There is a wealth of information and advice out there in the web. Some of it is great, some of it is... well ... let's just say it's really not so good! For example, there is very little value in printing out pages of calculations to work through; maths in the real world isn't like that. The best activities put calculations into real situations that involve problem solving and reasoning; skills that are transferable far beyond the mathematics classroom!
There are a couple of sites that I think are really, really worth a visit (in addition to the ones below)
http://www.iseemaths.com/home-lessons/ Gareth Metcalfe's website. Some great games for KS1 children, and some great modelling of good strategies for calculation for KS2. Love it!
https://www.youcubed.org/resource/youcubed-at-home/ I'm a great fan of Jo Boaler. Her message is that all children can do maths, and that struggling is a good thing because you learn so much more when you struggle then succeed. There are some great activities here which help children to solve problems and reason mathematically - and that's what maths is all about!
Andrew Jeffrey, aka The Mathemagician andrewjeffrey.co.uk (who, incidentally, made a fantastic job of heading up Maths Week England) has produced a very helpful booklet for parents listing more of the good stuff that's out there.
Here is the link.
It may take a while to plough through the booklet as it's packed with info, so I've highlighted a few web pages that I would recommend as a 'starter for ten'... well, actually, five!
1. nrich.maths.org/14600 NRICH maths at home. In just this one site, there are a few weeks' worth of age-related fun activities that will get the whole family thinking!
2. thebusylizzie.co.uk/covid19 Beginning with some sound guidance for supporting learning of maths (things like 'mathematics should be fun' - sound familiar??) which is, in itself packed with great ideas, this page then goes on to suggest some problem solving activities to get young minds really working. Sneaked between the two is a great ten frames resource - please don't miss it if you have reception to year 2 children! (I wouldn't worry with the rest of the page - more websites etc!)
3. home.oxfordowl.co.uk/kids-activities/fun-maths-games-and-activities Go straight to the 'online maths activities' if you are looking for some screen time. I'm not too impressed with the maths videos, which just give a procedure rather than helping children really understand what they are doing. And let's leave the activity sheets for now, shall we??
4. whiterosemaths.com/homelearning/ I do think when it comes to actual lessons, you are best to stick to whatever your school has set on the whole... but I have to say these lesson plans are irresistible!
5. first4maths.co.uk/product-category/free-resources/ This has great potential, some super activities; maybe I was being a bit thick (quite likely!), but I couldn't manage to download 20 activities for each year group. However, the few activities I did manage to get seemed worth the effort of visiting the website - and who knows, you may have the magic touch and get them all!
Newsflash: I subscribed to the first4maths website (only need to give your email address) a couple of hours ago and have just had an email with links to all the resources! Happy days! :-)
Stop Press!
The National Centre for Excellence in the Teaching of Mathematics (NCETM) has added a new areas to support parents and carers during this time - watch this space; the NCETM is a rich source of inspiration for many teachers, including me, it's my first go-to when I'm not sure about something. https://www.ncetm.org.uk/resources/54432
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