Maths is hard...or is it?
How many people have used that line? Is maths really hard? Is there a trick we've missed? And most importantly, how do I make sure my child never utters those words?
Well, the short answer is...I don't actually know, but I think I have a small breakthrough...
Since little person was littler, I've always told him maths is an easy subject (albeit the fact that mum struggled during primary school), maths is and will never be hard. Everyone knows, say something so many times and it becomes truth. I think I may have nailed that one, maths is not hard and will never be hard!
The only thing I learnt many moons ago, when I finally fell in love with maths, was the fact, that as a 14 year old, all of a sudden it seemed like fun! The subject was fun, because it was fun it felt easy...it wasn't the bad guy, it was a good guy trying to be understood!
So what has all the above got to do with our home ed journey? Well...understanding how I came to love the subject is important, it enables me to appreciate that only when I had a teacher who made lessons much more enjoyable did I actually enjoy it!
This is where the fun and games start. How to make maths fun? The answers are endless, so for the sake of keeping this post a readable length(!) I'll mention the resources that have helped immensely.
1) Educational websites are great...but one that struck a cord, and made it all the more fun has to be www.theschoolrun.co.uk. Not only do you find all the relevant worksheets etc, but you'll find games and more games to try out! The workbooks are brilliant. They aren't pages and pages of questions, they are a page of example and questions followed by extremely well thought out games! Cut the number cards out, cut out the multiplication cards...see who can match the answers to questions the fastest....just one example of the type of games you can play! So, this site is a huge hit, well done to the guys behind the scenes!
2) Books. Hmm...yeah books are good, but you get the boring ones, the tedious ones, and the absolutely shocking ones! If you're in a school, the school decides which books the year will use and that's it. Thing is, one child might flourish using the 'Singapore maths' whilst another might need more of 'beast academy'. Children are different just like adults...and that's very important. So which books do we use? We don't stick with one set of books, no that doesn't work. So we have our Schofield and Simms books, we have Galore park, Collins, Letts, Singapore maths,Beast academy, an more! Ok, so maybe we've gone over the top, but the fact is, this week little person is probably really enjoying working though Collins workbooks but next week, he might need something a little more light hearted and comical, and we will pull out Beast academy books!
3) Toys! Yes toys are good, it doesn't matter if the child is 'too old to play with toys' because if that's what they want to do, that is what they need to do! Maths and toys, they go hand in hand. Creativity, imagination and maths....'hey mum check out my cube!'....'mum doesn't this look like an acute angle?'.....They use maths so much more than we recognise, and toys help. They help when they divide the toys, they help when they need to calculate areas/number of toys. The possibilities are endless, and the best way to make the most is, if you're up to it, ask the questions...so what's the perimeter of that fancy house you made? You'd be surprised by the enthusiasm to carry out maths functions when playing (they don't know it's maths!) Lego always wins the rounds for being the best invention as a toy and educational tool!
4) Apps. They're good, screen time might be an issue, but if you don't mind half an hour using the iPad get some cool maths apps. There are so many to choose from, it's difficult to select only one. Some cost a fortune, and others are free. Have a look, read reviews, pick the ones that work for your kids.
So try it out! Make maths fun...but the most important thing, don't forget it's use in everyday life. Simple ways of ensuring the kids learn and love the subject...there is an endless list of ways of introducing and using maths in everyday life, so I'll leave that for the next post!
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