The next Parents and Friends of Arngask meeting will take place on Wednesday 21st November at 6.15pm.
Hope to see you there.
Have you visited the Education Scotland Parentzone website?
click here Parentzone
Sharing Learning
At Arngask Primary we value the importance of working in partnership with parents. Throughout each session we have Open Days to give you an opportunity to see your child learn in class. You are welcome to look at your child's Learning Journey Jotter before 9am and after 3.15pm every day.
Help Your Child with Maths
Simple activities at home can make an enormous difference to a child’s confidence in mathematics and a child’s enthusiasm for learning. Maths is part of everyday live.
Here are some activities for all levels of maths to make maths a part of everyday life. Enjoy counting, playing and learning together.
Numbers are everywhere from on the clock to the number of squares in a chocolate bar.
Look at the environment around you. What numbers do you notice? How many windows are there? How many doors are there? What is the house number?
Look at numbers around the house and talk about them – the TV guide numbers, the heating thermostat, a measuring tape, the remote control, the clock, a phone, kitchen scales, cooker knobs.
Count with your child. Count to 100 forwards and backwards. Count in 2’s, count in 3’s/4’s/5’s……. This will stand your child in a strong position with maths no matter how young or old they are. Counting is one of the simplest and one of the most important aspects of maths.
Help your child learn their number bonds:
0+10=10 or 10+0=10 10-0=10
1+9=10 or 9+1=10 10-1=9 or 10-9=1
2+8=10 or 8+2=10 10-2=8 or 10-8=2
3+7=10 or 7+3=10 10-3=7 or 10-7=3
4+6=10 or 6+4=10 10-4=6 or 10-6=4
5+5=10 10-5=5
These will help when we move to adding and subtracting as numbers get larger.
Enjoy nursery rhymes like ‘5 Currant Buns’ and ‘10 Green Bottles’
- Read and sing together running the fingers along the words as you sing. (This helps your child to be aware of direction)
- Play or act out the song.
At the shops:
- Let your child count the items as you buy them e.g. 1 tin of beans, 8 bananas etc…
- Let them pay for an item of their choice as they become confident work out change from varying amounts.
- Discuss the shapes of packages – cubes, cuboids, cones, cylinders etc.
- Discuss the position of items – behind, above, in front of.
- Find items – ask your child to move forwards, backwards, right or left.
- Plan the trip talk about when you will leave – look at the clock. What time did you get back? How long were you away? Use the digital and analogue clock.
- Count how many items you have bought. Round the number to the nearest 10.
- Estimate the weight of fruit/veg. Look at the weight on packets – order these from lightest to heaviest. Estimate how heavy an item is.
- Look at the volumes of milk, juice, shampoos etc. Estimate the volume of items.
- If buying eggs work out how many in 2/3/4/5/6 boxes.
- Use a calculator to add up as you shop. Or find out which items is the best value.
- Look for any sales or discounts. Work out the saving mentally or with a calculator.
Play with number cards:
- Give number cards (or magnets/post its with numbers on) in a random order. Ask your child to put them in the correct order. Talk about them. Take a number away – discuss which one is missing.
Sort the Washing:
- Match socks in the wash. Count how many pairs or socks there are.
Sort toys:
- Put all the cars here, all the lego in the box, put all the blue cars next to the ………. How many cars will fit in the box?
Eating:
- Count how many chips/tomatoes/peas etc you have? How many do they have? How many more/less do I/you have?
- Pizza – two people with equal shares would have half, 4 people would have quarters. Show that 2 quarters is the same as 1 half.
Looking at number:
- What can you tell me about that number? Is it odd? Is it even? Is it shared equally between two?
- What is the number before/after?
- What is the number 10 more or less?
- What is 2/3/4/5/100/1000 etc more or less?
- Which number is bigger/smaller? Can you put the numbers in order?
Cooking and Baking:
- Use comparisons – which is heavier/lighter?
- Read the dials on the cooker/clock/scales/oven temperature.
- Look at the scales, encourage children to read your measurements and then when able get them to measure accurately.
- Work out when something will be ready in the oven. Time durations.
Out walking:
- House numbers – what number will come next? Talk about odds and evens.
- Collect shells/conkers/leaves. Count them. Guess how many are in the bag. Put them in order of size.
- On arriving home talk about where you went first, what happened next (recount events in order)
In the car/on the bus:
- I spy. I spy red cars and count until you see 10 then move to a different object and number.
- Encourage children to read the speed gauge/clocks.
- Get children to look at road signs and work out the duration of a journey.
- Get them to watch the fuel gauge at the petrol station to see how much fuel it takes to fill a tank. How much fuel would be in half/quarter tank? Work out how far you can travel on one tank of fuel. Work out the cost of fuel. (Use a calculator if needed)
Construction:
- Build using construction toys. What shapes are you using? How many pieces are there?
- Build symmetrical shapes using lego/bricks etc.
- Talk about right angles, acute angles & obtuse angles.
Family members:
- Measure every persons height. Who is tallest/shortest? In centimetres and metres.
- Keep a height chart.
- Measure weight. Work out the differences in weight? (If you are brave!)
Calendars & Birthdays:
- Talk about birthdays – put them in sequence e.g. Dad’s birthday is in January before Mums in July ……
- Say the months of the year in order. Talk about how many days there are in each month.
- Mark family events on a calendar.
- Help them learn March is the 3rd month of the year, July is the 7th etc.
- Look at the different layouts of calendars & diaries.
Tables:
- Practice these at every spare opportunity. Reciting, counting on fingers, mixed up tables.
Other ideas:
- Calculate how much wallpaper is needed to decorate a room/ how many litres of paint are required.
- Measure the floor size if you need more flooring or windows for new curtains.
- Read the room temperature on a thermometer.
- Note the temperatures on weather reports and how they change from day to day.
- Time activities – how many times can you swing on the swing in a minute? How long does it take to run all the way around the park?
- Read the TV guide – plan viewing and screen time.
- In the swimming pool calculate how far you will swim if you swim 8 lengths etc.
- Use a compass when out walking to give directions.
- Work out foreign currency if going abroad.
On-line safety
Being safe on-line is important aspect of learning at Arngask.
The button has been developed to offer children, young people, parents/carers and professionals working with these groups with a simple and convenient mechanism for gaining access to trusted online safety advice, help and support. It also provides access to an online mechanism for reporting known or suspected child sexual exploitation or child sexual abuse directly to CEOP. This is offered as a convenient and potentially less intimidating method of reporting these sensitive types of crime, alternative to face-to-face and telephone reporting to local police forces.
The CEOP Safety Centre
The Click CEOP button provides a gateway to the CEOP Safety Centre, an area of the CEOP website offering:
*advice on a range of online safety issues, such as hacking and cyberbullying;
*signposting to NCA-CEOP partners offering help and support on issues outside of CEOP’s remit, such as ChildLine and BeatBullying;
* reporting of suspected or known child sex offender activity directly to CEOP for investigation.