Supporting Children with Maths

Involve children in the situations in which you use maths in everyday life, at the
supermarket, making tea, on the television, doing the washing, sorting, baking or
measuring ingredients etc.

Money – Discuss coins and how much items cost, including what change is expected at the
till, ask children to count out the money in a money box or purse, let them pay at the
shop. For older children, talk about sale items; half off, 50% sale, 20% off.

Play games involving numbers such as card games, dominoes, snakes and ladders.

Stimulate their thinking at times of boredom, (such as when travelling), with mental
activities such as number facts or times tables.

Help your child to learn their times table facts by heart including division facts

Ask them to tell you or teach you what they have learnt in maths lessons at school.

Telling the time – ask the children to tell you the time, work out how long something will
take to cook or how long it will take to get somewhere or what time you need to get out
at swimming etc.

Number squares – This can be used to help children learn what order numbers appear,
what comes before/after numbers and one more/less than each one. The children can
look for patterns and solve addition and subtraction problems too.

Homework – Encourage your child to explain what their homework involves and what
methods they need to use. Try not to do the homework for them, instead encourage them
to think about what they need to do to solve the problems and have a go.

Help your child to understand that it is ok to make mistakes and that we can learn from
them.

Help your child to understand that maths is all around us and is a life skill. Talk to your
child about enjoying maths and not being afraid or upset about it if they find it hard.
Useful Websites
 www.educationcity.com
 www.mymaths.co.uk
 www.bbc.co.uk/education
 www.ictgames.com
 www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/ks2/maths
 www.primarygames.com/math.php
 www.coolmath-games.com
 www.topmarks.co.uk
 www.maths-games.org
Times Table Hints
• 1 x ? = Always the same
• 2 x ? = Double
• 3 x ? = Top two added together
• 4 x ? = double and double again
• 5 x ? = Always end in 5 or 0
• 6 x ?, 7 x ?, 8 x?= use 5 x and add on
• 10 x ?= Ends in 0
• 9 x ? = Use 10 and take one lot away
• 11 x ? = 10x added to 1x (or pattern – 11, 22, 33)
• 12 x ? =10 x added to 2 x
September 2016