Maths does not have to be difficult. Whereas in a classroom environment, there has to be a certain amount of structure, rote learning and workbooks – even in the best of schools – home education enables children to learn mathematical concepts naturally.
Even if you don’t think you understand any maths, you’d be surprised what you use in everyday life: weighing ingredients, dividing cakes into portions, estimating sizes, counting money, and so on. Browse the pages below for ideas about introducing various mathematical topics in an informal way to your home educated children or teens. Most of the pages have further reading and related web-sites.
Maths for toddlers – how to give maths concepts to your pre-school age child
Number bonds – beginning addition and subtraction; how number bonds work
Place value – informally introducing the vital concept of place value
Basic addition – how to add two (and more) digit numbers, learning to carry
Simple subtraction – how to do basic subtraction, including regrouping
Beginning multiplication – how to introduce multiplication as a basic concept
Multiplication tricks – seeing patterns and understanding multiplication of some numbers
Multiplying large numbers – the beginnings of long multiplication made easy
Basic division – how to introduce the concept of dividing (or sharing) to young children
Long division – more complex division, with brief demonstration of the process
Simple geometrical shapes – introduction of triangles, squares, etc
Geometric solids – basic introduction to the five Platonic solids
Understanding angles – what are degrees? What do they mean?
What are fractions? – use concrete examples to introduce this concept to young children
Writing fractions – how fractional notation works at a basic level
Probability and chance – introduction to the concepts of probability, with examples
Beginning algebra – how to introduce pre-algebra with concrete examples
Introducing averages – about mean, mode and median averages
Number bases (introduction) – understanding the basic concepts of number bases
Binary system – introduction to base two, how to convert to and from base ten
Prime numbers and factors – Primes, factors and the Sieve of Eratosthenes
Multiplying on fingers – the six- to nine-times table on your fingers!
Simultaneous equations – How to solve simple two-value equations with a concrete example
Informal maths – general introduction to maths ideas in home education
Resources for primary maths – suggestions for maths for children under 10
LOGO and maths for the secondary years – maths ideas for teenagers
Maths and the home educated teen – maths, in general, for teenagers at home