My dd10 still counts backwards and forwards to add and subtract.. 13-9 ends up being 13,12,11,10,9,8,7,6,5,4.. There's no memorization and she doesn't comprehend the 9 plus what=13 scenerio to get the answer.. We are just now finishing up on MUS Beta.. Last year was total choas with my son and his issues so it put us beyond behind where we need to be. I feel that she understands the concepts, she just does not have the facts down.. I don't know if this is something I should stop and work on with her before we begin Gamma(multiplication) within the next few weeks or if it would be ok to just move on.. What would you do? I know that she needs to have them down to get her math done faster though.. Any suggestions or FREE websites that can help with this.. She loves games and would totally eat it up.. Or should I just let it be and hope that she will get it eventually as she continues on in her math books? Thanks a ton!!
We use an app "Math Board" (cheap, but not free). That way I can drill math facts while we still move forward with our current math program. Some of our family (ahem..DH), love math, and so DH often throws out mental math questions in the car, or while waiting for things. http://www.jumpmath.org/ This website lets you register for free and has worksheets available. I down loaded a file that had a whole mental math unit. Their grades are a year behind though, my kids all did their grade one in our kindergarten year. I would recommend pushing the math facts a bit harder. Some kids legitimately don't have a memory for it. I never did, but I did learn the ones my parents pushed hard with. If no one pushed, I didn't learn it. But I don't think you have to halt everything to work on math facts. Good luck!
http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/math.htm This is the one my boys are partial to at the moment. I find it provides the drill that seems needed (I know, drill is a dirty word, but there are times it just seems necessary) without being dry. The kids like the context of the games.
I think it's important to have a firm grasp on adding and subtracting concepts before moving on to multiplication. A good place to start would be simply with her math facts to 10. Once she can easily and quickly add to 10, it's an easy jump. My kids might not have 8+5 memorized, but they can very quickly figure that 8+2=10, which leaves 3 out of the 5, and 10+3=13. It seems long typed out, but it's quicker in their head lol. Besides that, knowing all their doubles to ten (2+2, 3+3, etc) and skip counting by 5 are probably the things my oldest uses most when figuring out multiplication questions he doesn't have memorized.
Thanks! We'll use a combination of flashcards and websites to drill her.. She really likes computer games.. Even drills where she could compete against her previous score are great.. I haven't checked out the websites suggested just yet, but I will before Monday because I really need to get this started.. It won't take her long with regular drills.. I have flash cards, but I know if I use only those she will be bored and it won't accomplish anything, but the combination would work great..
