Maths at Home

Maths is all around us. There are opportunities for all children to practice their maths at home. Make it fun and engaging – try and relate it to real world contexts.

NZMaths provides excellent resources for maths learning at home through cooking, shopping, gardening and more.

Count! – count the number of steps, the number of books on the shelf, the number of cars on the road, the number of toilet rolls on the shelf at Pak’n’Save, or anything else you can think of. The more your child counts, the better they will get.

Add! – add things. This could be easy things such as the number of knives on the table plus the number of forks on the table, or more difficult things such as the cost of items at the supermarket. Don’t forget to subtract as well.

Ask! – “What fraction of people in our family are children?” “What fraction of the milk is left?””How much change will I get from…?” Show them that maths relates to the ‘real’ world.

Some great contexts for maths are:

• Money – counting and calculating.
• Measuring things – lengths, areas, volumes, cooking ingredients.
• Travelling – reading numbers on signs for young children, calculating distances and speeds for older children.
• Games – Monopoly, Bingo, board games, cards.
• Time/calendars and timetables.

Encourage children to think about different ways of solving problems, and to be able to explain them to others. If your child is explaining how they answered a question – LISTEN. They may not answer it the same way that you would, but that does not mean they are wrong. Expect your child to use different strategies to solve problems. Encourage them to explain their thinking. Sometimes you might need to use materials, such as counters, or pen and paper for them to demonstrate what they mean. Be prepared to try different strategies yourself!

Cabin Fever Math will keep your kids’ maths skills sharp without screen time.