Make the most of teachable moments. Although we like to have a formal maths at the same time each day in our house, it’s important to not lose sight of the fact that it is a mathematical world. Maths is everywhere. Teach your children to identify numbers and patterns all around them from an early age and don’t be afraid to use the correct terms.

Relate learning to real life. The main purpose of learning maths is in order to use it so we can function in the real world. Do mental maths at every available opportunity and in a natural way e.g. “How many years is it since Grandma last came to stay?”

Hands up for hands-on. Don’t assume that children are too old for hands-on learning. If they have another strong learning style incorporate that as well e.g. getting them to read the problems out loud - or under their breath. Sometimes, being able to see it in a ‘concrete’ (real) way is all they need to make the light switch on.

Check for comprehension.  Can they explain the concept back to you? The ability to reason helps solidify the concept in their minds and allows you to perform some invaluable informal assessment at the same time. NB This applies to all learning, not just maths.

Verbalisation helps to train the thinking. Stick to the same wording while the concept is being taught e.g. When teaching subtraction with renaming (where one of the bottom numbers is larger than the top), I teach the children to ALWAYS start from the top, right hand number and then say “you can’t do that” if the bottom number is bigger. Then I teach them to say to themselves, “so what do I have to do now?” etc. At the end of the lesson you can talk about other possible answers or strategies as you want to encourage creative thinking but too many variations can lead to mix ups e.g. they might start to subtract the top number from the bottom or start with the wrong column. Incidentally, the same principle applies to teaching handwriting; an internal monologue can really help cement the correct formation which reduces the incidence of letter reversals etc.

Teach strategies. Explain what to do when things don’t go right or if they get stuck. Some things that you might like to try include trying three different ways before asking for help, thinking of another similar concept, breaking the task down into steps e.g. 15x13 = 10x10 + 5x3, estimation and self checking.

If in doubt, go back. If there is a mental block, always go back to the point where success is achieved. This of course seems logical but we often don’t follow this principle because we think they should know it just because we have previously taught it. Sometimes it is just to regain confidence before moving on again. 

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