Winning At Maths

Many of us have a love-hate relationship with math’s. Some might love it and some might hate its very existence. Often, it is seen as this incredibly boring subject that just takes forever to learn and we regularly ask the question, “How is this even going to help me one day?” Parents believe they have gotten out of doing this subject, until their child comes home and suddenly you are trying to remember how to do long division or fractions.

I am going to give you some advice on how you can revise with your child at home, improve their confidence in the subject and encourage them to want to learn:

1. Make the exercise hands-on, place things in front of your child to help them see and feel the problem.
2. Make use of Mathletics – this is a fun, engaging way for your child to practice work learnt, at home.
3. Ask your child to explain how they got to their answer. They will recall information and you will understand their thought process.
4. Ask questions daily when you aren’t doing extra work, such as “what’s the time?” or “How many bananas would we need to buy if each person got 3?” – This will help your child relate Math’s to real life problems.
5. Mistakes are good! It is a learning curve for your child.

Things the Year 6’s suggested that help them learn:

• Constantly practicing
• Having someone sit down with them and going over what they don’t understand
• Using blocks
• Working in a group
• Asking questions
• When work is explained using games
• Correcting their mistakes
• Motivation

“Mathematics is not about numbers, equations, computations, or algorithms. Mathematics is about understanding.” — William Paul Thurston

Brittney Hakime
Year 6 Teacher