In Dec 2008, the NBR cited an international report on maths and science that indicated New Zealand primary school pupils lagged behind students from Kazakhstan!! Something's just not adding up!!!

We trailed Aussie pupils by eight or nine rankings in both subjects. The survey, Trends in International Maths and Science Study is conducted by Boston College in the USA every 4 years and compares maths and science performance of 425,000 Yr 5 students in 36 countries.

After spending a lot of time in Singapore, I found that kids about to start school were always given good assessment books to work on to prepare them for school. These kids started school confident and excited about learning.

Over 9 months, I consulted early childhood teachers and primary school teachers to ensure I got their tick of approval for my book. I did.

Instead of playing on the computer, get your child to do a page or two a day. At the start, your child will count from 1 to 100. Then they move on to adding and subtracting numbers up to 10. Once that is mastered, they move on to bigger number additions and subtractions up to 20.

Also included are chapters on telling time, simple geometry, measurement, symmetry, fractions, statistics, understanding NZ coin currency and doing some number stories too.

Your child will also learn how to count from 1 to 20 in Maori and learn about some truly unique New Zealand treasures like the Pukeko, the Tuatara, the Kakapo and the Kiwi. For all their hard work, there are great looking Certificates of Excellence too.

I have made this Maths book all about exploring, discovering and learning.

RRP is $45. New Edition. This is a Trade Me offer only. Don't delay! Give your child that confident start at school now.

Lance Alexander
B Soc Sci in Education & Psychology
Waikato University 1987-89