We believe Maths should be fun! Children should enjoy playing with numbers, finding patterns and making connections. Whatever you do with your children at home to help them with their Maths, always try to keep this in mind.
A Book You Might Like to Read
‘Maths For Mums and Dads’ by Rob Eastaway and Mike Askew is a useful guide for parents unfamiliar with modern Maths teaching methods. It is available from all good bookshops for around £8.
Maths Games
Many popular games feature Maths skills as key to their success! Playing dominoes or card games with your children can involve all sorts of Maths in disguise! Games like Connect 4 and Othello require competitors to spot and recognise patterns. Any games that require dice will require counting skills, too. Play these as a family and have fun together!
Spotting Numbers
Where do you spot number? On clocks, on front doors, on food packages…. This can lead to some interesting conversations.
Cooking gives so many opportunities for maths – weighing, timing and even sharing the finished product. It’s interesting to see how good children are using fractions when it comes to sharing a cake! 1/5 of 2 cakes becomes a challenge to be completed!
Children’s Story Books Involving Maths
There are some excellent children’s books with Maths problems to explore! Such as:
- 365 Penguins by Jean-Luc Fromental
- Maths Curse by Jon Scieszka
- A Hundred Hungry Ants by Elinor Pinczes
- How Big is a Million? by Anna Milbourne
- The Rabbit Problem by Emily Gravett
I really recommend this video as inspiration for teaching maths whether you are a parent or a teacher! Dan Finkle’s 5 Principals of Mathematical Teaching.
