Term in Review – Math Buster Monday

As I’ve shared we have been trialling a new approach. I have written a little before about our Math Buster Monday and thought I’d share some further highlights.

Angela’s idea of Marshmallow Maths inspired us of the fun in building shapes and bridges with marshmallows and toothpicks. Be sure to see Theresa’s ideas too.

Marshmallow Maths

Carpenter had so much fun that he wouldn’t believe me when I told him that this was maths. He was convinced it was craft.

We continued to read living math picture books on Mondays. One we particularly enjoyed was The Three Little Pigs by Mitsumama Anno. Most of our books are for younger children, I’d love to find living math titles for the teenage children.

I printed off  ‘fun sheets’ from the internet and we enjoyed the slower pace. We spent time focusing on their weaker areas, for some this is times tables. My friend D generously made us some bean bags, the children enjoyed catching the bean bag as I asked a tables question, then returning the bag with the answer. This same friend also suggested maths bingo; write 6-9 tables answers in grid, mum(or sibling) asks the fact and children cross out answers. The one with all grid crossed out first is the winner. Another friend G, shared that the best success she has had regards learning tables is having children recite their tables forwards, ie.4×1-4×12 and then backwards 4×12-4×1.. She’s right, for some reason it really helps. Thanks G:)

We also worked on our Singapore Maths. Although continued non-progress with one child prompted me to join the Living Math forum for ideas and support; one result from these past weeks is realising that for this child in particular I need to move away from the textbooks at present and focus on maths skills in a non-threatening manner. Much of what I see in this approach however appears to be for the younger child. I’d love to hear of ideas and resources for the older child. We always love more ideas for Math Buster Monday.

Related Posts:

Maths & Spelling Only For Seven Days: Our Pick-A-Box Challenge

Living Math – Multiplication Picture Books

How To Create Your Own Multiplication Chart