Looking for some essential resources?
/Those of you already using our private tuition - whether music or academic - will already be aware of some of the great resources we use so we thought it might be useful to point people in the right direction, should they wish to buy them.
Sheila and her team use Numicon kits. Here, Sheila tells us why she thinks Numicon makes a great resource for her teaching and recommends a few kits she thinks are well worth getting hold of:
Numicon
Numicon is an absolutely fantastic multi-sensory maths resource. All our Discover and Be academic tutors have a set that they carry with them and use regularly with all ages. This resource is attractive and so versatile. It makes the vital connection between counting a number of objects such as toys and relating that number to the abstract written numeral. It also makes identifying odd and even numbers easy and the holes in the shapes are made for putting fingers in them so that the experience is very interactive and physical.
It can be used with very young children to make pictures and patterns (early algebra). It is brilliant for helping children truly understand place value, number bonds, times tables and division. It can be used on scales. For example, a 3 piece and a 7 piece weigh exactly the same as a 10 piece (a great way to practise checking your adding up).
There are many options available and it is not a cheap resource. However it is well worth the investment. It is very durable, safe for all ages and is appropriate to support mathematical development across all primary aged children.
This is a great starting kit and is best suited to younger children (Reception/ Year 1). It gives children confidence with number and helps support a child's first steps in their mathematical development. It contains a feely bag for playing games, a Numicon board for problem solving, a variety of Numicon shapes and coloured pegs for counting and stacking. This can be added to as your child grows and moves forward with their mathematical knowledge. Amazon have it on sale here.
This box can help older children discover multiplication and division facts in a very visual way. This is a great add on to the starter kit, but you can also buy the baseboard and the pegs separately to build towers and layout multiplication and division facts. These 80 shapes are good for moving into two digit numbers so that higher values of tens and units can be visually represented. They can also be placed in columns to help with more complex number problems. Coins sit nicely on the holes too so the shapes work well to support work with money. Quite honestly with a little creative thought the possibilities are endless.
If you're considering buying a resource for home, do feel free to get in touch to discuss which one might be best for you and your child.