Please continue to practise the children's mental maths skills when you can.  Times Table Rockstars practise is essential for progress in maths and knowing times tables is the foundation for mathematical learning.  

Quick maths quiz's on the way to school, in the car, on journeys or whenever you have a minute are super helpful and keep maths skills fresh.

Don't forget to use the sheet below and have fun with column addition and subtraction!

Mental Maths Essentials from Mrs G and Mrs H

Mental maths is extremely important in Year 2.  The children build on mental maths to develop more complex skills.  We do this throughout our maths lessons.

Please practice your child’s mental maths at home. 

• Quick maths:

Addition sums they can answer quickly.  They are adding two parts together to make a whole.  These are essential skills and they should be able to answer these quickly in their head.

4+3=   3+4=

This will also help when they are subtracting.

7-3=   I know that 7 is made of 4 and 3.  I take away a part (3) and I am left with the other part (4).   7-4=    These are also called fact families, ask your child about them.

This skill will also help when they are adding tens -   4 tens and 3 tens is 7 tens which is 70.

• Number Bonds

Number bonds to 10 and number bonds to 20 are also essential.

Please practice these.  Give your child a number and they must tell you the missing number bond.

Number bonds to 10 will help them with their number bonds to 100 hundred, 2 tens and 8 tens make 100.  20+80=

• Counting in Groups – learning our times tables.

Practising counting in 2s, 3s, 5s and 10s.

• More and Less

1 more than a given number and 1 less than a given number is essential knowledge. 11-12

10 more than a given number and 10 less than a given number.  22 -32 -42

• Doubles and Halves

Fast halves and doubles and halves to 20 can help when adding 5+6+11  I know that 5+5=10 and 1 more is 11.

Have fun asking and practising some of these skills with your children.  Make it fun, make it into a game.  Before bed, in the bath, on the way to school.  Set little challenges.

Over the page are some examples of Column Addition and Subtraction your children are completing to solve more complex problems.  See what you recall when you were at school and ask them to have a go at explaining the strategy to you.

Examples of column addition.