal packet. Cut 6 rectangles say 20cm x 8 cm and mark into 4x4 cm squares, so you have a 5x2 grid of squares. Leave one whole & write 10 on it. With the next cut off one square to make 9 and 1, then the next cut 2 off the end to make 8 and 2 etc. Each set is a 'puzzle' that make the 10 square grid. I would paint each pair a different colour if feeling keen. Or you could use those cubes that click together or something. As Ferguson says, Lego is also a great idea if you have the right size pieces.

Please don't worry, he is really diddy still. And I'm not suggesting you should be doing loads at home with him. Maybe it's OTT to be making or buying stuff for maths at home at this age, but I find that providing the right physical object means you don't actually have to DO much at all, it sort of speaks for itself and helps understanding much more than trying to learn them in abstract.

www.amazon.co.uk/Numicon-Bag-Shapes-1-10/dp/0198487312/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1428131130&sr=8-4&keywords=Numicon

fdslive.oup.com/www.oup.com/oxed/primary/maths/numicon/Numicon_pcms_Adding_Facts_to_10.pdf?region=international