Margaret Wix Primary School
Helping your child with maths at home can be a little daunting, especially if you feel a little unsure about maths yourself. The important thing is to not avoid it. Be positive about your abilities in front of your child and help them to see that we all use maths every day in our lives. The maths work your child is doing at school may look very different to the kind of ‘sums’ you remember. This is because children are encouraged to work mentally, where possible, using jottings to support their thinking. Even when children are taught more formal written methods, they are only encouraged to use these methods for calculations they cannot solve more efficiently in their heads. If you are unsure of some of the mathematical language the children are using or how they are learning to do something at school ask them to explain it to you. They will love being your teacher!
The Golden Rules
Keep it simple – practise what they are already learning at school, don't try to introduce anything new.
Keep it fun – there are lots of games and and practical ideas available on our school website.
Keep it real – practise maths for real purposes such as going shopping, sorting out laundry, measuring for cooking etc. Children are more motivated to learn when there is a real purpose for their learning. Below are some ideas to help you get started:
Helping your child with maths at home can be a little daunting, especially if you feel a little unsure about maths yourself. The important thing is to not avoid it. Be positive about your abilities in front of your child and help them to see that we all use maths every day in our lives. The maths work your child is doing at school may look very different to the kind of ‘sums’ you remember. This is because children are encouraged to work mentally, where possible, using jottings to support their thinking. Even when children are taught more formal written methods, they are only encouraged to use these methods for calculations they cannot solve more efficiently in their heads. If you are unsure of some of the mathematical language the children are using or how they are learning to do something at school ask them to explain it to you. They will love being your teacher!
The Golden Rules
Keep it simple – practise what they are already learning at school, don't try to introduce anything new.
Keep it fun – there are lots of games and and practical ideas available on our school website.
Keep it real – practise maths for real purposes such as going shopping, sorting out laundry, measuring for cooking etc. Children are more motivated to learn when there is a real purpose for their learning. Below are some ideas to help you get started:
Helping your child with maths at home can be a little daunting, especially if you feel a little unsure about maths yourself. The important thing is to not avoid it. Be positive about your abilities in front of your child and help them to see that we all use maths every day in our lives. The maths work your child is doing at school may look very different to the kind of ‘sums’ you remember. This is because children are encouraged to work mentally, where possible, using jottings to support their thinking. Even when children are taught more formal written methods, they are only encouraged to use these methods for calculations they cannot solve more efficiently in their heads. If you are unsure of some of the mathematical language the children are using or how they are learning to do something at school ask them to explain it to you. They will love being your teacher!
The Golden Rules
Keep it simple – practise what they are already learning at school, don't try to introduce anything new.
Keep it fun – there are lots of games and and practical ideas available on our school website.
Keep it real – practise maths for real purposes such as going shopping, sorting out laundry, measuring for cooking etc. Children are more motivated to learn when there is a real purpose for their learning. Below are some ideas to help you get started:
Shape, space and measure
Practising Number Facts
Real Life Problems
Use the link below to see our 'Maths Everywhere' cards. These will provide ideas of activities you could do with your child at home: https://www.margaretwix.herts.sch.uk/reception/
Useful sites to help with maths outside of school