Maths has to be the subject Chloe Soph and I find most difficult. Connor never seems to have had any difficulty until we started with tables and it was greeted with an EH?? response?
But Sophie struggled, Chloe just suffered more and more misery as she just didnt 'get it' despite having a very logical way of thinking and shining initially and I recall many hours of 'doing ok' but finding it incredibly hard work to 'do ok' while people said"You could do this if you tried!" ( so I eventually gave up as it was pointless trying to convince even myself I could do it!)
I was very aware it was possible to pass on a dislike of maths but at the same time I didnt want to 'blag it' or make them think it was an awful thing if you find it hard so was always quite careful about what I said, passing anything I really knew I couldnt do to Darren when they were in school but praising them and saying how clever they were when they achieved. Nonetheless the girls especially seemed to have inherited my inability to be able to manage maths easily and as Connor gets older the more difficult he's finding things!
Recently though, Sophie and Connor really seem to be enjoying the mathematical activities Ive been finding for them.Connor continued with his mulitplication grids enthusiastically and asked for another 'multiplication colouring in' after doing his grid today, then another... then another! ( so its clearly fun for him)
Sophie spent much of the time I was on my course in work carefully cutting out and making paper polyhedra and trying to remember all their names.
I'm so pleased we have the chance to look at shape and they can explore faces, vertices etc in a hands on way. Its definitely sucessful so Ill definitely be using more 'hand on' activitieswith them both. It really helps them 'join up' their thinking and lets them open their thinking and questioning to wider questions that I just can't answer like "What is a 60 sided shape called then?" ( errrrr.....)
Chloe's sucess at school( where she recently got ALL A grades) has provided much of the inspiration for how we are 'working' at the moment. Its all very hands on, making, shaping, doing, solving puzzles etc and I can see it works so thats how things will continue wherever its possible.
I found the resources weve been using on http://www.senteacher.org/ but although suitable for kids with Special educational needs I think the site would be invaulable for many parents and children so Im recommending it here!
Im also finding the books available from Tarquin books invaluable, They have so many inventive titles and ideas. Ive asked my brother to buy the kids the paper automaton books for their christmas presents. I think they will be a real hit. Ive asked Darrens brother to get them science kits of various sorts too... They are in the right mood to recieve them enthusiastically. A sign they are finally starting to become properly free from the influence school was in their psyche?? We really are doing things 'their way' .
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