Maths

Maths - How to help your child at home

11 Nov 2015

 How you can help your child at home

• It is important that you talk and listen to your child about their work in maths. It will help your child if they have to explain it to you.
• Be positive about Maths even in you don’t feel confident about it yourself.
• Remember, you are not expected to teach your child maths, but please share, talk and listen to your child.
• If your child can not do their Maths homework, do let the teacher know by either writing a note in your child’s homework book or telling the teacher.
• A lot of games can be done using everyday situations and will not need pencil and paper methods.
• Play games and have fun in Maths.
• This booklet contains some examples of how you can include maths at home.

Counting

• Collection of objects – shells, buttons, stones, cars, cards, money.
• Cars on a journey e.g. how many red cars?
• Animals in a field e.g. sheep, cows.
• Stairs up to bed, steps etc.
• Pages in a story books. How many more left?
• Counting up to 10,20 and 100 forwards and backwards
• Counting buttons, shoes, socks as child gets dressed.
• Tidy cupboard or shelf and count the contents eg, tins, shoes, socks, plastic cups, pots, pans etc.
• Counting particular vehicles on a journey eg. Motor bikes, trucks, cars etc.
• Count how long it takes for water to fill up bath

Number games

• Skipping – every skip count 2,3,4, etc
• Hop scotch
• Ludo
• Snakes and ladders
• Dominoes
• Cards – number sequences
• Cards – rummy, snap
• Bingo
• Darts
• Heads and tails and keep a tally
• Chess and draughts
• Monopoly
• Computer and IPad games
• Connect 4
• Counting games to practise times tables
• I spy a number ...with 2 digits
• Number jigsaws
• Jigsaws – increase number of pieces
• Dot to dot numbers
• Skittles
• Number cross words
• Sudoku

Sequencing

• The main events of the day
• Routines and what comes next
• The parts of  a recipe, set of instructions
• Getting dressed
• Tying shoe laces
• Imagine you have a week to do whatever you wish, plan your 7 day week ahead.
• What to do before I go to school
• What to do after school
• Explain how to play a game

Shopping

• Looking at prices
• Calculating change – which coins, different combinations
• Weighing fruit and vegetables
• Counting pocket money
• Reading and comparing labels on bottles, packets, in order to discuss capacity, weight, shape and colour
• Estimating final bill at end of shopping while waiting at the cash out
• Calculating the cost of the family going to the movies

Fractions
Your pizza costs £4.80. Cut it into 6 equal slices.
How much does each slice cost? How much is half a slice?
How much do 2 slices cost?
What if you cut your pizza into 4 equal slices? What will each section be called?
How much does 1 slice cost now?
How much does half a slice cost now?
Is it the same, more or less than above?
 
Sorting and matching

• Setting the table and sorting cutlery
• Sorting socks
• Sorting washing
• Sorting groceries
• Sorting toys
• Sorting pots and pans
• Sorting colours in pencil pot
• Sorting wax crayons
• Sorting story books size, shape, colour, age group etc.,