Maths is a problem solving tool

What is maths for? It's for solving problems. This is not always apparent to a school child. They are taught how to perform a particular mathematical routine, and then they are given an exercise to do which practices that routine, but appears to have no relevance to everyday life. For example, what is the point of being able to simplify 3f + 6g + 18h ? Having to do these exercises makes the subject of maths into a mystery to which the pupil just cannot relate. The result of this is that the pupils begin to resent having to study maths, and view it simply as an imposition that they have to tolerate. This alienation causes the pupils to switch off. They'll do what they're asked just to stay out of trouble, but they do not engage with the subject, and consequently, they do not learn it. Myself, as a schoolboy, I would solve practical problems using reasoning and logic rather than convert them into mathematical notation (which would have been a much more efficient way of solving the problem). Why? Because at that time I thought of mathematics in terms of it being an ivory tower subject not for application in the real world. This is a barrier which Puppet Maths addresses. Puppet Maths puts mathematics into a real life context.