There is no need to buy anything!

Plenty of good games on: http://www.primaryhomeworkhelp.co.uk/maths/

Maybe, maybe not. Both of mine are very good at maths but were slow to accurately learn timestables and number bonds on instant recall, and it led to some motivation and confidence issues with maths at school at the time and some misjudgement from teachers of their maths ability - and hence what they were taught / not taught.

As he's about to enter year 5 and lacking confidence in the mental arithmetic side I suggested those books because, in the minimum period of time, they are a logical approach to fixing the number facts into long term memory without spending too much time. Also, it's confidence building to progress gradually through the books and be able to see what one has learned. Also, it's done with an adult (the advantage of the books over the on-screen method) so it can be quite comforting to spend 10 mins or so with a parent each day doing this. The focus is on repeating getting a small number of facts right, and there's no time pressure involved with it.

I've used it at home and also in school with children with genuine learning difficulties and it is, in its own way, enjoyable with all.

Of course, continue with all the free stuff and the fun board games etc too. But sometimes, when there's just lots of choice and no logical method, the "black holes" still remain because it's more rewarding to do things involving the facts etc one is already comfortable with or the games one can do well at.

The games I suggested, again free, were to play with an adult.

Yep, they're great too - but what they don't do is have a logical way of progressing through the facts a few at a time, and fixing them in memory before moving on, so to speak.

The card game does as you can start with part of the pack and work from there.

All children learn differently. As you so rightly point out, Mystery, one child’s relaxing pastime is another's nightmare.

Try different things, find out what works for your child. I may not have learnt much in my 325 years of teaching primary, but I do know that there is no one perfect “Strategy or
Initiative”

Pesky children, being individuals...

That's a long career or does it just feel like that.

I think by Friday, whatever career you're in it feels like you've done it for 325 years.

I think maths is quite unique in being a subject people can develop quite an every day fear of, or be fine with it every day but then flap in a maths test and be unable to work things out that they can do perfectly easily on a normal day.

I have a child who is the latter and described it perfectly arriving home today after a test on the whole year's work last lesson on a Friday in KS3 having flapped in some questions she could have done perfectly well - but at least then having the maturity from past experience of this to move on and do the rest. Rust from illness would not have helped.

One of the things I think helps to prevent this kind of situation is "overpractice" i.e. go further than just understanding and doing it through to being able to do it standing on one's head. It's like preparing for a performance - particularly if one has "stage fright". If it's second nature, it is easier to do it in the situation where one feels a bit stressed.

All the best OP - it sounds like your son is good at maths but just simply lacking in his fast recall of number facts at the moment. It doesn't sound like a widespread and generalised maths anxiety.

That's excatly it! Because he was supposed to learn the number bonds 3 years ago he thinks it is too young for him to go back. But we need to do exactly this and go back to basics. Thanks