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Looking to prepare your child for Year 3 Maths? Read this article for 3 effective strategies to prepare your Year 2 child for Year 3 Maths.
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Your child is approaching Year 3, and you want them to have a head-start in Maths! The OC Exam and even the Selective School Exam seem to be fast approaching. But how should you start preparing?
In this guide, we will provide you with 3 strategies that you can use to improve your child’s Maths and set them up for success in Year 3 and beyond.
In this article we’ll look at the following tips:
Give your child the practice they need to master place value and build strong maths foundations 
Get your Year 3 Place Value of Numbers Worksheet!
Does your child lose concentration easily? This is often due to studying from a book all day, which can be boring and ineffective. One of the most effective strategies to improve your child’s Maths is through real-life applications.
Remember, Maths is not only a school subject, numbers are always present in our everyday lives, so it is important we don’t neglect them.
Be creative. How often do we use addition and subtraction on a normal day? Receiving change from the supermarket and counting the days to the next holiday are just a few examples.
For example, pretend all household items are for sale and your child is in charge of providing the correct change for each item. Not only do they improve basic counting skills for Year 3, which introduces concepts such as Addition and Subtraction, they become more capable of using numbers in a real-life scenario.
Once again, how often is there use of fractions in everyday life? Does your child understand how you evenly divide the pie amongst everyone?
Every time you share a pie or cake, you ask your child what fraction they receive. Allow them to understand how much is their fair share. As time progresses, substitute fractions with percentages instead. This is great preparation for the Year 3 topic of Fractions and Decimals.
Real-life applications are a great way to prepare your child for Year 3 Maths. These skills can be practised in many situations, such as shopping in a supermarket and sharing food with friends.
Do you think all the games you bought your child are hindering their success? However, don’t throw it all out yet as it can help them improve their Maths.
Children love playing with toys and games. As a parent, that might seem bad for learning, but they can actually be used to help your child. The use of toys adds an element of enjoyment to learning and also doesn’t require any extra resources.
Understanding what your child enjoys is very important.
Enjoy to learn. Learn to enjoy.
Children love card games. Simply pick up a standard deck of cards and determine the chances of picking up a specific card. Modify the games by using different card games such as Yugioh and Pokemon based on your child’s favourite. These cards might not be a waste of money after all. This is great preparation leading into the Year 3 topic of Probability.
Sport can be used to help improve statistics. For example, count the number of wins their favourite team has in comparison to another team. Using that information, other skills such as drawing tables and graphs can be developed, preparing your child for the Year 3 subject Statistics.
By helping your child understand mathematical concepts through methods in which they enjoy, it leads to increased motivation and enjoyment for the subject. This is extremely effective in improving your Year 2 child’s Maths prior to Year 3.
In the Matrix Year 3 Maths course, our expert teachers make learning fun for children so that they can gain a thorough understanding of Maths.
Is your Year 2 child constantly behind with their Maths work? Are they constantly overwhelmed with their workload? Sometimes, doing too much can hinder your child’s growth so it is important to be patient and let them slowly improve.
Doing too much can lead to lower motivation and increased stress. Ensure your child is not overwhelmed by their workload. Instead of giving your child a new exercise as soon as they finish the previous one, take the time to go through all the mistakes.
Reviewing each mistake is an essential tip for ensuring they aren’t repeated. Help them understand how the mistake occurred, whether it is a silly mistake in the working out or a misunderstanding in the question.
For example, your child struggles with multiplication. Multiplication and division strategies can include initially starting with repeated addition and using counters as a visual aid. When they become more comfortable and confident, gradually increase difficulty in ways such as introducing time limits, and working out in their head.
Another common struggle with Year 2 students is measurement and geometry. The introduction of various forms of measurement, such as mm and mL, can be overwhelming. To prevent that, stick with a specific unit of measurement until your child is comfortable with it before introducing a new one.
The focus on fundamental Maths skills will allow your child to develop a high level of understanding and reduce the likelihood of silly mistakes. On the other hand, doing too much too early can hinder your child’s growth in the subject.
Creating a routine with these 3 strategies with your child will boost their marks before Year 3! Teaching them using real-life applications of Maths, increasing enjoyment of the subject through their hobbies. This is the cheat-code for focusing on the fundamentals that will prepare your child for Year 3 Maths and beyond.
Written by June Heo
June launched the popular Matrix Blog in 2011 to make high-quality resources accessible to all students. Before working at Matrix she was a news producer at Sky News.
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