One of the challenges facing kids learning maths is that it can be a difficult subject to get the hang of, and can therefore be confusing and quite hard for some kids, and they lose confidence and find it ‘boring’.

However there are plenty of ways to make maths more fun, and encourage kids to keep trying to master the basics, and you can help your kids out at home with some quick games which cover the basics of counting, subtracting, multiplying and dividing.

• Food Counters – use small bits of food as counters, such as sweeties, small chocolates, raisins, cereal bites or biscuits. Write down the basic maths question you want to work on, and then use the food counters to work out the problem. For example you could start with simple problems such as ‘2 + 6 = ?’. Put the counters out and ask your child to count them first into one pile of six. Then ask them to count out another pile of six. Now ask them to add these two piles together to give you the correct answer. You can try more challenging sums as well such as 10 x 5, by using one coloured sweet to count as denominations of 10 and a different colour as denominations of 5. The correct answer means you can eat the counters!
• Food Fractions – another great way of using food to encourage maths is for fractions. Pizzas are a great way of working out fractions, so make a pizza from scratch with your child, and ask them to help you to work out the toppings in fractions, for example 1/4 pepperoni, 1/4 mushrooms and 1/2 just plain cheese. Or ask them to help you cut the pizza into portions, for example by saying if you have four people how many fractions do you need to serve everyone an equal slice?
• Everyday Counting – we use counting and subtracting in our daily lives, and this variety can help to encourage your child to count on their own. For example let them help you fold the laundry, and count how many t-shirts they have to put away, or how many socks there are to fold into pairs. You could also sort out the cupboards before you go shopping, and ask your child to help you count how many cans of pop you have, how many you might use in the week, and therefore work out how many more you need to buy when you are shopping.

You can also download lots of maths games online, and buy fun maths puzzle books in bookstores and newsagents, which all help to keep maths varied and interesting and encourage your child to enjoy this vital subject.

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