1. Ponsbourne St Mary’s School
Mathematics at Home
Ponsbourne St Mary’s School

2. Mathematical Language
Mathematical language is confusing to many children and adults.
Need to contextualise the language. E.g. How many is 3 cars take away 2 cars?
Use objects - don’t make maths abstract
Need to constantly use mathematical language at home and at school. Consistency.

3. My Mathematical Study
Studying Mathematical language for my Masters in Education at Cambridge University.
Read around on the issue
Analysed our planning
Observed lessons
Interviewed teachers and children

4. Outcomes from my study
Children became more confident in their use of mathematical language
Children became better at solving word problems. E.g. If Kate had 12 cake and gave half to Jim and Bob ate half of Jims how many did Bob eat?
Change in timetable to allow for discussion – Oral and Mental starters
WOW words displayed

5. Importance of Mathematical Talk
Mathematical discussion and talk aids understanding.
Importance of maths talk at home – children achieve more highly and understand
Need to work together to give your child/ren the chance to understand and enjoy maths.

6. Ideas for Maths at Home NUMBER
Use ‘more’ or ‘less’ when comparing objects at home or out. E.g. Is there more blue bricks than red bricks?
Sing counting rhymes – 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 – 10 in the bed, 5 current buns etc.
Get a thermometer and look at the readings – negative numbers
To practice the times tables daily – in the car?

7. Ideas for Maths at Home COUNTING
Counting objects – how many dolls have you got? How many have brown hair? etc.
Look at odd and even numbers on houses – count the odd houses 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, etc.
Play cards/dominoes- count the symbols/dots - snap
Playing board games – count the number on the dice – move the correct number of squares.

8. Ideas for Maths at Home ADDING AND TAKING AWAY
Food -Count the number of chips on your plate. If you eat two how many will your have left?
Shopping – Sam has 4 items in his basket and you have 3. How many items do you have altogether?
Playing – You have two football teams of players – how many do you have altogether – One has been sent off how many do you have now?

9. Ideas for Maths at Home MULTIPLICATION AND DIVISION
Cooking - To work out how many potatoes to put in the pan if each person wants 4.
4 people times/multiplied by 4 potatoes equals 16 potatoes.
Playing -To share out the toys/sweets between them.
12 toys shared between 3 children equals 4 toys each.

10. Ideas for Maths at Home MONEY
Give children money to spend at the shop – have to work out the cost of their item and the change they will get before they can buy it. Or find the correct change.
Count the change in your pocket/purse together.
Make a wish list in a catalogue and add up prices. How much change from £100?
Give children the task of finding the cheapest/dearest baked beans in the shop. What is the difference in price from the cheapest to the dearest? How much could you save?

11. Ideas for Maths at Home FRACTIONS, DECIMALS AND PERCENTAGES
Ask them what fraction of the pizza/sweets/burgers/potatoes are on their plate? E.g. 3 out of 12 = 3/12 = ¼ = one quarter or 0.25 or 25%
Ask what fraction/percentage of the cars in the car park are blue? Or the objects in the shopping basket are fruit/meat/veg?
Try cutting an apple/banana/cake in half/quarter/thirds/quarters/fifths/sixths etc.
Go shopping in the sale – 10% of the price – work out the new cost of the item.

12. Ideas for Maths at Home TIME Ask children the time – 24 hour
How long until dinner/tv programme/school? Etc
Time a journey to see how long it takes
Look at a bus/train timetable and see how long they take
Read the instructions on food to see how long it take to cook – when will it be ready?
Recap days of the week and months regularly

13. Ideas for Maths at Home MEASURE
Cook together and weigh out the ingredient – grams, Oz, ml
Estimate (guess) the distance you will drive and use the milometer to check who was closest. Will the next journey be shorter or longer?
Compare weights of items - which is lighter/heavier?
Use the scales at the supermarket – ask them to get 500g of apples etc.
Calculate the area and perimeter of a shape – which one is bigger/smaller?

14. Ideas for Maths at Home SHAPE – 2D OR 3D
Look at shapes around your house and when you are out – cereal box, tissue box, coffee jar, post box, dustbin etc.
Count how many triangles/squares/cubes/ quadrilaterals/hexagons you can find – make it a competition – who can find the most?
Count the sides/corners/faces/ edges/vertices of a shape and work out what it is.
Play guess the object – I spy a 3D shape with 6 faces, 12 edges and 8 vertices. All the sides and angles are equal – what is it?

15. Ideas for Maths at Home SPACE
Look at patterns with reflection – draw/colour half a shape and try and draw the reflection.
Use North, South, East, West, Forward, Right and Left when out walking. Try directing them to an object/prize – turn 90o walk forward 5 paces…

16. Ideas for Maths at Home DATA
To count the number of red/black/yellow cars that you drive/walk past and record in a tally chart – put into a bar chart/pie graph
To discuss the likelihood of something happening: certain likely, even, unlikely, impossible
Measure the temperature every day/week and record the temperature in a table – line graph – discuss the differences in temperature.

17. Our Input To continue to teach Mathematics in a fun and varied way.
To continue to encourage mathematical discussion and dialogue.
To continue to invest money in games, apparatus and ICT
To send home maths games weekly
To support you in assisting your child in mathematics.

18. Your Input
To use some of these ideas of how you could support you child at home and to add more.
To continue to increase mathematical discussion at home.
To work together weekly playing the maths game – using as much mathematical language as possible (use the white language sheet to help)
To make maths fun and enjoyable – work together and make it a game/challenge/competition rather than work
To use the internet at home if you have it.

19. Ideas and Questions
Please let us know of any new ways in which we could support you in assisting your child's mathematics at home
Thank you for listening
Any questions?