Quality maths enrichment goes beyond memorising facts. The best maths enrichment activities encourage critical and flexible thinking.
Author
Katie Wickliff
Published
July 2024
Quality maths enrichment goes beyond memorising facts. The best maths enrichment activities encourage critical and flexible thinking.
Author
Katie Wickliff
Published
July 2024
Quality maths enrichment goes beyond memorising facts. The best maths enrichment activities encourage critical and flexible thinking.
Author
Katie Wickliff
Published
July 2024
Key takeaways
Table of contents
If you’re a parent or caregiver of a school-aged child, you’ve likely heard the term “maths enrichment.” Perhaps your child’s teacher has mentioned doing maths enrichment with specific students or the whole class.
But exactly what is maths enrichment, anyway? Would your child benefit from enrichment? How do you facilitate maths enrichment activities at home?
This article will answer those questions and provide a comprehensive overview of maths enrichment for primary school-aged children. We’ll talk about what maths enrichment is (and what it is not!), discuss the components of quality maths enrichment, and highlight the types of students who would benefit from maths enrichment activities. We’ll also give several examples of enrichment activities you can easily do at home. Ready? Let’s get started!
Obviously, skill-focused lessons are an important part of any maths curriculum–an essential part of helping students develop as mathematicians. So where does maths enrichment fit in?
If enrichment means to make something more meaningful, substantial, and rewarding, then maths enrichment should deepen learning. Quality enrichment expands knowledge by guiding students to think more deeply and flexibly, fostering critical thinking skills. Maths enrichment should be:
To gain a better understanding of what maths enrichment means, it’s important to discuss what maths enrichment is not. Maths enrichment is not:
I’m the mother of two school-aged children. One of my kids is what teachers call a “fast finisher”: he completes maths assignments quickly and accurately. He also tends to grasp new maths concepts easily and can demonstrate his knowledge on homework and tests.
In contrast, my other child doesn’t find maths a breeze. While performing at the appropriate level, she takes a lot longer to finish her assignments and often needs extra support from her teacher individually or in small groups.
Of the two, which child would benefit from maths enrichment? The answer? Both of them!
The most effective enrichment is open-ended, rewarding depth over speed. This means that any child, no matter their starting point, will benefit from enrichment activities that help develop problem-solving abilities and encourage exploration and creative thinking.
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Doing maths enrichment at home is a great way to foster a love of numbers and connect with your child. While maths enrichment activities can vary greatly depending on your individual child, here are some ideas I recommend as a maths tutor to get you started:
Maths puzzles like Sudoku, Magic Square, or KenKen can help strengthen critical thinking skills. If you want to buy physical puzzles, some of our family favorites include Dog Pile, Smart IQ Puzzler, and Mental Blox Jr.
Check out Doodle’s award-winning maths app. This personalised programme is full of maths enrichment games that support your child’s maths journey.
Sharing books with your child is a great way to bring maths concepts to life. A few illustrated picture books include “Blockhead: The Life of Fibonacci” by Joseph D’Agnesc, “The Boy Who Loved Maths” by Deborah Heiligman, or “Ten on a Twig” by Lo Cole.
These are inquiry-based projects that require students to research and think deeply about a real-world maths problems, and can be easily completed using a home or library computer. You can find many sample Webquest projects online or make up your own!
For example, If your child wants to save up to buy a toy with their allowance money, allow them to take the lead in figuring out how much they’ll need to save and approximately how long it will take. Write down the problem with them and brainstorm several ways to reach their goal.
Got a LEGO lover? These building bricks are the perfect open-ended tool for maths enrichment at home. Children of all ages can engage in building challenges that reinforce Geometry concepts and encourage higher-level thinking. The possibilities are truly endless
Cooking with your child is an enriching (albeit messy) experience that provides concrete examples of using numbers in real life. Let your child choose the recipe and lead the measuring process. Being able to actually see that a ½ cup is larger than a ¼ cup strengthens their understanding of fractions.
Show your child that maths can even be found in nature— from identifying simple shapes to noticing how much of nature follows the Fibonacci sequence. Check out Doodle’s list of maths in nature activities for more specific ideas.
Parents, sign up for a DoodleMaths subscription and see your child become a maths wizard!
Maths enrichment is important because, in addition to developing maths skills, enrichment encourages creative and critical thinking.
Maths enrichment activities go beyond memorising facts and computing problems. Enrichment activities allow students to achieve more depth and understanding of a concept.
Lesson credits
Katie Wickliff
Katie holds a master’s degree in Education. She has over 15 years of education experience as a classroom teacher and is an Orton-Gillingham certified tutor. Most importantly, Katie is the mother of two primary-aged students, ages 8 and 11. She is passionate about maths education and firmly believes that the right tools and support will help every student reach their full potential.
Katie Wickliff
Katie holds a master’s degree in Education. She has over 15 years of education experience as a classroom teacher and is an Orton-Gillingham certified tutor. Most importantly, Katie is the mother of two primary-aged students, ages 8 and 11. She is passionate about maths education and firmly believes that the right tools and support will help every student reach their full potential.
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