I really believe that some children do have a natural affinity with numbers.

I have always done learning through play with my daughter, in other words, just played with her LOL!!

I have never "taught" her maths but have just incorporated it into daily life IF the opportunity has arisen.

Her class is in groups according to ability, although they are all given cute names like "dragonflies, butterflies, bees etc" and none of the kids are aware that they are grouped according to ability.

She is 2nd top in the class in math. She is fab at it, neither me or her father are great mathematicians but she finds it so easy. On the other hand she struggles terribly with reading/writing.

I think it is fine to teach your kids when they are little should an opportunity arise but kids should be allowed to have fun. Our kids don't need to start school until they are 4, on the continent they start a year later than that! Don't pressurise kids and take away their fun, they are at school til they are 18 so they have plenty of time!!!

I think most of us teach some forms of maths as part of our daily routine without even realising it.  maths covers such a range of activities, ie building bricks, construction, drawing shapes/lines/squares/circles, counting steps, counting when disciplining (ie on count of 3 you should have done/stopped etc) recognising shapes and numbers etc.

However, as most of us on here have school children, would welcome comments re:

a child who has been exposed to maths factivities rom toddler age, are they able to do the expected level of maths (for age) when at school

a child who has been exposed to maths activities from early age, but still cannot grasp the basics by the time they are 7/8

a child who has never ever had any kind of parental involvement from toddler age, are they able to do the expected level of maths (for age) when at school

and lastly

a child who has never ever had any kind of parental involvement from toddler age, and cannot grasp the basics by the time they are 7/8.

Four scenarious, all of which are valid.  Children learn at different rates and I dont know which is the best way forward.  Some parents dont have time, or dont realise the benefits, others believe its best to wait.

In our personal experience, our ds showed an aptitude for maths from being very tiny.   from a lot of things he did, people said he would be good at maths and he is.  As a parent with no experience, I didnt believe that his method of building bricks were indications, but they turned out to be true.  I also believe in our circumstances, that computer software helped him tremendously.  We used the Jump ahead series from toddler age, and he thrived on learning.  He still seems to do best with computerised maths learning than on paper (he hates writing).

heidih

I've heard that quite a high percentage of people training to become teachers have to retake their maths GCSE. If the teachers aren't confident in or enjoy maths as a subject then it will be hard for them to instill passion into their students.  I also believe that for a lot of children formal maths is introduced before they are ready, if the foundations aren't strong then the rest of the subject will always be shaky. For me I think it is very important that yound children understand what numbers actually look like. If you've got no idea what 100 might look like then doing written addition sums in the hundreds is going to be harder which I guess is why the 'experts' are talking about playing with and being interested in numbers from a young age.

It seems that I don't know all my shapes , although it doesn't seem to have held me back.

Hi I would like to say that in my daughters school they do cater for children at different levels my daughter does the easier work and gets different homework to her class mates that are finding maths easier but at the same time if she says she wants to have a go at the hard work they let her to. It is a shame that all schools are not like this.

I also wonder who they are trying to get at. I have done degree level maths and enjoy the subject. My 3 children were all exposed to number from day one, and 2 year old can do all her shapes (including elipse and cardioid!).

Eldest daughter is 6 and now tells me that maths is hard and boring. She is top of her class in the subject so I don't know where she gets that idea from. There seems to be an overemphasis on reading in primary schools and a huge opportunity to inspire children with maths is missed imho. Perhaps it is the teachers who are scared of the subject and this is picked up by the children?

The only maths homework that has come home seems far to easy: cut out the numbers from 1 to 5 and put them in order (in year 1). Even at the end of year two we are getting addition, subtraction and multiplication by two only. It seems the whole class get something that the child who is struggling most will be able to achieve.

I would like to see a staged programme similar to the reading levels so that each child can progess independently and really achieve without getting bored. Is that happening in any of your schools? After all, some of these children are a whole year behind their classmates and all develope different skills at different stages.

Lucy xx

I wonder who the article is aimed at, or if the 'experts' have any children of their own. I haven't known a two year old yet that doesn't know the difference between one biscuit and two biscuits. Numbers are a part of our everyday life, it's almost impossible to reach school age and not have any number knowledge (are mine the only ones who watch Cbeebies?). I think it's just another way of saying "Lets not let our children be free to learn about their world in a way that is relevant and fun to them, lets instead dictate how they should play in order that we can tick boxes and measure them against a list of 'shoulds'."

I agree that we should introduce maths to children froma early age, things like counting stairs and shapes nothing to serious. Although I would like to say my dd who is now 7 was very forward with numbers and shapes at nursery from all the playing we did at home, when she went to reception she really struggled with reading. now it is the opposite way round she is reading books and writing storys in a standard way above her class mates but she is really struggling with maths. Like i explained to my dd we can't be good at everything. We do extra work at home when she wants to. Kids should be kids.

from bounty website news

toddlers 'should be introduced to maths'

19 jun 2008

a child should be developing skills in maths as young as two, it has been claimed.

according to a recent government review, playing with numbers at nursery and helping parents cook at home can improve a toddler's chances of being good at maths in the future, reports the press association.

the review, by leicester university chancellor sir peter williams, claimed that urgent action needs to be taken to change the country's "can't do attitude" towards the subject.

children's "natural instincts" in numeracy can be improved if they are introduced to shapes, numbers, time and volumes at a young age, it added, as they will feel more confident in the subject.

every child should leave primary school "without a fear of maths", the report stated, and parents can take an active role in ensuring this happens.

a recent report published in the archives of disease in childhood found that children whose parents read aloud to them at a young age had better literacy and language skills than those whose did not.

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