Home Learning Guide

➗ Maths at Home: A Whaanau Guide

Te Paina School | Years 0–8
Helping tamariki grow as confident, curious problem-solvers.

Kia ora e te whaanau,

At Te Paina School, we believe maths is for everyone—and learning doesn't stop at the school gate. You don’t need to be a maths expert to help your child succeed. This guide is here to give you simple, fun, and effective ways to support maths learning at home.

Why Maths at Home Matters

Even just a few minutes of maths thinking each day helps to:

Build confidence and enjoyment
Strengthen problem-solving skills
Connect maths to everyday life
Reinforce what tamariki are learning at school

We teach maths through the DMIC (Developing Mathematical Inquiry Communities) approach, which encourages group problem-solving, real-life maths, and rich discussion. You can support this by encouraging your child to explain their thinking and talk about their ideas at home.

Years 0–2: Exploring Numbers and Patterns

What tamariki are learning:

Counting forwards and backwards
Recognising numbers and shapes
Making and continuing patterns
Comparing sizes, lengths, and amounts

What you can do at home:

Count things together (e.g., steps, fruit, toys)
Play “How many more?” or “What comes next?”
Sort socks, blocks, or buttons by colour or size
Talk about time (e.g., morning, afternoon, days of the week)

Games to try:

“What’s Missing?” – hide a number in a sequence
“Guess My Shape” – describe a shape without naming it
Build towers and compare their heights

Years 3–4: Building Strategies and Thinking

What tamariki are learning:

Adding, subtracting, grouping, and sharing
Reading simple graphs and charts
Telling time and using calendars
Solving everyday problems

What you can do at home:

Bake or cook together—talk about fractions and measuring
Ask, “How many different ways could we solve that?”
Use coins to count money and give change
Plan events using calendars and time

Games to try:

Card games (e.g., Snap, Go Fish, Make 10)
Roll dice to create number sentences
Online games: e.g., Maths Playground

Years 5–6: Exploring Big Ideas

What tamariki are learning:

Using multiplication and division strategies
Understanding fractions, decimals, and percentages
Solving multi-step word problems
Interpreting graphs and measuring with accuracy

What you can do at home:

Talk about discounts while shopping (e.g., “What’s 25% off $40?”)
Plan a meal or trip with a budget
Read and interpret maps, timetables, or weather reports
Use recipes to double or halve ingredients

Activities to try:

Create a shopping list and estimate the cost
Build something together—measure length, area, and perimeter
Compare stats from sports teams or online charts

Years 7–8: Applying and Explaining

What tamariki are learning:

Using ratios, proportions, and algebraic thinking
Analysing data and using probability
Solving real-world maths problems
Explaining and justifying their strategies

What you can do at home:

Discuss news articles or stories with data or statistics
Ask your child to explain their maths thinking: “How do you know that’s right?”
Look at household bills, calculate savings, or track data (e.g., electricity use)
Challenge them with “What if…?” scenarios

Problem ideas:

“If we saved $15 a week, how long would it take to buy a bike?”
“How could we share this evenly between 3 people?”
Use online tools like NZMaths for challenges

What to Say Instead of “Just Get the Answer”

To build confidence and support the DMIC approach, try these prompts:

“Tell me how you figured that out.”
“Can you show me in a different way?”
“What do you notice about these numbers?”
“Is there another way to solve it?”
“Does your answer make sense?”

These help children learn to think like mathematicians and explain their reasoning—just like they do in class.

Make Maths Real and Relevant

Maths is everywhere. Try linking it to:

Sports (scores, stats, averages)
Shopping (prices, discounts, change)
Cooking (fractions, timing)
Travel (distance, maps, fuel costs)
Whānau events (sharing kai, planning a party)

Encouragement Is Everything

✅ Praise effort and thinking, not just the answer
✅ Be positive about maths—even if it wasn’t your favourite at school
✅ Let your child teach you a strategy—they are often learning new ways
✅ Mistakes are part of learning—talk about what went wrong and try again

Helpful Resources

NZMaths – activities for whānau
Figure It Out books – free NZ maths activities
You Cubed – mindset and maths
Maths is Fun – explanations and games

Need Help or Ideas?

Your child’s teacher is always happy to kōrero with you about how maths is going. If you’d like:

Ideas for home activities
Clarification on what your child is learning
Tips for supporting their maths confidence

Reading at Home: A Guide for Whaanau

Te Paina School | Years 0–8

Nau mai, haere mai!

At Te Paina School, we know that reading is one of the most important skills our tamariki can develop. When whaanau and school work together, we give children the strongest chance of becoming confident, successful readers for life.

This guide offers simple, practical ideas for supporting your child’s reading at home—no matter their age or reading level.

Why Reading at Home Matters

Reading at home helps children to:

Practise and reinforce what they’re learning at school
Build confidence and fluency
Grow their vocabulary and understanding of the world
Develop a lifelong love of books and stories
Strengthen bonds with whaanau through shared time and kōrero

You don’t need to be a reading expert. Just a few minutes a day makes a big difference!

For Younger Tamariki (Years 0–2)

Read aloud every day – stories, poems, songs, or picture books
Talk about the pictures – “What do you see?” “What might happen next?”
Point to words as you read to show that print goes left to right
Play with sounds and rhymes – sing waiata, rhyming games, or clap syllables
Support early writing – let them “write” shopping lists, cards, or signs

Keep it fun and relaxed. Re-reading favourites builds confidence.

For Growing Readers (Years 3–6)

Set aside regular reading time – even 10–15 minutes daily
Take turns reading aloud or echo read (you read a sentence, they repeat it)
Ask questions like: “Why do you think that happened?” “Would you do the same?”
Build word knowledge – talk about new or tricky words and what they mean
Use everyday reading – recipes, game instructions, road signs, emails

Let your child choose books they enjoy—even comics, graphic novels, or fact books count!

For Independent Readers (Years 7–8)

Encourage variety – novels, news articles, websites, blogs, poems
Talk about what they’re reading – themes, characters, real-life connections
Teach them to question texts – “Whose voice is missing?” “Do I agree with this?”
Support digital reading – help them evaluate reliable vs unreliable sources
Visit the library together – explore genres, Māori and Pasifika authors, or bilingual texts

Reading together can still be valuable—try reading the same book and discussing it like a mini book club.

Tips for All Ages

✅ Be encouraging – focus on effort and progress, not perfection
✅ Celebrate successes – new words learned, finishing a book, good questions asked
✅ Use your home languages – reading and talking in your first language builds strong literacy foundations
✅ Make reading a positive habit – bedtime stories, reading in the car, or quiet time after dinner