Learning maths

30 October 2016 (Kareem is almost 7 years old)

I forgot how Kareem learnt to count!. We used books where he traced figures using filter pens which he wiped away afterwards. He really liked to do that and we did it regularly for days and days.  The school played an important role in teaching him the numbers and he liked repeating them. We started counting things.  He loved counting his fingers but for long time I am not sure that he knows by heart that he has 5 fingers in each hand and total of 10. 

Now he can count up to 20 and he loves counting. He also learnt to write the numbers up to ten. His writing which has been all over the place is becoming a bit clearer. It is difficult for him to hold the pencil with a good grip. His mum got him special elastic bands that hold the pencil and 2 fingers but he did not like them. He still holds the pencil in its middle which makes the grip difficult and the writing not focused. However, often he tries to change the grip and holds the pencil near its tip and writes better. Other times he refuses my help to get his fingers nearer the tip of the pencil. If I insist then he would throw the pencil, paper and his glasses away.

This summer (2016) we travelled and I almost stopped doing maths with him. So it has taken some time to get him to remember how to write the numbers. After about a month of daily work, he occasionally forget how to write 3, 5.

Additions:

I have been trying to get him to learn the concept of adding.  I thought that beads would do the trick, but he uses them (and other objects) as toys for playing not counting!. So we use the old method of :

3+2= Leave the 3 here and put the 2 on my fingers. Then I ask what is after 3 and he counts on my fingers. I tried to have 3 fingers on one hand and 2 on the other but he gets confused.

By using this method, he can add up to 9+1. We also use a game of puzzles that has one side the equation with pictures e.g 3 ducks + 4 ducks. The other bit of the puzzle is numbers from 1 to 10. He counts all the ducks regardless of the plus sign and then chooses the correct puzzle number and fit it.

However, I am not sure that he actually gets the concept of addition in his head. His mum and dad use small white boards with him where he chooses the equation numbers and they help him counting on his fingers then write the number. It becomes a bit difficult when he wants to tens and hundreds together and accept he does not have enough fingers to count!

Yesterday he wanted to do 400+20. Today he was doing 200+2 !

I will go back to count oranges and apples and see if it works better.

Here is Kareem learning about volumes: more and less (March 2016)