Can you help your child with maths and get house jobs done at the same time?

Maths is one of the most important subjects we can learn (besides strong English skills) as it helps (without us realising) in everyday life. By learning maths, we learn how to solve problems, think logically, economise, make decisions and follow instructions. We analyse every situation – weigh up the pros and cons – work out the distance – work out time – work out the size, weight and volume

We can help our child with maths and get help with chores at the same time (life skills 😉) ….and here’s how…

Laundry – ask your child to put the washing into piles – woolly, whites, darks – this is using logic – a skill maths gives us. They can then determine which pile is the heaviest and which is the lightest – this is determining weight – a skill maths gives us. Is there an extra-large pile? This determines volume – will it all fit in the washing machine? – sort the socks into pairs – logic and matching – a skill maths gives us.

Shopping – How many things are on the list? Your child can count them – if one banana costs 12p how many will 3 cost? If an item is 50p and its buy one get one free or two for 45p, which is the best deal? – I have £5, will I have enough to pay?  these all may seem quite obvious to you but for a child they need to be thought about – using logic and basic mathematical skills.

What’s the time? – this isn’t just about looking at a clock – now a days most children are used to digital clocks and analogue clocks seem to be disappearing – however an analogue clock and teach more that just the time…it can teach fractions and degrees…

The clock to the right is showing the time as 3 o’clock – its also showing that…

The blue area is one quarter

The orange area is three quarters

The hands are at a ninety degree angle ( a right angle )

You could ask – if it was 6 o’clock – how much of the clock would be shaded blue? How would this be written as a fraction?

Going on a journey? Work out how long its going to take – if the distance is 15 miles and you are going to go 30 miles per hour how long will the journey take? How long would it take if you have a 12 minute break on route?How many people can fit in the car? How many seats are there? Would it be better to get the bus? How long will a bus take? When would we have to leave? – all mathematical questions using logic and problem solving skills.

Tidying up – Ask you child to help put their toys away – sort them into catergories or colours – cars, bricks, crayons – how many more red crayons do they have than green ones? Sort cars into order of size, sort bricks into colour and size…this will help with basic maths, logic and analysing.

Maths is used everyday and is so important to know, these are all day to day routines we have and if your child can learn along the way its all for the better – it’s not text book learning and creates interest, skills, brain activity and fun ! 😊

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