Math Facts / Drill - More ideas!

[niki]

I've started something new for math facts this year.

My dd is copying a list each day for drill. After a few weeks she got a lot quicker pulling the facts out of her head and not using her fingers. She's 10 and we're working on multiplication.

We've used flashcards. They practice alone for 15 minutes and then I quiz them through one time. I also have a math DS game, that they use now and again. Math wraps (my kids don't like them too much), math dice games. Oh, Rainbow Rock CD-ROM Goes along with Singapore.

[TriciaMR]

Some other alternatives:

Math Blaster - an adventure/shoot-em-up game where you have to know answers to navigate the levels and avoid bad guys. (The bad guys, spider-looking robots, scared my dd, so if you have a sensitive kid, this may not work.) Can pick this up at Target and the like for $30 or so? Maybe cheaper at amazon.com.

Quarter Mile Math - you install software on your computer, but it's an online game (you have to be connected to the internet to play), and you answer math fact questions to make your car or race horse win the race. (Homeschool Buyer's Coop had a special deal a while back, so you may be able to still get this cheaper.) You are usually only racing against yourself. My dd liked this for a while, but then we had problems with it. Works with as many kids as you need.

IPod touch games - for $.99 you can download a math flash card game for your iPod touch or iPhone and drill math facts that way. My dd loves getting to play with mom's iPod touch. Can use with as many kids as you need. You can choose the facts to practice, drill & test. Gives kids a chance to go back and correct the ones they miss. Does "time" how long it takes for the kids to do the tests.

Flashmaster - a hand-held game that drills math facts.

For multiplication facts, there is multiplication.com - it has some fun games my dd likes to play. This is for multiplication only.

There used to be some hand-held games called Speak-n-Math (I had a Speak-n-Spell as a kid) that might work.

Oh, and math-u-see has an online drill - lets you choose which facts to drill an times them.

-Trish

[705emily]

We use the math "Wrap-ups." We love these because they are so portable and the kids can do their facts in the car. There are 5 sets of math "Key wrap-ups." Addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, and fractions. The key sets are hard plastic, very colorful, with a string at one end and scalloped on the edges. The kids choose one operation--say addition and hold a key (say +1) in one hand, and the string in the other. They begin on the front left side of the key--say with the number 6. In the middle of the key it tells you what number to add (in this case +1) to the numbers on the left. On the front right side of the key there are the answers. So the child wraps the string from the 6 to the 7--then back around the key to the next number on the front left side. They continue adding 1 to every number on the left and wrapping back around to the answer on the right until they get to the bottom of the key. Then to check whether they have completed the facts correctly, they turn the key over to check the back of the key to make sure their "wrapping" matches up with raised lines on the back. Then they would go on to the +2, key and then +3 and so on. The wrap-ups are very tactile and my dd especially likes these, as she likes using her hands.

I like them because all the facts for one operation are contained in one place--and we can't lose anything! We got them by googling Learning Wrap-ups.

Blessings!

[mgardenh]

Math-u-see has on line drill you can use. Also school house rock has multiplication video. Were not even to multiplication yet but she has quite a bit of them down.

I think it just depends on your kid. Do they like to use the computer? then maybe a computer math game or something like that will work. Some kids like flash cards and some like workbooks. Part of it is figuring out what you kid likes. The other part is you have to do it every day or they probably won't get them.

Praying that you will find something that works for your children

[Cyndi (AZ)]

"Seeing" how many are in a number helps my dd. We used dice everyday for a few weeks, and that helped her kick it up a notch. Playing cards help, too - anything with pictures to fit the numbers. Playing with Cuisinaire rods helped, also. She really struggles with flashcards; they just aren't her thing. She does well on math windows or similiar sheets that I make up in excel on the computer and print out for her. I agree with Mike - fitting the method to your child's preferred way of learning is best. Finding what works is the "fun" job for mom.

[hsmom]

With my ds, I printed fact sheets. I think I used mathfactcafe to print. I used a chart that I think I printed out from the singaporemath yahoogroups file. If I remember correctly it had the numbers going accross the bottom (plus 1 column, plus 2 column, etc,) and the time running up the side, with the lower numbers (goal) at the top. I think the goal was 50 problems in 5 mins. He would do the problems/ then chart the time with a highlighter. We did the same facts (plus 1 for example) over and over until he did it quickly enough, then did a page of plus 2s, eventually they were mixed. He learned them all, though he forgot a lot when we stopped practicing.

Since you say he is visual/hands on, what about working out the problems with math blocks for a while. He probably won't pick up speed right away, but maybe it will help him cement them a little better and the speed will come in time.

Learning math facts seemed like a major undertaking to my DS, even though we only spent 5 mins a day on it. I have heard others say that math facts shld just be ignored and let them pick it up as they go along. For us it just seemed that he was wasting so much time trying to do math when he didn't have the basics memorized. It's hard to add 67 + 35 if you don't know what 7+5 is.

Oh, for mult, we love timezattack. http://www.bigbrainz.com/ and it's free if you get the base model.

[jasntas]

Thank you for all of your quick responses. It seems as though this is a pretty common problem.

He does not like anything involving writing and he hates the fact sheets. They were actually part of the reason I didn't realize he didn't know his math facts. His ps last year would frequently drill the kids with 100 problems they were to complete in 8 minutes to be part of the "Lollipop Club". Something they have been doing since I was in school. I thought he just didn't complete them because he just didn't like to write the answers. Good suggestion, though.

Part of it is figuring out what your kid likes.

I agree with Mike - fitting the method to your child's preferred way of learning is best. Finding what works is the "fun" job for mom.

That's the hard part. Figuring out what works.

I think if I use some of your suggestions here, rotate games he has already played and just keep at it he will eventually get it.

Along with us, I hope others with this same problem are able to find a solution. Thanks so much to all of you and if anyone has any other suggestions feel free to add.

[Julie in MN]

rotate games he has already played and just keep at it he will eventually get it.

Here are more ideas!
http://board.mfwbooks.com/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=1141

I agree that making a daily routine is the only way to get the math facts down.

If he doesn't like something, then I'd evaluate whether it works first, and then discard it if it isn't helping AND he doesn't like it. Many games out there don't really teach math facts so much as math concepts or math "interest," so I'd quickly drop them if not enjoyed. However, I did in some instances make my kids do things that they didn't like because they were efficient at accomplishing the facts. So I'd try to make it as pleasant as possible, such as using a timer to show that we only needed to spend 10 minutes on it, or doing it on the marker board. Not my favorite part of being a mom, but I've made it through three times (Even public schooled kids usually have to work on math facts at home.)

Julie

[cbollin]

Does anyone on here use the Quarter Mile Math program for fun extra math practice? I am getting ready to get it but wondered which bundle to get. I am wondering whether to order the K-6 or the K-9. I don't want to order something for the 7-9 grade years that we will end up not using, but at the same time it might be a good, fun way to get more math practice in those years.

Does MFW recommend extra math fact practice for those years, and is it like these younger years where we can do whatever we want or is math in those 7-9 grade years scheduled differently?

In 7th-12 grade MFW recommends Saxon Math (plus a year of Geometry with Jacobs). Generally speaking, 7th graders who are following MFW sequence (i.e. have done at least through book 5B of Singapore) will be in book Saxon 8/7 h-s edition, with prealgebra. That book has its own Math Drills as part of the program for math fact practice and doing those is part of the overall math lesson plan in 8/7.

My 8th grader is in algebra I this year and we just don't see a need for math fact practice at this point.

-crystal

[LA in Baltimore]

Amy,
We have used Quarter Mile Math for years as a fun supplement.
The children have all enjoyed it.
It is especially helpful in the younger years when they are learning all their basic facts. The K-6 Package would cover all the basics.
If you want to challenge your students or have a student who is self-motivated (enjoys improving just for improving's sake) or loves to play things like this just for fun than the upper grades would be good also.

[Julie in MN]

Amy,
We used QMM "level 2" (4-6) for several years. It really had all the math facts from 1+1 through all 4 operations. I don't think the K-3 could have added much? Well, now I'm looking at the topic chart on their website, and it looks like K-3 adds situations where the child would only have 0+0 and 1+1, without any higher problems, etc. Not sure if they'd need QMM at that level or not?

And as for the 6-9 level, I think it mostly adds equations. And I'm not sure I've ever done "equations drill"! The main thing I've added to grades 7-8 is more thinking problems. He's taken an occasional day off of Algebra & I've had him do some extra word problems. My son is on a math team where they do math puzzles. He's done some fraction drills to get those skills back to being more automatic. But mostly everything he needs is built into Algebra, because Algebra includes all the basic functions.

One thing I might add is that most kids need variety in their drill. Too much QMM or too many flashcards or too much of any one drill method is often not as fun. But maybe you already knew that

Julie

[cbollin]

Personally, I'd recommend adding in those 3 corner style of flashcards as they will reinforce the Singapore Number bond methods of math facts. check local stores, or Rainbow Resources for those kinds. there are several brands on the market these days.

Could you elaborate on those flashcards? We still are in need of some better choices at our house.
Edie

the 3 point flash cards come in 2 sets. Set 1: is add/subtract. Set 2: multiply/divide.
they are set up like number bonds.

picture a triangle
at the top if you have the number 6 (in one color, red I think)
then the bottom corner has 4 (in blue)
and the other corner has 2. (also in blue)

now, you cover up the red number at the top (with your hand)
the child is learning that 4 plus 2, and 2 plus 4 are 6

now if you cover up a blue number (the 2 or the 4)... then you are practicing subtraction. so cover up the 2. Child sees 6 at the top (which is the whole) and the 4 at the bottom (which is the part). Whole minus part equals parts just like it starts in 1A with singpoare and continues in 2A and ... but basically the "parts" are the same color. and if it is a "whole" and Part, they will be different colors -- so the color thing can help to lock in the whole/parts and all of that jazzer stuff that is part of the thought bubbles in singapore...

on the donna young site there is a sample you can use

donnayoung.org/math/tricards.htm

there's a better description of it with Singapore on some blog entry (I don't know the person... it's just a nice explanation of the singpaore number bond and then shows one brand of flash cards.
happytobeathome.net/number-bonds/


you can find them at local stores (teacher supply)... I've seen them online once upon a time at either office depot or office something... rainbow resource center carries 2 brands of them... the brand I bought locally doesn't have any plus/minus signs already on them, not sure If I'll put them on or not?

-crystal

[amelasky]

I am looking into purchasing the Quarter Mile Math CD ROM game. It's a bit pricey so I was wondering if anyone knows of the least expensive place to purchase.

I looked it up on christianbook.com. They have different levels and different bundles of the levels all at a around $40 to $90 but they have one that includes levels K-9 for around $40 but it states that it's a "hybrid". Does anyone know what that means? Is it a lighter version? That's what I'm assuming since K-3, 4-6, 6-9 levels are around $40 each.

Have you ever heard of Homeschool Buyers Co op? I purchased mine through them at a MUCH cheaper price. It is free to join and they get group buy discounts for homeschoolers. You might want to check their website out.

[RachelT]

We recently got a year's subscription to the web based Quarter Mile Math, which includes all the levels and I think it's cheaper than the cd. We liked the idea that we could use it on more than one computer and it would be able to pull up past times on any computer, so they are all linked together.

Rachel

[TriciaMR]

I ordered a 3 year subscription through the co-op last year. You get a CD that installs a "flash player" program on the computer, but it talks over the internet back to the QMM servers for users and scores and such. We us it as an alternative. My dd loves horses, and my boys love cars, so it's a perfect fit. I can't even remember what range I ordered, but as we're still mastering those Multiplication and Division facts with my dd, it's been fine. I can see, though, that some of the higher-level topics would be good for my dd, too.

-Trish

[jasntas]

Thank you for everyone's responses. I'm glad Julie mentioned what level she purchased. I did more research into what level 1 and level 2 covered. I was originally thinking level 1 would be the way to go and may have been fine but after further research I could see that I would probably soon be needing the next level. I think the level 2 would have been perfect for my ds but I see things in level 1 that my dd could use as well. So I decided on the combo level 1 & 2 pack. It's a cheaper way to go in the long run. And by ordering through the Homeschool Buyers Co op I got at least a $10 discount. Thank you amelasky for mentioning them.

Postby jasntas » Sat Apr 10, 2010 12:31 pm
Update:
I received this program a couple of days ago. My ds initially was not impressed when I showed it to him. That is, until he started racing against himself. Then he got really excited and enjoyed it greatly. What an improvement over flash cards.

[Mommyto3boys]

Postby Mommyto3boys » Wed Mar 31, 2010 9:21 pm
For my boys, we play war. Or I take the flash cards and we race our bears to 100 using the hundreds chart. They enjoy the game so much more than just answering the flash card.

HTH,

Debbie in NC
Mom to 3ds (11, 8, and 5) and 1 dd (3)

[beaglemamma2008]

We've recently tried to add more math games into our day. Here are a couple of ideas we're using to drill.

(1) We have a foam hopscotch board with numbers on it, and as I flash a card or say a fact, dd will hop to the correct square on her hopscotch board. I recently read a great idea where a mom used sidewalk chalk to write numbers on the driveway, and they basically do the same thing outside.

(2) Go fish. We deal out flash cards and ask each other for whatever we have in our hands. For example, if dd has a 7-4 card, she'll say, "Do you have any 3's?" And if I have, for example, the 9-6 card, I'll give it to her.

(3) MATHO. (Yes, I'm a dork.) I just went into Word, made a table with 5 columns and 5 rows, added random numbers to the cells, and printed it out. I made 4 different cards (one for each member of the family). DD is the caller - she goes through her flash cards, and whatever the answer is, that's the number she calls out. If we have the number on our card, we cover it with a penny. I especially love this one because it has helped my 4yo dd with her number recognition.

(4) Flashback. DD has index cards with numbers on them. When I hold up a flash card, she flashes back the card that has the answer on it.

(5) Mother May I. We use the foam hopscotch pieces from #1, but we take them apart. (They fit together like a puzzle, and each piece is about a square foot. You could just as easily use pieces of paper with numbers on them.) I'll hold up a card (say 4+2) and dd will ask, "Mother, may I please go to number 6?" They especially love it when I say something like, "Only if you hop on one foot (or walk like an elephant, dance, crawl, tiptoe, take giant steps, etc.) while you go."

(6) Matching. I recently purchased some 10-sided dice from CBD for about $3 for this game. We lay all of our flash cards face up, then roll the dice. Whatever number we roll is our "answer" and we have to find a card with a math fact to match. Whoever has more cards at the end wins. I'm probably going to make a variation of this game where you don't use flash cards but instead roll the dice and make an equation to go with that answer. For example, if you roll a 10, you could say, "6 + 4." But if you roll 10 again, you can't use the same equation, so you'd have to know another way of making 10, such as 7 + 3 or 12 - 2, etc.

(7) Battle with regular playing cards. Play like regular battle, but add the two players' cards together. If they add up to be an even number, dd keeps them; if they add up to be an odd number, I keep them.

(8) Battle with flashcards. Play like regular battle. When you lay your card down, the person whose answer is higher keeps both cards.

(9) Card games. Don't ever underestimate the power of good old-fashioned card games! We were playing cards at my parents' over Christmas. My 1st grader had a score of 18 and earned 5 more points. We weren't adding two-digit numbers together yet, and she was a little confused. My dad tried explaining it to her with carrying, but she wasn't getting it. I said, "Look, how far away from 20 is your 18?" A light bulb immediately went on, and she said, "Oh! So it's 23!" From that one game she learned how to get her number to a multiple of 10 and work with it from there. AMAZING!

Sorry to be so wordy - brevity is definitely NOT my gift!

[RBS in OH]

We just recently got Quarter Mile Math and chose the combined levels 1 and 2 bundle. Nearing the end of 2nd gr. for us, it should last a long time.

Math Dice (those are the multi-sided dice) have been fun for us too. My kids race to add or subtract the numbers on the dice; the first one gets a token. If one blurts out the wrong answer, that one gets a token taken away (I had to find a way to emphisize acuracy over speed). The one with the most tokens after a timer beeps or when the tokens run out it the winner.

Have you checked the library for books to play math games? There's one (that I can't think of the title of) that explains a ton of different games to play--using a deck of cards.

Thanks beaglemamma 2008, I think your ideas will be fun to add to the mix, especially to do something different for the summer.

[Cyndi (AZ)]

(3) MATHO. (Yes, I'm a dork.) I just went into Word, made a table . . .

My dh and I do things like that, too. We have a little song, "I'm a dork, I'm a dork, I'm a dork, dork, dork" - Little Einsteins' got nothin' on us. LOL

I made my own version of quiz sheets in Excel. (My dd likes worksheets.) We also play a lot of games - dice, cards, etc. We've been on a "Can't Stop!" thing lately, and it's a really good one for adding numbers up quickly and discussing probability at the same time.

The cool thing is, my dd's switch finally flipped and she'll do flashcards now! Yea! As long as she doesn't have to sit still, that is.

[baileymom]

Hello... learning math facts weren't too difficult for my older girls. But, our son (who learns things incredibly fast if the info is presented in music and/or a video) is struggling with his math facts.

We have and use a variety of things to learn math facts. What I'm wondering is if anyone knows of any good songs or videos that teach math facts effectively.

Thanks

Math U See sells a Song CD with a booklet.

Schoolhouse Rock...Math Rocks (we have it, don't really know off the top of my head how much it would help). Schoolhouse Rock is Multiplication Rocks and Money Rocks...they all look pretty silly.

Have you heard of/tried Rocket Math?

[Julie in MN]

We sang the songs on 100 Sheep for years. They are more about Bible stories than math, but every refrain is a series of math facts or skip-counting numbers. Very sweet.

Hey Julie... what I found is simply a story but no song ... do you happen to have the album name?

Lainie,
If you go to Common Sense Press's own website, they have one audio sample. Unfortunately, it's not the highest quality sample.

A much better sample can be listened to at SingNLearn -- try that one. You might try listening to all of the samples of math CDs at SingNLearn.

As for purchase, I think I bought mine at a local Christian bookstore (Northwestern), but if you search places like CBC, you'll find it under "100 sheep skip counting songs from the gospels" or some of that title. Or, SingNLearn has been a blessing to my auditory learner.

Julie

[doubleportion]

This brings up another question. I know a lot of people use math Wrap-Ups. So do we and I really like them. I just discovered, while looking for the cd Julie suggested, there is a book and cd that accompany the Wrap-Up Keys. The book is called 10 Days to (Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication or Division) Mastery. The cd is called (Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication or Division) Wrap-Up Rap. You can get all three or purchase them separately. You can hear a sample of the Addition Wrap-Up Rap on christianbook.com. If I understand it correctly, all the raps or songs sound the same, just different numbers.

I'm wondering if anyone has ever used any of the books or cds and were they, in your opinion, successful?

We purchased the addition wrap up with cd for our dd. She is very auditory and it was not a great deal of help to her. Maybe she needs more of a melody rather than a rap with a drum in the back ground? Anyway, I know that many have found them helpful. But they just weren't for our dd.

Edie

[NJCheryl]

My daughter struggles in math. We also have the 100 sheep cd and it really helped her with her multiplication. She goes back to those skip counting songs to figure out the facts that she has not yet memorized.

We also have the wrap -ups for all of the operations. She does well with them, but I find that she cannot remember the facts if she does not have the visual. For example, on the wrap up she will correctly have 8 x 7 as 56, but if I just say, what is 8 x 7, she has trouble, and this is where she may start singing the skip counting to figure it out.

Cheryl

[cbollin]

Schoolhouse rock, multiplication rock: sang it for years and years around here. I mean me... the kids haven't been around that long.

do you do "rap beat style" music - if you do (to some extent), preview this one for suitability in your family
http://www.hiphop-edu.com/id106.html
I met them a few years ago at a homeschool convention in the St. Louis area.

and we got some random things from sing n learn too

-crystal