Daily in December: Maths Puzzles and Problems

An Introduction to Maths Puzzles and Problems in December

Throughout December, I will be sharing a maths puzzle or problem each day. These videos will be quite short but will include a maths question that you can discuss with your child. The aim of Daily in December: Maths Puzzles and Problems is to get parents/carers and their children working together to discuss maths skills positively.

Maths Anxiety

Many students (and adults) feel anxious when they think about answering maths questions. Some children and adults may be reluctant to have a go at answering maths puzzles and problems. I think it is important to encourage everyone to feel happier and more positive about maths.

Maths anxiety is quite understandable. Many children and adults can feel pressured when answering maths questions. There are lots of skills to learn and then there is the issue of knowing which skill to use to answer each particular question. Added to this is the pressure of thinking about there being a right or a wrong answer for each maths problem. Some students and their adults can feel their anxiety compounded by memories of answering maths questions under timed conditions.

There are many more reasons why children and adults can feel anxious about maths.

Promoting Maths Positivity

Daily in December: Maths Puzzles and Problems aims to promote maths positivity. After the success of last year’s Daily in December questions, I thought it would be a good idea to repeat this with updated questions. You can find the daily questions on my blog or on Dovetail Tuition’s social media (YouTube).

It would be absolutely brilliant to have as many parents/carers talking positively about maths with their children as possible. If your children see and hear you actively enjoying working towards figuring out a maths problem or puzzle, they are more likely to enjoy maths too. I know that for some adults, this may seem quite daunting but I urge you to try. Working with your children to find the answers to these problems can help both of you to understand and use the modern maths methods that they need.

There is no pressure with these questions. You and your child can take as long as you like to answer these. Just enjoying doing a maths task with your child can help so much to change to a more positive maths mindset.

Maths Problems and Puzzles – Answers Available

For every question, there will be a video with the answers and a method to explain how to calculate the answers. If you would like to watch the question and the answer videos before sharing these with your child, it can help you to support them when figuring out which methods to use.