Tutoring

 

Lockdown had a big impact on my tutoring business. First of all I lost my GCSE English student as he was no longer going to be sitting any exams! Secondly all my remaining clients moved to video lessons via Zoom. This was a good way to keep up their momentum whilst learning at home. However, it is not as good as face to face lessons. 

One good thing about having all lessons online was a reduction in the amount of paper I was printing off as everything was electronic. Now that schools are back and I am going back to visiting my students all the papers are making a reappearance. I have spent a few days sorting through my papers from last year and planning for the lessons this half term:

Affiliate links Some of my teaching aids were a bit tatty so I have also been shopping for new place value cards and discs. I also supersized my white board to give more room for work. My trusty Usborne Junior Illustrated Maths dictionary will be accompanying me alongside CGP Maths books for my students to work with. Of course I now have the addition of a face mask and hand sanitiser to keep us all safe:

Things won't be quite the same as my students can no longer give me the occasional hug I used to get! Even so I am looking forward to helping them as they keep on with their learning.

Book Review: Math Quest The Museum of Mysteries

When your child loves maths but doesn't enjoy reading it is great to be recommended a book which is right up their street. These Math Quest books are a perfect combination for him so I ordered one from Amazon (affiliate link):

He was hooked pretty much instantly! I didn't hear a peep out of him for ages as he worked his way through the adventure. You have to solve maths problems to progress through and stop the thieves. If you get an answer wrong the book tells you what you should have done:

The math puzzles are set at KS2 level so year 3 and upwards. Younger children may need to work on the puzzles with the adults unless they are math whizzes! Don't panic parents about not knowing what all the maths terms mean as there is a helpful glossary and explanation in the back:

Fractions made simple

As a teacher and a parent I become aware of which areas of mathematics children are most likely to struggle with. I am starting a mini series of videos on how to work on some of these areas and make them simpler to understand. 

First up it is fractions. The video looks at:

• equivalent fractions
• common denominators
• simplifying fractions
• adding fractions
• subtracting fractions
• multiplying fractions
• dividing fractions
• improper fractions

What areas of maths would you like to have explained simply?