Anyone have any ideas for helping my son remember his addition facts? He is really struggling. Thanks.
Are you open to computer games or songs? http://www.onlinemathlearning.com/addition-kindergarten-1.html https://www.xtramath.org/home http://www.oswego.org/ocsd-web/games/Mathmagician/cathymath.html
For dd7 we review every day before we begin her math. Once she knows the particular math fact we move on to the next one. We started with the ones since she already knew the 0's. I write them on our wipeoff board and we go over them using our Math u see blocks. We do this every day until she can tell me what they are without having to count the blocks or on her fingers. We also use Calculadder to drill her sometimes to break the monotony. Flash cards are another good way. Just show her the fact family you are working on and not all of them. Hope this helped.. Angela
what kind of learner? For me, I like flashcards, writing on a chalkboard several times in a row, and saying it outloud in a chant. If that fails, I add marching while I do it. (I cover visual for me first, then auditory. Last, kinesthetic) Dd learned some of her math facts by chanting while reading a sheet. We'll be adding marching while chanting this year She's primarily an auditory learner, so that's where we started, though. Another adult student I know has to have someone else read it aloud to him.
We started using Math Makes Sense this year as our formal curriculum, but my SIL (who's the math coordinator for her district) introduced us to some of the concepts last year that we applied to helping Josh (8yo last year) remember his math facts. Basically, we threw the whole concept of memorizing his math facts out the window. Instead, we've concentrated on really understanding how the numbers fit together in a logical way, and I'm amazing at how much more quickly he can answer flashcards, etc now. As a simple example: He knows what combinations of numbers can be added/subtracted to make any number between 1 and 10. So when he sees the question 7+6, he knows 7+3=10, which leaves 3 from the 6, 10+3=13. He does that calculation in his head almost instantly. He's a really logical child, so thinking of the numbers like that is really natural to him.
You might look at City Creek Press: http://www.citycreek.com/ They use visual stories to help kids remember their addition, multiplication, and division facts.
Thanks for the great ideas everyone. We used Mcruffy last year which uses lots of manipulatives. He still needs objects or fingers to count in order to get even the simplest ones. We will be using Math Mammoth this year so I'm hoping it will help. I got it through the homeschool buyers coop so I don't actually have it yet. Thanks so much for the suggestions.
I love the website that has the youtube videos of the songs, I know my kids are going to get those stuck in my head. Hopefully they will stick in theirs as well. : ) I am checking out the xtramath site too.
I'm with Angie. I started trying to make my oldest memorize her math facts, but finally decided to toss it about halfway through. We started working on number "puzzles" and how they fit - which numbers make ten and all that. And of course she has lots of math, so the facts are constantly reiterated. One thing she loved doing was "racing". I'd print out a worksheet of addition/subtraction/multiplication problems and set the timer. She likes to race through and see how many she gets right and compare times. We write it at the top of each paper.
This is what we are going to be doing this year to help dd7 learn her facts. Someone gave me an older version of Calculadder and I've printed the first few pages pages out and placed them in page protectors. We'll use wipe off markers and a timer and play with the numbers a bit this way..
Here's a previous thread that might be helpful... http://www.homeschoolspot.com/showthread.php?t=27622
My ds8 was having trouble as well, but this year we've started using Saxon, and the approach is to slowly build up. So there is a review almost every day, starting with the plus zero, ingraining the concept that plus zero means it stays the same number, since u didnt add anything... then u do the plus ones, which means that you're basically counting a step up, 8 plus 9 is same as when ur counting, 9 is the number that is one step up from 8. We're on doubles plus one now, so 7 plus 6, u recognize the smaller number, 6, double that, 12, plus 1. Its a gradual step approach, and we use manipulatives sometimes, or number grids to introduce a new concept each time. I find that daily drilling him helps a lot. NOt always on a mth sheet, but sometimes we just do it orally, and other times with manipulatives, or just doing our chores...quick, I added one more sock to that pile of 7 socks. How many do you have? Hope this helps, and good luck!
We never learned addition facts. Or multiplication facts for that matter. They just did so many questions that they learned them. There was a chart on the wall and they were always allowed to ask, "Mom, what's 6 x 7?" and I would give the answer. Eventually they stopped asking.
