Early years maths
I think there is a general consensus that in the early, preparatory years (c ages 4-6), maths is best taught with as many manipulatives as possible so that the child can visualise what is going on. Personally, I love Cuisinaire rods, though I am sure that being non-mathematically minded I don't use them half as effectively as I could. But you don't need anything expensive: anything a child can count (shells, buttons etc.) can be used not just for basic counting but for a host of other mathematical operations. On the preparatory page I've explained the order in which I've found it best to teach the basics - but as far as the 'shoestring' curriculum goes, you really don't need to make any big investments at this stage. With just a few minutes work a day, and lots of conversation observing mathematical concepts during daily life together (especially when cooking!) you'll find you have already made good inroads into the KS2 curriculum with plenty of counting, sorting, doubling, halving, shapes, measuring and so on.
If you want to follow an established curriculum, MEP maths is free and effective, and is used by increasing numbers of home-educators. It can take you all the way through GCSE if you want to use it that far.
The year by year objectives from MEP could be used as a simple guide to what your child would typically be expected to know by the end of each year: Year 1, age 5-6 ; Year 2 , age 6-7
Alternatively, if you know the order in which you want to study topics but want some worksheets to practice on, try something like snappymaths or primaryworksheets.
I think there is a general consensus that in the early, preparatory years (c ages 4-6), maths is best taught with as many manipulatives as possible so that the child can visualise what is going on. Personally, I love Cuisinaire rods, though I am sure that being non-mathematically minded I don't use them half as effectively as I could. But you don't need anything expensive: anything a child can count (shells, buttons etc.) can be used not just for basic counting but for a host of other mathematical operations. On the preparatory page I've explained the order in which I've found it best to teach the basics - but as far as the 'shoestring' curriculum goes, you really don't need to make any big investments at this stage. With just a few minutes work a day, and lots of conversation observing mathematical concepts during daily life together (especially when cooking!) you'll find you have already made good inroads into the KS2 curriculum with plenty of counting, sorting, doubling, halving, shapes, measuring and so on.
If you want to follow an established curriculum, MEP maths is free and effective, and is used by increasing numbers of home-educators. It can take you all the way through GCSE if you want to use it that far.
The year by year objectives from MEP could be used as a simple guide to what your child would typically be expected to know by the end of each year: Year 1, age 5-6 ; Year 2 , age 6-7
Alternatively, if you know the order in which you want to study topics but want some worksheets to practice on, try something like snappymaths or primaryworksheets.