Posted on Wednesday, August 2, 2017

5 Best Maths Exam Revision Tips for Panic-Free Exams

I’ve invited Mark Maclaine, a London based super tutor specialising in maths, science and school admissions, to share his best maths exam revision tips for panic-free exams.

To really get to grips with your maths exam revision, you’ll need to use techniques that actively help you engage with the topics. Reading through notes and copying out questions will only get you so far, so for the times when you want to try changing up your revision plan, these are my 5 best maths exam revision tips.

1. Practise past papers

Working through past papers is the best way to get an understanding of the exam format and different types of questions that will come up. Remember that it’s vital you practise past papers under timed conditions! You won’t have unlimited time in the exam, so timing yourself will help you get to know what you’re capable of getting done in the exam. As you get used to the question formats, you’ll get more comfortable with the questions and quicker at knowing how to approach them.

Ensure you review the papers with a mark scheme and take the time to understand why your answer might be wrong instead of marking your work without looking over it properly. It might be frustrating initially, but you can’t always memorise your way to success with maths, so ensuring you have a thorough understanding is key. If the mark scheme provides more than one method for solving a question then ensure that you look over other ways you could have approached it. This can be a useful way to deepen your knowledge and challenge yourself to grow.

You should also always remember that there’s no shame in getting things wrong – in fact, making mistakes is one of the best ways to learn. Whilst it’s easy to put off the more challenging questions, it’s important that you focus on getting better in these areas as soon as possible. Doing past papers helps to identify questions that need some more work so you can prioritise these. After all, practise makes perfect.

2. Group revision

Two heads are better than one, and two people working together have a better chance of solving something than you on your own. Whilst you don’t need to limit yourself to working with one other person, make sure that you keep your group relatively small to help you stay on track with work.

Chances are the people in your group will each have different things that they’re good at, so there’ll be plenty that they can help you with, and equally a lot that you can help them with. One of the most powerful learning methods is actually teaching. Taking turns to explain concepts to one another will encourage you to solidify your knowledge and will very quickly expose areas you might need to work on. The more fun you make this the easier it will be to do! Try to challenge each other to find faster and more efficient methods if you can.

3. Write yourself instructions

If you can’t set up a study group, the next best way of reinforcing what you’ve learnt is by explaining questions to yourself. As with any skill, it takes time to get comfortable new concepts. Writing down the steps you have to take to answer a question will simplify the process for you, as well as help to make it stick in your memory. Order your instructions into a list or flowchart that you can refer to time and time again.

To avoid confusion when you come back to your instructions, make sure you explain it in as much detail as possible. Imagine that you’re explaining the process to someone else who has no knowledge in the area. This will help you when you revisit your revision and need some direction of where to start.

4. Flashcards

Flashcards are useful for more concise snippets of information. Use flashcards to refresh your memory on the topics you cover by writing a prompt or question on one side and the answer on the other. When you have your flashcards ready, go through them and keep track of the ones you get right and wrong. Make sure you put the ones you get wrong to the back of the pile so that you can review them and ensure that doesn’t happen in the exam. You could also experiment with putting them up around the house and answering them each time you see a card. Eventually, you will have seen the question enough to know exactly how to handle it.

You should also use your flashcards to help compile a last minute cheat sheet. A cheat sheet is essentially a flash card with all of the things you’ll want to look over right before your exam. Use your flashcards to compile the ultimate card with all of this information on, from formulae to technical vocab – anything you might need fresh in your memory for the exam.

5. Memorise (where possible)

Whilst maths is mainly about understanding topics and applying this knowledge to questions, there are a few things that you can memorise to help you out in the exam. Make flashcards for circle theorems and SOHCAHTOA equations. Looking over these regularly will help ingrain them in your memory and ensure you don’t miss out on easy marks.

Inputting numbers into a memorised formula is another one of the simplest way to boost your marks, so make sure you take the time to learn your formulae! To help remember these, try writing them over and over until they stick or put them up around your house.

If you’re still struggling with your maths revision, seek out extra help. Whether it be from a parent, teacher, or tutor, someone else might be able to explain an area you’re struggling with in a way that it suddenly clicks for you.

In need of a maths tutor in the UK? Look no further. Tutorfair is a website that allows you to find and book private tutors for face-to-face tuition. For every student who pays, Tutorfair give free tutoring to a child who can’t. With hundreds of verified tutors who specialise in Dyslexia, 11+, GCSEs, A-levels and degree level subjects, why not get in touch for some help with your maths?

Mark Maclaine is a London based super tutor specialising in maths, science and school admissions, and co-founder of Tutorfair. Tutorfair is a website where parents and students can find and book local tutors or online tuition.

Posted on Friday, September 2, 2016

8 Things to Love About Thinkster Math (formerly Tabtor)

By far the most popular post on Maths insider is my post, 8 Things to Hate About Kumon! As a former Kumon instructor who now works as an instructor with Thinkster Math (formerly Tabtor) I’m writing this post to give a unique perspective as someone who has worked for both companies.

At Thinkster Math I look after many, many ex-Kumon students including a family with 4 kids who switched from Kumon so that their children could explore the wider curriculum that Thinkster Math offers. So whether your kids are currently doing Kumon, another math program or you’re just starting to look into math programs to support your child’s math, let me share with you the 8 things to love about Thinkster Math.

1. Thinkster is great value

Thinkster Math pricing compares brilliantly to Kumon, Mathnasium and personal tutors. Prices start from $60 per month which includes one-on-one math coaching as well as unlimited worksheets.

More details here

And don’t forget there’s also the cost of your time as the parent who has to take your child to the tutor/learning center each week.

2. Thinkster Math Instructors are qualified teachers

Thinkster Math actually uses qualified educators. I’m a Cambridge University educated qualified high school math teacher and many Thinkster Math instructor have spent many years as teachers. Kumon prioritises business experience over teaching experience when it comes to choosing franchisees to run their centers. Thinkster Math focuses on math teaching experience and ability.

3. Thinkster Math actually teaches your child

The Thinkster Math program contains built-in instruction videos for each topic – not just a few written examples. Step by step solutions are also shared when students get questions wrong. Students have regular one to one tutoring sessions so that their tutor can review questions they got wrong with them, introduce any tricky concepts in the upcoming worksheets or even help with school homework.

4. Thinkster Math offers a broad and varied curriculum

Thinkster Math’s world-class curriculum is based on Singapore Math and other world-class curricula. It is then customized for each country according to the state/provincial standards. As a result it contains a confidence building mix of arithmetic, word problems and logic problems to build important skills for future mathematicians

5. Thinkster Math takes personalization seriously

Thinkster Math is a US based company with instructors around the world but our work is overseen by senior staff who we meet with regularly online and are available to help instructors, parents and students alike. Also, Academic Advisors take care to match new Thinkster Math families with instructors based on their specific needs. In the rare cases where parents want to change instructors, they can do so quickly and easily.

6. Problem solving is at the core of the Thinkster Math program

Most students join Thinkster Math with weak problem solving skills, even if they are strong at math in general. Problem solving is so important when it comes to math. Computers are able to process numbers far more quickly and more accurately than humans can, and those who have strong problem solving skills will be the ones in demand in the workplace. Thinkster Math puts problem solving at the core of it’s curriculum, including basic problem solving even in it’s Kindergarten worksheets.

7. Thinkster Math supports and extends kids school math

Thinkster Math worksheets use the math methods and techniques which have been proven to lead to a deeper understanding of math. With 1000’s of worksheets available, Instructors able able to build a specially tailored study plan to support and extend the student’s school math learning.

8. Thinkster Math builds mathematicians not just arithmeticians

If you put a Kumon student head to head with a Thinkster Math student and give them 100 arithmetic questions – the Kumon student will win (the Thinkster Math student will still be ahead of the rest of the class though).

However – if you give a Kumon student a series of logic or problem solving questions – the Thinkster Math student will come out top.

One of my Thinkster Math students was lamenting that in the weekly timed times tables tests at school he always finishes in 3rd place, slightly behind the Kumon kids. I offered to add in some concentrated times tables worksheets into his worksheet queue, even though we had moved beyond that stage in the curriculum, but he said, “No thank you Caroline. My teacher actually said that everyone in the class needs a lot of practice with word problems except me – so I don’t mind continuing with the work you’ve given me!”

Have you tried Kumon and/or Thinkster Math? Tell me in the comments below!

Click below for a 10% discount for 3 months:

Read more about Kumon and Thinkster Math:

8 Things to Hate about Kumon – A Review

About Kumon The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

Is Thinkster Math a Real Alternative to Kumon?

Posted on Friday, May 20, 2016

How to Help Your Child with Math – Even If You’re Not a “Math” Person

Have you ever found yourself going round and round in circles when trying to help your child with math? Believe it or not – I’ve been there! Yes – I’m a math teacher – a lover of math

Hello, this is Caroline from www.mathsinsider.com and I’m going to talk today about a question that a Maths insider reader asked which was,” How can I help my child with their maths if I’m not a math person?”

I understand where you’re coming from

So to start off, I’d just like to say that I obviously…I really like maths, I love sciences, I like geography, history I like most of the subjects, but one of the subjects that I don’t feel completely confident in supporting my kids in is English or Language Arts. I kind of like reading sometimes, I don’t like fiction, most of what I read is nonfiction and the whole kind of grammar and constructing sentences is just not my kind of thing. I obviously like to write a bit, hopefully if you’ve looked on Maths Insider you’ll see that, but I can feel you when you say that you feel as you’re not a maths person, I feel as though I’m not like a languages kind of person, and to make things more interesting, I am actually home schooling my 9 year old, so I need to support his English learning, his writing and his grammar.

This is my advice based on my knowledge of maths and my experience as a home schooling mother who has to support her children’s English learning.

1. Research math education tips

No. 1 is to do lots of research, Maths Insider obviously, is a good place to start, I’ve got lots of articles about how to help your child with maths, but also look in other places, there are some good Facebook groups you can have a look at, or school support Facebook groups and also some home school groups. There’s lots of information in home school groups about how to help your child with maths. Often you can get drawn into a political discussions about, is Common Core good or is this method bad, but it’s best to just research, just have a look at the different kinds of ideas.

2. Pick suitable math resources

My 2nd tip is to pick resources that suit you and your child, because you’ve got your different strengths and weaknesses, your child has different strengths and weaknesses and preferences, so if your child has been at school all day, where they are likely to have done lots of writing, and they come home, don’t let them do lots and lots of worksheets. Maybe pick something that’s an app or a printable board game or just some oral questions. So try to tune any resources that you use, try to tune into what resources will work for you and your child.

3. Learn the math with your child

The last tip is to learn with your child, so for example if you need to help your child with addition of fractions with different denominators, then learn how to add fraction with different denominators with your child. So Google adding fractions with different denominators. Australia year 4 for example, if that is your country or Common Core grade 4 or UK year 4 or year 5 and have a look to see what videos are available, if there are images available, if some examples are available and sit with your child and show them, “Look I’m not really sure about this, but let’s learn this together,” and that is actually going to help your child feel better, because it’s not okay sort of, you know everything and they know nothing and you’re going to put the information their heads, it’s, “So okay, there is a problem here let’s figure this out together.”

So if I go back to the beginning:

No. 1 is to research, look at Maths Insider, look on Facebook groups (the Maths Insider Community FB Group would be a great place to start!) and another good tip for researching, I forget to say this earlier on, is actually go to the book store, get a workbook and maybe have a look at the book for younger than your child’s grade level for your child’s grade level and have a look in the contents page because then you’d likely find a list of the topics. So flip through the books and you’ll be able to see, “Oh yes, my child does know this, this, this and this, but maybe this they don’t know.” So that’s a good way of trying to figure out exactly what kind of topics you are going to need to support your child in.

Number 1 is do your research
Number 2 is pick resources that suits you and your child’s learning style and teaching style
Number 3 is learn with your child

Posted on Tuesday, May 3, 2016

The Complete Guide to Faster Times Tables in Just 31 days.

“I’ll try if I know all the things I used to know. Let me see: four times five is twelve, and four times six is thirteen, and four times seven is–oh dear!”- Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland

If, like Alice, your child is struggling with remembering their times tables, you’re not alone!

Ask a random selection of kids some of the trickier times tables and you’re going to get quite a few “Ums” or “It’s….well…it’s…….”

The thing is – it’s not necessarily your kids fault that they’re not comfortable with the times tables facts. Perhaps:

They weren’t given time to thoroughly learn them
They haven’t had time to practise them
They don’t see the point of being fast at them

In this article I’m going to share with you:

Why it’s important at all for your child to learn the times tables
The best age to start learning the times tables
What your child’s needs to know before tackling this important task
The DIY system that parents around the world are using to guide their children in the times tables success
The resources you need and where to get them.

Are you ready to get started?

Great! Let’s begin!

Why is learning the times tables so important anyway?

So, why is learning the times tables important? Why can’t your child just get by? Well, High School math is filled with questions that require the use of times tables. Algebra is a lot easier if your child isn’t constantly reaching for their calculator.

Also, when your children grows up they’ll be:

Managing their finances

Splitting checks at the restaurant;

Working on a recipe conversion;

Trying to figure out if that price really is a good deal in the sale.

All these require a good level of comfort with the multiplication facts.

In a BBC survey only 40% of the adults surveyed could give the correct answer to 8 x 9 but among the over-55’s in the survey, the number of correct answer rose to more than 60% so numeracy skills are definitely declining.

In a survey of California, Algebra 1 teachers, they reported that 30% of their students do not know their times tables.

So actually if your child can learn their times tables it’ll not only help them be more confident with math, it’ll put them ahead of the general population!

So what age should the children start to learn the times tables?

In this age of competitive parenting where we race to toilet train our kids soon after birth, this is a valid question.

Well, there are some five year olds that know their times tables, maybe even you were this young when you learned yours, but six or seven years old is a good time to start learning the times tables, even if it’s starting with skip counting by 2’s, 5’s and 10’s.

However, even teens who are still shaky on their times tables still have time to straighten out those multiplication facts. It’s certainly not too late.

The one thing your child really should be good at BEFORE starting their times tables

Whatever age your child is, there’s still one thing they should know before starting the times tables:

They need to be confident at addition and subtraction;

and if they’re not, then this needs to be sorted first.

Fluent addition and subtraction skills will make the whole learning-the-times-tables process much easier, since not only are times tables just repeated addition, but some times tables shortcuts depend on addition and subtraction.

Click the image for a color or black and white printable Times Tables Cheat Sheet

If you ignore this piece of advice then the whole learning in the times tables process is not necessarily doomed to failure, but it’s just going to be a more difficult. So if at all possible – sort out the addition and subtraction first.

So how long will it takes for your child to learn their times tables?

Well, if they are working on it daily – only about 10 minutes a day – then it’s only going to take them a month or so.

Start selling that to your child, “Hey – you could learn the times tables in a month if we did 10 minutes practise a day”

Can you find 10 minutes a day?

How to get to started?

Well, the first thing, the really important thing, is to plan in advance what time of day your child will be working on their times tables. Choose a time when both you and your child are free. You might not be doing anything more reminding your child to practice their times tables, but still it’s important to set aside this “reminder” time.

A great time to get on with this type of practice is first thing in the morning after breakfast, before school. If you walk or drive your child to school, this is another good time to review.

After school as a warm up to school homework also works well, but whichever time you pick, pick that time and let that be the “times tables time”.

So, what is it you actually need to do? What system do you need to use?

Well , let me tell you what I usually do with my students. I start at the beginning. I start with the two tables.

Now maybe you’ve got an older learner, so you might be tempted to start with the six times tables because they are fine on the 2’s 3’s, 4’s and 5 times tables, but my advice is just start with the two times tables.

Let them whizz through the easy tables, and then they can spend more time concentrating on the higher tables with their renewed confidence.

If you really want to rush the process, you can start AT THE LAST TIMES TABLES THAT THEY KNOW WELL.

But my advice is just to start at the beginning.

Let’s break down the 31 day times tables system

Now it would be great if your kid can do a 100 times tables questions each day – that is definitely worth aiming for. If they can do 100 questions in just five minutes then brilliant! They are fluent and fast in their times tables and they can move on. If they are doing 100, two times tables in five minutes then great, they should move on to the three times tables.

With the multiplication facts, we are aiming for them to actually answer each question in about three seconds, so if you’re using audio, or you are reading out questions to them use the rhythm of three seconds per question.

If it’s taking them 10 minutes for 100 questions, that’s still fine. But you need to just check – are they taking 10 minutes because they’re staring out of the window or fiddling with their pencils, or are they actually taking 10 minutes to concentrate on each of the questions and answering the questions?

If they’re hesitating on each question or using their fingers, it’s worth repeating these early tables to get them to lose the habits that could be hijacking their chances of success.

I would advise that they probably need about 3 to 4 days for each of the times tables. So if they take them 10 minutes the first time, let them repeat that particular times tables, for a 2nd, 3rd or maybe even a 4th day to see if you can get their timing to closer to five minutes.

If after 4 days on that set of times tables facts, they’re still taking 10 minutes that’s fine – let them move on.

If they’re taking 15 minutes or more, then step back to the previous times table (or to the last times table that they were fluent in) to help them build up their speed, then go back up to the problematic set.

Now while most people think the process goes like this:

Which can definitely work:

I prefer to run through the times tables so it plays out like this:

But my kid HATES times tables worksheets

I hear you on this! My 2 older kids ploughed their way through times tables worksheets and learnt them that way with no fun and games, but my younger 2 are worksheet-a-phobes!

Everyone learns in different ways. I’m very much a be a visual learner and maybe your child is a hands on learner and your child’s times tables efforts will get better results if you can tailor their work to their learning style.

Worksheets are a great way to learn the times tables if your child takes to them, but after doing worksheets all day at school, the last thing your child may want to do is more worksheets!

There are some children who do find worksheets terribly grown up, and you don’t necessarily need to avoid worksheets altogether.

In my 31 Days to Faster Times Tables program, you’ll find printable games, audios, activity suggestions AS WELL AS worksheets to suit different learning styles.

If your child responds well to visuals, you can get them to read out the questions themselves and then shout the answers and then YOU write down the answers (or just keep a running check on whether they’re getting the answers correct).

Or you can read the questions to your child and and she writes down the answer.

You can even print out copies of the worksheets and then have a race against your child – if they like a bit of competition!

For auditory learners you can use audio instead of worksheets. There are audio CD’s that you can buy or if you look on YouTube you’ll find plenty of times tables raps, rhymes and songs.

Your kids could even make their own times tables audio that they can listen to!

Want some resource ideas? Grab my 31 Ways to Practise the Times Tables FREE PDF eBook

Games, games, games

Remember I told you that my youngest kids are worksheet-a-phobes? Well the one thing that’s really helped them with their times tables are times tables games.

My kids love playing the printable games that I printed out and laminated. Some needed dice and counters but they seemed to love the ones that used those washable whiteboard pens!

You could even make up your own games with just a pair of dice, a pack of playing cards, or a random number generator (Google will be able to help you out there!).

You can have your child play an online multiplication game or download a times tables app and give your child a smartphone or tablet to play on. Sentencing your child to 10 minutes a day on a smartphone won’t be such a bad thing on their eyes!

There’s plenty more ideas in the FREE 31 Ways to Practice the Times Tables eBook

So where can you find these resources?

Well, bookstores are a good starting place. They’ll have plenty of workbooks, CD’s and also some pre-packaged games or flashcards as well.

A YouTube search will give for times tables resources will yield a huge amount of results. When I looked up “times tables raps” there were over 300 YouTube videos for times tables raps and time tables songs, as well as instruction videos showing how the times tables work.

Google is also a great resources, whether for buying times tables products or looking for free worksheets, you’ll get plenty of choices, but the difficulty is how to choose between all these resources.

Of course you can also grab my 31 Days to Faster Times Tables program

Choosing the right resources

Whether you choose ready-made resources or you are writing your own worksheets, make sure you start with the easy questions first. So don’t just go straight into 8 x 9

Start with 2 x 2, 2 x 3, 2 x 4 etc. then make sure the questions increase in difficulty gradually.

Make sure the questions have some built in review, so for example if they learned the five times tables, once they finish practising those, then make sure to include some questions on the 2, 3 and 4 times tables before moving on to the 6 times tables.

More importantly, choose a resource that fits with your child’s learning style.

If your child is a hands-on learner, then you probably want to spend more time playing games. Worksheets are fine with these types of learners, but supplementing these by playing some hands-on games will help to fix the multiplication facts.

If you want a way to get started immediately. I’ve developed the 31 Days to Faster Times Tables program which contains all the worksheets (including built -in review), audio, printable games and activity ideas to guide your child to faster, more confident times tables in one month.

You can find out more about the faster times tables program here.

In the meantime let’s go over the main steps:

Start once your child has great addition and subtraction recall
Begin easy and master each times table before moving on
Build in review
Use resources suited to your child’s learning style

Now whether you’ve choose to use the DIY system that I’ve just laid out for you or whether you choose to go ahead and purchase the done-for-you 31 Days to Faster Times Tables program at www.fastertimestables.com it is really, REALLY important that you start to develop a plan, tomorrow or in the next couple of days, to really tackle those times tables with your child.

Once you get started, it will only takes 10 minutes a day to help your child to faster more confident with times tables!

Posted on Wednesday, February 17, 2016

Math Homework Without Confusion

How can I make sure I'm not confusing my child when they ask me to help with their math homework?

“The teacher didn’t do it that way!!”

“So which way did they do it?”

“I can’t remember!”

Find out how to rescue this frustrating situation and help your kids tackle their math homework without confusion with the 3 simple tips in the video below. The transcript of the video is also below. Click here to watch the video on You Tube complete with subtitles.

Hello, I’m Caroline from Maths Insider, www.mathsinsider.com and today I am going to answer a question from a Maths Insider reader who asked, “How can I make sure I’m not confusing my child when they ask me to help with their math homework?”

1. Find out what math they know

So I’ve got three tips, No.1, have a look at the homework and ask them to explain to you what they actually do understand, and if that draws a blank and they give you that look like, “I actually don’t understand anything, I don’t get it at all,” then try to ask them an easier example to see if they’ve got any understanding at all of the topic. For example if they come home with 247 divided by 23 and they don’t understand it, ask them, ”Okay so, how about if it were 24 divided by 3? Well how about if it were 243 divided by 3?” Try an easy example and see if they can actually explain to you how they would get the answer with an easier example.

2. Google the math

No. 2, the next tip, because sometimes even that tip doesn’t work, is to actually Google it and not just Google “long division” but actually put “long division year 4 Australian curriculum” or “long division year 5 UK curriculum” or” long division grade 4 curriculum” and you’re going to get some very good results hopefully. Now you’ll probably get some websites, but also look at the video results because you might get some good YouTube videos and click on images as well because especially the images result might bring in some really good results from Pinterest which might be just some visual short cuts of what method to use, so that’s another good tip.

3. Phone a friend

And the last tip No. 3, which is kind of a last resort, but it might work, is to ask somebody. So ask on Facebook, because people like to be seen to be good at maths, and so if you just put a quick call out on Facebook to say “Hey, my child’s come home with long division and yea I know how to do long division, but it looks as if they’re using a division type of method and I don’t know what method they’re using” and you’ll likely get somebody, some people, who will respond and will know what current method is being used in schools. You can also look on forums as well or Facebook groups, but even amongst your Facebook friends you’ll likely to have somebody who may actually want to help out and say ,”Well, they’re doing this,” or “This is the method my child used last year.” So it’s always worth asking.

So tip No. 1. Ask your child to explain to you what methods they’ve been taught and perhaps with an easier example than the actual example they’re stuck on. Also have a quick look at the homework and see if there’s a question they’ve managed to do and ask them to explain it to you.
No.2. Google the topic plus the curriculum
Number 3. Ask perhaps on Facebook

Posted on Wednesday, February 10, 2016

Learn These Math Skills First!

Which math skills does my child need to learn first?

“How can he be 13 years old and not know long division? How did that happen?”

That was an actual quote from a distraught parent whose child had just done “not so well” on the Diagnostic Test that Thinkster Math (formerly Tabtor) gives to all new students. It’s often the case that students struggle with a topic because they’ve either not had the chance to practice easier concepts or missed learning an easier concept entirely. So for this student, it may be that his times tables recall is weak or he’s making mistakes in subtraction or he just hasn’t learnt how to set out his log division work.

Math, like reading needs to build up from strong foundations.

Find out which foundationnmath skills your child should learn first with this video. The transcript of the video is also below. Click here to watch the video on You Tube “complete with subtitles.

Hello, I’m Caroline from www.mathsinsider.com and today I am going to answer a question from a Maths Insider reader which is, “Which math skills, and how to know which math skills my child needs to learn first?”

A logical order of math skills

So I’ll just briefly go over the kind of math skills that kids need to know. So they basically need to know how to count, then add, then subtract and then multiply and then divide and then work with fractions and then with decimals and then how to use all the skills with algebra. So it sounds really simple, but the school curriculum kind of chops and changes so they make sure they do simple addition in one school year and then they do harder addition the next school year and then they do double digit addition the next school year and triple digit addition the next school year and then they might introduce the times table this school year while they are still doing double digit addition, but they introduce it as number sequences and then they’ll do the times tables.

So it’s no wonder that parents get confused, because after they’ve done the times table they’re going to do short multiplication and then they’re going to do long multiplication and then another year they are going to repeat the short multiplication as an introduction to long multiplication and so parents can be left thinking “What are they doing?” They’ve been doing multiplication for ever and you know that is true.

How Kumon Does the Math

A program like Kumon, what they do, they do, they basically do addition, addition, addition, 1 digit, 2 digit, 3 digit, 4 digit, yes they add and then subtract, well they do addition and subtraction together, a bit of addition a bit of subtraction, a bit of addition a bit of subtraction and then only after addition and subtraction are perfect for like 4 digits, plus 4 digits, and 4 digits, take away 4 digits, do they do the multiplication tables and then once they know those then they do the division facts and then short multiplication, short division, long multiplication, long division and so that’s how come Kumon students are able to seemingly move forward very quickly whilst the school will be doing all these things in a broken up way because then they have also fit in shapes and measurements and time and angles and all the other things that the curriculum decides.

A Math Skills Strategy

But how does this help you as a parent when your child comes home with for example a question on dividing fractions? So when I first meet a new student and the parents say they’re stuck on dividing fractions, first of all I want to know do they know their times tables. Well actually I want to know can they add and also subtract but it’s kind of more polite to say, “Do you know your times tables?” especially when you’re talking to a child who maybe 12 or 13 years old and often times they are really hesitant, they don’t know them. It is not a case of being really fast, a fraction of a second, they must know the answer straight away, but they should be able to give you the answer within a few seconds and not panic. So in order to access that dividing by fractions, they are going to need to be able to work with the times tables relatively quickly and relatively comfortably, so it is a case of making sure all the foundation skills are built up. So if you do have your child coming to you with a question to do with fractions make sure they do know their times tables and also before that make sure they do know their addition and subtraction fact relatively easy and not having to count on their fingers and their toes and your fingers and your toes. So it is actually worth taking the time out to do that.

Don’t skip the basic math

Often times I have parents who starts working with me and I start working with their child and they said well, they need to know their times tables which is fine I can give them lots of time tables practice, but actually they do need to be able to do the column subtraction because later on when they are doing long division they’re going need to be able to subtract easily and accurately and times tables aren’t actually that difficult to learn, they just need a concentrated amount of time and they don’t even need to be quick, quick, quick as I said before. It’s the case to get the 4 times table, double and double it again and figuring out. Give your child the tools if they can’t memorize them then give them the tools to be able to get answers so that when later on they’re doing the long division, they are not having to count on to figure out how many times does four goes into 28. Then also they’ve got the problem they can’t subtract accurately, so they are making mistakes when they have to do the subtraction bit of the long division. So it is very important to make sure your child has all their foundational skills and it’s not that they have to be super speedy, that’s great if they can be, but they just need to be comfortable.

Posted on Thursday, January 14, 2016

Guide Your Child to LONG TERM Math Success!

Have you ever worried that your child is under-achieving in math?

Whether your child is struggling with their math; your child seems to be “doing fine” in math class or your child is “top of the class” in math; as a parent, you’ve likely paused many a time to wonder if everything will be OK in the end when it comes your child’s math.

In fact, education research does show that student success in school increases if their parents are positively involved in their education.

Yes, your efforts count and it’s backed by solid data and experience!

However, it’s often difficult to know where to start and even worse, how you’re going to know if your efforts will pay off in the end. How can you make sure that your child will achieve LONG TERM Math success?

I’ve heard this concern from hundreds of parents over the years, so to tackle this important question, I’ve developed a free video series giving you 4 steps that you can use to guide your child to LONG-TERM math success.

Guide Your Child to Long-Term Math Success

How to Guide Your Child to Long-Term Math Success in 4 Steps

IN THIS FREE training series you’ll learn:

Why you are the best person to oversee your child’s math learning (even if you are paying for a math program)
How I turn “I hate math!” into “I want to do more math!”
How to save time and money when you take control of your child’s math learning (even if you decide to use paid resources)
How to organize your child’s math learning

and much more!

When you watch it, you’ll also receive the rest of the videos in this series over the next few days…

Go check it out now and see for yourself. Soon I’ll release the second video in the free training series and I want to make sure you have the chance to go through it all!

Click here to access the free video training series: How to Guide Your Child to Long-Term Math Success in 4 Steps.

Posted on Friday, January 8, 2016

Encourage Your Child To Do Extra Math With These 3 Easy Steps

You’ve come to the realization that your child needs to do some extra math, whether because they’re struggling with the subject, they could do with some extra math practise or in order to get ahead, but you know your child will likely be resistant. Find out how to overcome your child’s objections and encourage your child to do extra math using these 3 steps. The transcript of the video is below. Click here to watch the video on You Tube complete with subtitles.

Hello, I’m Caroline from www.mathsinsider.com and today I’m answering a Maths Insider reader’s question, “How can I get my child to do extra maths?”

Plant the seed that extra math is a positive thing

No. 1 is to seed the idea, so start talking to them about other children who are doing extra maths, “So, you know your friend X, they’ve started doing Kumon” or, “I heard from Y that the Thinkster Math (formerly Tabtor) program is very good” or, “I found this blog Maths Insider and it’s got some really cool ideas of how to get better at maths for kids.” So start seeding the idea and start mentioning it so that it’s not a complete shock for your child.

What math resource do THEY want to use?

No. 2 is when you decide that you are actually going to start your child doing extra maths, then get their feedback on what they want to do. So say, “Would you prefer to do some extra maths on the app?”,” Do you want me to print out some games?”,” Do you want to just do some worksheets?”,” Do you just want to use a maths text book?” Ask them what they prefer or perhaps videos. So ask for their feedback, ask for their input so that they feel this is something that’s not just happening to them, something that they have to do, but something that they have some element of choice in.

Fix a math time

No. 3 is to fix a time, just try to fix a regular time and again get your child’s input on it, when do they want to do it? In the car on the way to school? Do they want to do it in the morning or after breakfast or during breakfast? Do they want to do it straight away after school? Do they want to go to a tuition center? Do they want to do something just before they go to bed? So ask them what do they think would work in their schedule and also what kind of time frame, so say to them, “Well, okay if you don’t want to do 5 minutes every day then perhaps it’s better that we do a half an hour on a Saturday morning or an hour every couple of weeks” and ask them what they prefer, a little and often or just big chunks of time. Well little and often actually works better, but some children do work better with big chunks of time. So ask them what they prefer.

Encourage Your Child To Do Extra Math with These 3 Steps

So if I go back to number 1:

Number 1 is seed the ideas, so start talking about extra maths being something positive and it’s something that other children do.

Number 2 ask them how they want to do the extra maths, whether they want to use books or apps, videos or whatever resources.

Number 3 is to get your child to help you fix a regular time to do the extra maths.

Posted on Thursday, December 17, 2015

Get Ahead in Math and Still Enjoy the Holidays!

The holidays are a great time to consolidate math knowledge. Find out how your child can use the holidays to get ahead in math and still have plenty of time for fun and relaxation. The transcript of the video is below. Click here to watch this video on You Tube

Hello, I’m Caroline from MathsInsider.com and today I’m going to share with you some tips about how to keep maths going over the holiday. So today is the first day of my kids school holiday and I’m hoping to keep some maths going for them. So I thought I’d share some of the tips that I’m using with my own kids and I’m sharing with my Thinkster Math (formerly Tabtor) students as well.

Relax and enjoy the holidays!

So, number one, it’s not a case of, “You’ve got to do maths the whole holiday! Maths, maths, maths.” Yes, of course, you must have time to relax. Your kids must have time to relax, to stare at the ceiling, to open their presents, to enjoy time with their family and friends. But also, the holidays are a great time to get ahead with maths and to consolidate ideas, so it is worth trying to slot a little bit of maths into the holidays.

In Australia, they’ve got the big summer holiday, it’s six weeks. The rest of the world is probably about two or three weeks but in those two or three weeks, even if you’re having Christmas day off, New Year’s Day off, you can still get lots of maths done.

Identify 1 or 2 math topics to focus on

So the first thing to do is to actually identify what topics you want to cover. So think back to any topics that your child has come home with which they’ve struggled with in their homework or topics that your teachers mentioned. Or you could look ahead to see what they’re doing, if you’ve had a newsletter from school and see if there’s any topics on there that you can identify. Don’t try and do the whole curriculum, the whole syllabus in one holiday, that’s going to drive you crazy. And as a parent, you need time to relax as well, so just try to identify one or two topics.

For my little one, I’m trying to just do the twos, fives, and tens times tables. I think he kind of knows them, but I just want to make sure that he can kind of do them out of order. So just pick something really simple and if you’re not sure, just grab — if they’re an older kid, you can grab their maths book and see, “Well, they didn’t get good grades on this topic or that topic.”

Fix a “math time”

Number two is to fix a time when you’re going to do this work. So maybe first thing in the morning. For my own kids, they like to go out and play. The main thing in holidays is that they’re allowed to play out after dark so I’ll say to them, “If you want to go out and play with your friends after dark, then let’s just do a little bit maths.” So fix the time. Is it going to be first thing in the morning? Is a going to be before they go out to play? Is it going to be straight away after lunch? Try and fix the time, that this will be the maths time. I’m not saying that they should spend an hour doing maths, that’s fine if they’re willing to do that and they’re happy to do that, but even two minutes, five minutes, ten minutes is going to add maths knowledge into their lives.

Choose fun math resources

The next thing is to choose your resources. So your kids might not want to sit down with a maths book or lots of maths worksheets, so use this time to introduce something slightly more interesting or relaxing. So if you want to use some seasonal worksheets and print those off, that’s fine. For the times tables I’m using a cute little app called Squeebles because that’s kind of fun and they get to play as well as do times tables, so that’s something slightly different. But if you’re already on a program like Kumon or Thinkster Math, that’s fine. You can do the standard things, but don’t make them. Try to make it a bit more interesting. This should be a time spent with family and friends so you don’t want to be stressed and give them the worst options. Try to give them the best options.

Highlight everyday math

The next thing is to just introduce, just highlight maths in your everyday life. So in the holidays you’ve got sales, you can talk about numbers of the sales, you can talk about how many Lego bricks do you think you’ve used for this set – estimating. You can talk about maths journey times if you’re traveling or family and friends are coming to visit you. So just be aware to highlight the maths that’s around you during this time.

Posted on Thursday, October 1, 2015

How Tutoring Can Cure Math Anxiety

Some people get anxious when they have to stand up and speak in public, some feel anxiety when they’re in crowded spaces and many feel anxious when they have to do math.

As an adult it’s easy to mask math anxiety by avoiding situations where you have to math, but like it or not math is a major part of school curricula worldwide and your child is likely to be doing some kind of math, if not daily, then at least several times a week and often in a class setting where their peers will be in a position to judge their math ability.

I’ve worked in math education for over 20 years and am a big advocate of kids doing a little bit of extra math each day or each week to boost their math ability and confidence. So it is interesting that researchers at Stanford University have recently published a paper demonstrating that math tutoring does indeed help students with math anxiety. The researcher took 2 groups of 3rd Graders (8 and 9 year olds) and gave one group one on one tutoring sessions for 8 weeks. After the 8 weeks, researchers found that both groups had improved their level of math skills but in addition “The children who started the study with high levels of math anxiety had reduced anxiety after tutoring” There was no change isn anxiety levels for those who started out with low anxiety levels.

So what can you as a parent of a math anxious child do to help?

1 – Get a tutor – for help finding a great tutor to work one on one with your child, read my posts: Need a Math Tutor – Read These 6 Tips and A Maths Tutor Reveals All

2 – Tutor your child yourself – the key feature of the tuition in the Stanford research was that when students encountered difficulties the tutors made sure to try to “get the child beyond the bottleneck in a non-negative, encouraging way.” Often as a parent, we want our kids to be better than us and don’t like it when they get things wrong. Being patient with your child when they can’t do the math will greatly reduce anxiety levels all round. Read more: The Key to Successfully Tutoring Your Own Children Maths

3 – Check their confidence level – Find out how your child sees their own math ability. Check out: How Confident is Your Child at Maths? Take the Quiz!

You can find the full article about how tutoring affects math anxiety on the Science Daily website.