So what is the method then?
Its a very, very simple concept - its aim is to help your child see and feel the numbers they will work with in maths throughout their 11 or more years in education. It will hopefully serve them beyond too. The idea is that there are four key building blocks in developing a strong grasp of maths and in order to ensure that your child feels confident as the maths skills get more challenging they need to have a very strong foundation. Establishing this as early as possible will make the whole experience of maths very different for them.
The four key areas are:
Number Bonds
Multiplication
Place Value
Directed Number
Above everything your child learns in maths these four areas need to be embedded and strongly so. The MM Maths Method is designed to create this strong foundation through the mindset of SMALL STEPS - LITTLE - OFTEN.
You can adapt the method for your child and your lifestyle. You can use the podcasts on their own, the books on their own or the free online resources. You might choose to use a combination of all of them. Whatever you do, take small steps, five minutes a day, don't try to rush and get everything done in one go. Make sure that when they have completed an element they SEE the relationship between the numbers. For example the number 15 becomes more than just 3 x 5 = 15, it is in a multiplication family with 3 and 5 but also in number bond families with 1 and 14, 2 and 13, 3 and 12, 4 and 11, 5 and 10, 6 and 9, 7 and 8. This is a far more useful way of seeing numbers and will have a lasting impact beyond Key Stage 2.
Take a look at the podcast section now - in there you will not only find the links to the podcasts and how to use them but there are also the free resources there for you to download.
What is the reasoning behind it?
Well, we need to take a little step back and look at school maths from a much more holistic way and think about the path your child will take till they are 16 - because even though it is probably not what you want to think, the people who have been making maths curricula for the last few decades have and continue to do so.
Your child is set in the direction of passing a GCSE in maths from the minute they set foot in primary school. Schools probably don't want to admit it, and teachers genuinely don't see your child in such cynical terms but it is the way a politicised education system works, data results and all that. The thing is, this doesn't really help anyone as it puts excessive pressures on schools and this leads to many children being lost along the way. The school curriculum is congested and GCSE focused from EYFS up and as a result the pressure on schools to make it through the content is immense. Add to this the early testing regime that isn't focused on a child's development as a learner, but which is yet another stick to beat primary headteachers with and you have a toxic environment which sees teachers battling against the system to provide your child with a welcoming and nurturing place to go every day and learn. I'll be honest, I think teachers in this system are genuinely marvelous people and I have met some incredible people working "at the chalkface" over the years.
So lets get back on track, what is the issue with maths? Well, its remarkable just how many children say they hate maths or they can't do it. What is more remarkable is how often when you actually spend time with those children you find this is simply NOT TRUE! What seems to be the big problem is belief, a belief that maths is hard, a belief that "I can't do maths". This is a result of a number of things but that would be a big essay so for our purposes lets look at one key enemy of maths confidence. The bloated maths curriculum. Lets be honest, how many of us have used that stuff we did in our GCSE? (or CSE or O Level if we are going that far back) Not many, so why have we put such importance on those skills that they have slowly slipped further and further down the age groups so that in primary you see skills being worked on that will be used on a GCSE paper? Let that sink in. Is it a surprise that children who feel vulnerable about their maths skills are developing horrendous relationships with maths so early? What makes this worse is that in order to fill the curriculum it has squeezed the time used to work on the basics and it is here that the problems lie. Many, many children, of all abilities make it through primary school without a workable grasp of the basic foundation skills. They have enough and are coached to pass the requisite tests but they don't feel confident about the key aspects that feed into all of maths, and especially the new and more complicated skills at Key Stages 3 and 4.
So here - in simple terms is the way to look at it. There are four absolutely crucial areas every child should feel confident at. If they don't, they will develop a dysfunctional relationship with maths forever.
Number Bonds
Multiplication
Place Value
Directed Number
Without these almost every other part of their school maths experience becomes more challenging. Here is my table analogy, imagine a table and onto that table you are going to place a set of balls. Those balls will stay there if your table is balanced and strong. Now if we see each of those key skills as a leg of the table it is easy to see what will happen if any of them are broken, or worse, not there at all.
Now think about a child sitting in a maths lesson. They kind of understand what the teacher is saying about fractions and gets the concept, then they start talking about equivalence and using multiples and factors to find the common denominator.
"I don't get it?" "I am rubbish at maths!" "I hate maths!"
Then the problem becomes, why don't you understand fractions - well the truth is, they probably do but it is the foundation skill of multiplication that they don't and so the wrong questions start being asked.
This is where the MM Maths Method comes in.
If you focus on the four foundation skills and work on them until they are completely embedded every other skill will improve, confidence will rise and that awful relationship with maths can be avoided. It won't create Theoretical Mathematicians but it will make maths a much more positive experience.
And the key? Little, often and persistent. If you do a little something every day you can make a huge difference. The other thing is, don't try to do too much in one go. Focus on one thing but do it in different ways, this is where the books come in. There is one small task a day, it shouldn't take any more than five minutes. First few days look at the pattern in the front of the book first then do the task then when they are confident go straight to the task and check the answers with the patterns. You can also enhance it with a few questions on the walk to school, or in the car on the way to swimming lessons, or you could use some of our cards as games every so often. However you do it, make sure you stick to the principles of little, often and persistent. Yes they will get homework and other tasks from school, but fit this in daily and you will see results.
There are five books. It really depends on where your child is and what your desired outcomes are for you to decide where to start. If you have a child in EYFS or KS1 you are probably going to want to start at Book 1, if they are older it may be the case that you need to start at Book 2 or 3. There is a little check test on this website to help you judge.
The method was put together to help out parents who are at the end of their tether, worried about how their child will succeed when they are "bad at maths." But it serves as an excellent method to use from the start to prevent this happening. Whoever you are and for whatever reason you choose to follow the method I truly hope it helps and believe it will. Good luck!