Maths Support and Help for an 8 year old

looperman1000

Hi there.

With CoVid and the pandemic and everything my daughter seems to have fallen a little behind with Maths. 

Everything else seems to be ok...but she needs extra support with Maths.

Are there Maths grinds or a teacher anyone could recommend in the Dublin Area for a Saturday or Sunday?

Thanks in advance

Car99

looperman1000 wrote: »

Hi there.

With CoVid and the pandemic and everything my daughter seems to have fallen a little behind with Maths. 

Everything else seems to be ok...but she needs extra support with Maths.

Are there Maths grinds or a teacher anyone could recommend in the Dublin Area for a Saturday or Sunday?

Thanks in advance

8 year old Maths , ask her teacher where she is struggling and maybe incorporate a few maths excercises to do with her in a fun useful way every day. Using maths with in day to day life to let her see how useful it is and grow her confidence by using math in a practical way.

looperman1000

Thanks Car, the teacher mentioned in her school report..just that...incorporate maths into cooking, gardening, shopping...every day stuff to build her confidence.

Car99

looperman1000 wrote: »

Thanks Car, the teacher mentioned in her school report..just that...incorporate maths into cooking, gardening, shopping...every day stuff to build her confidence.

Plenty fun apps games for the maths too to help with addition subtraction. Also there are coding apps for kids which are just sequence building using given shapes to get from point a to b .

RealJohn

An eight year old does not need grinds.
Make sure she knows her tables and that she can add, subtract, multiply, and divide without a calculator.
And like others have said, get her doing maths in cooking and in games and the likes.

looperman1000

Appreciate your advice RealJohn, thanks again Car99, too.

JPup

RealJohn wrote: »

An eight year old does not need grinds.
Make sure she knows her tables and that she can add, subtract, multiply, and divide without a calculator.
And like others have said, get her doing maths in cooking and in games and the likes.

I'd agree with this sentiment but stick with the curriculum for her age group. Moving on to tables and division that they haven't covered in class could be counter-productive at this stage.

RealJohn

JPup wrote: »

I'd agree with this sentiment but stick with the curriculum for her age group. Moving on to tables and division that they haven't covered in class could be counter-productive at this stage.

I’m not up on the current primary curriculum but I definitely had my tables done by the time I was eight. I have to think I had some division done by then too.

noplacehere

looperman1000 wrote: »

Hi there.

With CoVid and the pandemic and everything my daughter seems to have fallen a little behind with Maths. 

Everything else seems to be ok...but she needs extra support with Maths.

Are there Maths grinds or a teacher anyone could recommend in the Dublin Area for a Saturday or Sunday?

Thanks in advance

Get her maths book home. Ask the teacher is there any specific areas. Read/do those chapters to see what maths is actually in them. Then incorporate it into daily life over the summer. Ideally not using her book so she doesn’t feel ‘behind’

meeeeh

Does she have pocket money? You'd be surprised how well kids learn to add and subtract when it's up to them to figure out of they can afford something or what they can afford for the amount. Trying to figure out how long till Christmas, how many months between birthdays of different people and similar stuff.

lulublue22

Hi

8 yrs is roughly 2nd class - so if she is just finishing 2nd she would not have started multiplication or division yet. For second she would have focused on group counting in 5's , 10's , 2's etc and repeated addition 2+2+2 etc as a precursor to multiplication.

Multiplication & Division are introduced in 3rd class. Tables and the operations + - x and division are very important in maths. However be careful of focusing on maths work that has not been covered yet particularly if the teacher feels she is experiencing difficulty with the curriculum for her class level. If she is in third then I would definitely focus on tables - there are some great online games that help develop tables - topmarks .co.uk is a great site. I would also focus on group counting to reinforce the tables and revise repeated addition and link to multiplication. ie 2 +2+2 = 6
3 x 2 = 6
I think if you want to work with your child over the Summer your best bet would be to contact the teacher and ask exactly what areas she is finding difficult and what exactly you can work on to help her.

Aquals

As a maths teacher, I'd also agree with what has already been said. I'd steer clear of a maths grind for an 8 year old if I was in your position. If you have her maths book at home over the Summer, you or someone else at home could pick bits and pieces out of it every so often. It'll all be stuff that you'll be well-able to help her with. Plus, as the others have said, keep it fun and set her little maths questions in everyday settings.

byhookorbycrook

New Wave Mental Maths (level 2 if she is in second) is good.
Tie each little test to a reward chart- if she gets a test fully correct , she gets a sticker and ten stickers could get her a small treat. I usually correct the test and put a dot by any one that is incorrect. They get the chance to try to correct it themselves, which encourages them to take their time and use what they already know .

In class (I'm an SET) I use a similar reward system for these books. It's very important to revise anything she needs help with with lots of concrete materials to help her get the necessary concept fixed in her head.
https://www.123learning.co.uk/plus-1-book

As already mentioned. think in terms of maths all around us.

Language and vocabulary of maths (e.g. more than, less than, heavy, light, tall, short, etc.)

Sequencing numbers (counting forwards and backward) Board games are great for this


Understanding position (on, in, under, behind, next to, etc.)

Showing awareness of time (knowing daily routines, talking about today, tomorrow, yesterday, this morning, tonight, etc.)

Being aware of shapes and patterns in the world around us (seeing common 2D and 3D shapes and beginning to name them, recognising patterns and sequences)

Bake cakes together. Talk about the weight of flour, the volume of milk, number of eggs, the amount of time the cakes will bake for, how hot the oven will be.

Use leftover pastry like playdough and then bake your creations.

Decorate cakes or biscuits in different patterns or with different shapes.

Cut vegetables or fruit into different shapes.

Make a pattern with different colours or shapes of fruit and vegetables.

Count out how many potatoes, bread rolls, carrots, etc. you need to make a family meal.

am_zarathustra

byhookorbycrook wrote: »

New Wave Mental Maths (level 2 if she is in second) is good.
Tie each little test to a reward chart- if she gets a test fully correct , she gets a sticker and ten stickers could get her a small treat. I usually correct the test and put a dot by any one that is incorrect. They get the chance to try to correct it themselves, which encourages them to take their time and use what they already now .

In class (I'm an SET) I use a similar reward system for these books. It's very important to revise anything she needs help with with lots of concrete materials to help her get the necessary concept fixed in her head.
https://www.123learning.co.uk/plus-1-book

As already mentioned. think in terms of maths all around us.

Language and vocabulary of maths (e.g. more than, less than, heavy, light, tall, short, etc.)

Sequencing numbers (counting forwards and backward) Board games are great for this


Understanding position (on, in, under, behind, next to, etc.)

Showing awareness of time (knowing daily routines, talking about today, tomorrow, yesterday, this morning, tonight, etc.)

Being aware of shapes and patterns in the world around us (seeing common 2D and 3D shapes and beginning to name them, recognising patterns and sequences)

Bake cakes together. Talk about the weight of flour, the volume of milk, number of eggs, the amount of time the cakes will bake for, how hot the oven will be.

Use leftover pastry like playdough and then bake your creations.

Decorate cakes or biscuits in different patterns or with different shapes.

Cut vegetables or fruit into different shapes.

Make a pattern with different colours or shapes of fruit and vegetables.

Count out how many potatoes, bread rolls, carrots, etc. you need to make a family meal.

This is solid advice and will build fluency in maths, something a lot of kids lack coming to secondary. A kid with a feel for numbers will always get there in the end. Pounds and ounces are nice or even cups in baking are invaluable at that age. When older converting between miles and km was a favourite of my Dad's, certainly gives a feel for fractions

looperman1000

Can't believe the responses i have got back. Thanks so much...all really much appreciated!
Such piece of mind with all this info that i can now go forward armed with it.