Maths Games Which Help Kids Get Better At Maths!

Do you worry about helping your child with their maths homework?

Are you home educating your child and dreading the daily maths lessons?

Is your child falling behind in maths at school because they need more time to understand and practise the basic principles?

Perhaps your child is bright at maths and needs to go faster than the rest of the class to stay interested?

When my daughter lost confidence in maths a few years ago, I subscribed to a then-new online animated maths tutor, Maths-Whizz. Within a few months Tilly was not only right back where she should be, but was actually working at least a year above expectations for her age group at school (and sadly she had taken Maths Whizz as far as it would go). She enjoyed her animated lessons and games, and was never reluctant to sign in to her "room". She has remained confident with maths ever since.

Since then, Maths-Whizz has gone from strength to strength.

* It has added an extra two years to its offering, and now caters for children from 5 to 13.
* It has successfully entered the US market with Math-Whizz.
* Over 4000 schools in both the UK and US have signed up for its online services as well as over 30,000 home users.
* Results over the years have shown that students who use Maths-Whizz for at least 45 minutes a week get better at maths.

And now a free version has been launched which offers a "taster" of the Whizz service - and I'm thrilled that I am able to offer that free version for you within Activity Village. All you need to do is click on the link, choose whether you are following a UK or US curriculum, and create a free account - then your child can start getting better at maths!

Try Maths-Whizz

Incidentally, Whizz have furnished me with the following interesting facts:

* Students typically make an internal decision in their own mind by the age of 9 on whether they are good at maths or not. Once they have made that decision it is hard to turn it around if it is negative.

* Students who are confident and good at maths at primary/elementary school typically end up doing well in maths at secondary school. Students who struggle by the end of primary/elementary school usually fail in maths at secondary school.

* Students who leave secondary school with a pass grade in maths have, statistically, higher incomes in their working life.

* Being confident in maths contributes to success in other school subjects.

In simple terms, the sooner you support them to become confident in maths, the better their future prospects are.

OK, but why personalised tutoring? Isn’t school enough?

Each child really has their own unique maths profile. This is why it is so difficult for teachers in school to cater for every child’s individual needs – because they are all so different! More confident students may find their “maths age” (ability) is ahead of their actual age, whereas less confident students may find their “maths age” is lower than their actual age. Furthermore, their ability may vary across the different topics. An eight year old may find that she is ahead in addition, but struggling and behind in fractions.

It is virtually impossible for a teacher to cater to each individual child’s specific needs in a school / classroom scenario. As a result many students who don’t use Maths-Whizz, or some other form private tuition, find they are unchallenged or, worse, left behind and can lose confidence and fail to reach their potential as a result.

This can affect students for the rest of their lives. Many adults lack confidence in basic maths and this can affect their personal confidence, earnings and employment prospects.

Give your child the Maths-Whizz Advantage! Compared to other forms of tutoring, such as private tuition or taking your child to learning centres like Kumon, Maths-Whizz Tutoring Plus:

* is more fun, which means students gain more enjoyment out of maths
* provides you with measurable results (you can view those with live progress reports)
* is more convenient. Access over the internet from the comfort of your home
* generates proven results (see website for details)
* is better value for money.

Try Maths-Whizz

Picture Alphabet Posters - Bright And Cheerful!

These bright and appealing posters make a cheerful display around the classroom or home, cut and pasted, or viewed on a computer screen...
Picture Alphabet Posters

Finger Tracing Alphabet To Print

This Finger Tracing Alphabet is and a good way to start your child learning the ABCs, upper and lower case. Trace over the letters as if you were writing with a pencil, making sure that your child starts and stop in the right places. If you are printing them for the classroom or expect a lot of use, you might want to laminate first. You could also make them into a ring bound flip book. And of course, because they are outline letters, you could ask your child to color them in, too!

Another idea is to use the pdf file of the complete set on your computer (full screen) or white board in the classroom.

Finger Tracing Alphabet

Alphabet Coloring Pages - New Set Added

We've just added a new set of alphabet coloring pages (capital letters only for the moment) - they are simple, bright and cheerful and we think they will make learning ABCs fun!
Alphabet Coloring Pages

Handwriting Alphabet Worksheets

We have a new set of handwriting alphabet worksheets today, giving plenty of tracing practice for each letter, both capitals and lower case, as well as room for drawing or cutting and pasting. Download separately or as a set.
Handwriting Alphabet Worksheets

Tracing Alphabet Worksheets To Print

We've just added a set of fun tracing alphabet worksheets for little ones. Trace the letters, trace and colour in the picture (great pencil contro practise) and learn the letter sound! You can download the whole set of 26 together, or each letter individually.
Tracing Alphabet Worksheets

Kid Thinkers - a new series of printables!

Get your kids thinking with our "Kid Thinkers" - our own range of printables which will encourage your children to scratch their heads and do a little critical thinking! They can be used in the classroom or home and adapted to suit the age of your child, although we are aiming them roughly at the 7-8 year old. There will be a new Kid Thinker most weeks - subscribe to our free newsletter to get news of the latest...

Each week we will introduce a new concept, quote, proverb, puzzle or riddle - just something to get your children thinking a little harder than usual! We may provide a poster or another printable, and we will always provide a fun worksheet or notebooking page so that your child can build up a useful collection. Kid Thinkers are also meant to provide you with a starting point for discussion - either at home or in the classroom. We will also provide activity and extension ideas based on the week's Kid Thinker.

Kid Thinkers

Summer Olympic Games coloring pages

We've added a new collection of Summer Olympic Games coloring pages to the website today.

Olympic coloring pages

We've also added some new Olympic Games worksheets and Olympic printables

Easter Counting - Count along with our latest video!

Here is a fun way for your children to practice their counting skills! They will find Easter eggs, Easter bunnies and more to count in our latest early learning video.

Watch our Easter Counting Video here

Lacing Cards to print, laminate and hole-punch for your little ones!

We hope you enjoy these gorgeous new Lacing Cards with your kids. Easy to print and laminate so that they can be used over and over again, Lacing Cards are great for improving hand-eye coordination, developing fine motor skills and concentration. And they are just plain fun! Keep a stock of them ready in a large ziploc envelope for odd moments, car journeys or waiting rooms!
Lacing Cards

Handwriting Worksheets - Handwriting Readiness

Today we have added more worksheets to our Educational pages, for your pre-schoolers getting ready to start writing numbers and letters. You'll find all sorts of handwriting readiness worksheets, to print and use as they are or to laminate for repeat use. A fun way to work on pencil control!
Handwriting readiness

Early Learning Videos - The Color Yellow

Your little ones will enjoy spotting all the yellow objects in our latest flashcards video about the color yellow!

Early Learning Videos - The Color Blue

NB: Please do not allow your child to browse video sharing sites unsupervised.

Early Learning Videos for Kids - Sneak Preview!

Coming up soon at Activity Village, Early Learning Videos for Kids! Colours, numbers, the alphabet, first words and more! Here's a sneak preview...

New Kids Puzzles - The Pyramid Challenge

Our newest maths puzzle, the Pyramid Challenge, gives your child practice with early addition skills. We have 5 levels of increasing difficulty, and also some blank pages which you can print to make your own puzzles.

Pyramid Challenge

Groundhog Day - printables, puzzles and jigsaws!

Groundhog Day is a US tradition originating from the German Candlemas day and brought to America by German settlers. On 2nd February, if the groundhog emerges from its winter hibernation and can see its shadow on the ground, it knows that winter will last at least another six weeks. If there is no shadow, there will be an early end to winter.

Find out more about Groundhog Day and have fun with it in your classroom or home using our new Groundhog Day activities:

Groundhog Day printables

Groundhog Day puzzles

Groundhog Day jigsaws

St Andrew's Day Fun For Kids

New at Activity Village is our St Andrew's Day page. St Andrew is the patron saint of Scotland and St Andrew's Day is celebrated on 30th November each year by Scots all around the world.

We have some brand new activities for your children on a Scottish theme - including some great colouring pages, an origami Loch Ness Monster, word searches, downloadable jigsaws, and a collection of flag and map printables.

St Andrew's Day for Kids

The Potato Story - (educational) fun for kids!

The Potato Story is a fun, interactive initiative by McCain Foods to help children understand the origins of the food they eat, plant growth and nutrition. The website is based on the journey a potato takes from a farmer’s field to your fork to help engage school children in ICT, literacy and numeracy.



Targeted to Key Learning Stage 2 (7-11 years of age), The Potato story includes lesson plans, interactive games and quizzes and teachers’ notes offering guidance and suggestions for classroom activities based around each module’s theme. Along with recipes to try in the classroom or at home, children can learn through the characters Cheeky Ladybird, Bossy Butterfly, Lazy Caterpillar, Busy Bee and Jolly Hen.

In addition to the website, The Potato Story will also be accompanied by a re-designed London route master bus which will support the launch of the in-classroom teaching resource by visiting schools to add an experiential element to the programme.

The Potato Story supports the Year of Food and Farming (http://www.yearoffoodandfarming.org.uk/), a government initiative aimed to get children interested in all aspects of the countryside, farming and food.

The idea for The Potato Story came from research commissioned by the British Heart Foundation which found that one in three children didn’t know that chips were made from potatoes! There will be no excuse for that now!

The Potato Story - (educational) fun for kids!

The Potato Story is a fun, interactive initiative by McCain Foods to help children understand the origins of the food they eat, plant growth and nutrition. The website is based on the journey a potato takes from a farmer’s field to your fork to help engage school children in ICT, literacy and numeracy.

Targeted to Key Learning Stage 2 (7-11 years of age), The Potato story includes lesson plans, interactive games and quizzes and teachers’ notes offering guidance and suggestions for classroom activities based around each module’s theme. Along with recipes to try in the classroom or at home, children can learn through the characters Cheeky Ladybird, Bossy Butterfly, Lazy Caterpillar, Busy Bee and Jolly Hen.

In addition to the website, The Potato Story will also be accompanied by a re-designed London route master bus which will support the launch of the in-classroom teaching resource by visiting schools to add an experiential element to the programme.

The Potato Story supports the Year of Food and Farming, a government initiative aimed to get children interested in all aspects of the countryside, farming and food.

The idea for The Potato Story came from research commissioned by the British Heart Foundation which found that one in three children didn’t know that chips were made from potatoes! There will be no excuse for that now!

The Potato Story

Dice Games for Kids

We have just added 15 brilliant dice games for younger children to the website (previously only available as a purchasable download). Many are printable and most are educational - although the children will be having so much fun with them that they won't realise! These first 15 games are aimed at younger children (although many are adaptable for older kids); we have more games for older age groups coming soon.

Dice Games for Kids