Moving on in maths
From about age 7 I tend to use a basic textbook/workbook series (this is the only subject in which I rely on a textbook from such an early age: it's just a subject in which you want to make sure there are no gaps in knowledge since every topic builds on another). I would still take things very slowly - never rushing a child to move on before he's really grasped a concept/operation: that is more important than keeping strictly to a schedule at this age. Lots of children struggle with maths in secondary school because in earlier years, the class moved on before they had really mastered a topic. If you take your time now and lay really solid foundations, even if you fall a bit behind schedule, your child will catch up easily later on as long as the basics are firmly in place.
On the other hand, if your child shows a good capacity for maths, why hold him/her back? As home-educators, one of our greatest advantages is to go at the child's pace, whether this means he is a little behind or a little ahead. You do not have to stick strictly to a schedule and if you do hold a bright child back repeating work which is no longer challenging, he./she is likely to get very bored. Many children who are slow at literacy work seem very quick with maths (and sometimes the reverse is true: the key is to go at the child's pace, keeping things challenging enough but not impossible). You can easily find yourself at different levels in different subjects, but that is fine at this stage.
In terms of resources, for years I got by with a set of the old 1990's Oxford Mastermaths series which I picked up free somewhere and which are available second hand. These are now hard to get hold of so I've been investigating alternatives (though it shows that you don't need anything fancy to teach junior level maths!)
Galore Park offer a set of maths books for Years 3 - 6 but they are expensive (as ever, the textbooks are upgraded/replaced every few years, and the answer book has to be bought separately - good for GPark's profits but not good for parents on a budget...). You can pick the older versions up secondhand, though you need to shop around - the answer books are often sold for crazy prices! Using the older series, our youngest two started with 'SYRWTL Junior Maths Books 1, 2 and 3 by David Hilliard (for years 3, 4 and 5) which we found very clear and helpful. We followed these with SYRWTL Maths Book 1 by Serena Alexander. This gave a chance for lots of revision for one of our children who needed it at early secondary level. We'll be moving onto book 2 soon and that will probably take us to the start of GCSE without ploughing through Book 3. Remember, Galore Park is all about prep for Common Entrance grammar school exams so doesn't go beyond that, but their standards are generally higher than usual school standards)
NB Galore Park have made all the answers to the Hilliard Book 3 available on their site. You can access the file directly here (I've uploaded it just in case Galore park change their mind and take the file down). SYRWTL Junior Maths 3 answers.
If you are using MEP maths (see Early Years maths), and are happy with it, you need to just carry on with that through this stage. Here are the objective lists for Year 3, age 7-8; Year 4 age 8-9; Year 5 age 9-10; Year 6 age 10-11. I haven't compared the two closely but I would say that these standards are above those of the National Curriculum. If your child could do all this by the end of primary, he/she would have a considerable advantage in beginning any secondary school curriculum.
I know families who use the Heinemann books and are happy with them, but I have no personal experience of them.
From about age 7 I tend to use a basic textbook/workbook series (this is the only subject in which I rely on a textbook from such an early age: it's just a subject in which you want to make sure there are no gaps in knowledge since every topic builds on another). I would still take things very slowly - never rushing a child to move on before he's really grasped a concept/operation: that is more important than keeping strictly to a schedule at this age. Lots of children struggle with maths in secondary school because in earlier years, the class moved on before they had really mastered a topic. If you take your time now and lay really solid foundations, even if you fall a bit behind schedule, your child will catch up easily later on as long as the basics are firmly in place.
On the other hand, if your child shows a good capacity for maths, why hold him/her back? As home-educators, one of our greatest advantages is to go at the child's pace, whether this means he is a little behind or a little ahead. You do not have to stick strictly to a schedule and if you do hold a bright child back repeating work which is no longer challenging, he./she is likely to get very bored. Many children who are slow at literacy work seem very quick with maths (and sometimes the reverse is true: the key is to go at the child's pace, keeping things challenging enough but not impossible). You can easily find yourself at different levels in different subjects, but that is fine at this stage.
In terms of resources, for years I got by with a set of the old 1990's Oxford Mastermaths series which I picked up free somewhere and which are available second hand. These are now hard to get hold of so I've been investigating alternatives (though it shows that you don't need anything fancy to teach junior level maths!)
Galore Park offer a set of maths books for Years 3 - 6 but they are expensive (as ever, the textbooks are upgraded/replaced every few years, and the answer book has to be bought separately - good for GPark's profits but not good for parents on a budget...). You can pick the older versions up secondhand, though you need to shop around - the answer books are often sold for crazy prices! Using the older series, our youngest two started with 'SYRWTL Junior Maths Books 1, 2 and 3 by David Hilliard (for years 3, 4 and 5) which we found very clear and helpful. We followed these with SYRWTL Maths Book 1 by Serena Alexander. This gave a chance for lots of revision for one of our children who needed it at early secondary level. We'll be moving onto book 2 soon and that will probably take us to the start of GCSE without ploughing through Book 3. Remember, Galore Park is all about prep for Common Entrance grammar school exams so doesn't go beyond that, but their standards are generally higher than usual school standards)
NB Galore Park have made all the answers to the Hilliard Book 3 available on their site. You can access the file directly here (I've uploaded it just in case Galore park change their mind and take the file down). SYRWTL Junior Maths 3 answers.
If you are using MEP maths (see Early Years maths), and are happy with it, you need to just carry on with that through this stage. Here are the objective lists for Year 3, age 7-8; Year 4 age 8-9; Year 5 age 9-10; Year 6 age 10-11. I haven't compared the two closely but I would say that these standards are above those of the National Curriculum. If your child could do all this by the end of primary, he/she would have a considerable advantage in beginning any secondary school curriculum.
I know families who use the Heinemann books and are happy with them, but I have no personal experience of them.