.

[Pembo]

.

 

[chadfromdallas]

Flashcards

 

[shortbun]

In our house, school comes before TV-games-fun.
Our 2nd grader is working on muliplication, he pretty
much mastered the + and -. He earns screen time when
he completes a series perfectly. the 6's and 7's really
have him over a barrel. I may have to up the ante.
I made my own timed tests at home. I simply told him
I expected it done and done correctly. Am I mean?
I hate homework too!
Good luck.
mimi

 

[CBRorBust]

There are a TON of great sites out there that you can print off those tests he's taking at school. Maybe he's not taking them often enough that he feels confident in doing them quicker. Does that make sense?

At least this way, he can practice at home the way they do the sheets at school!

www.multiplication.com to start

 

[nkjzmom]

I second the flashcards idea! We play War with them.

 

[Toby'sFriend]

Turbo Twist Math has saved my life!

Boy do I wish that thing was around when DS #1 went through those memorizing years.

 

[pirateofthecarolinas]

My son has a learning disability in math. His school uses Saxon Math. www.saxonpublishers.com They also use touch math which was what I used to help my second graders. www.touchmath.com

Both of these web sites give you a look at worksheets.

I know my son only learns by drilling the facts. We are working on multiplication. Please be patient with your son. Every child learns at a different pace. I know how fustrating it is as a parent.

Lori

 

[Pooh93]

I feel your pain. I do agree that flashcards (although tedious and boring) are a great help. Our 2nd grade teacher gives us a calendar for the month and if the kid's practice for 10 minutes on addition and 10 minutes on subtraction for 20 or more times per month they get to pick something out of her "treasure box." Although I don't always agree with this treasure box stuff, (that would be another thread ) it did help.

I also made up excel sheets and would time her myself. It was not always fun, but now she is getting 30/30 on the first try on both addition and subtraction.

Subtraction is harder and it really is repetition, repetition, repetition. Hang in there!

 

[Pembo]

He hates Flash Cards! We went round and round last year about this. I kept saying "if you learn the additions, the subs will be easy." Funny how he now realizes I was right. I didn't go to college to be a teacher for nothing?!

They do Saxon at his school this year. Last years school system and teacher were the worst and that is part of the problem, we are playing catch up with him. He is very bright and the facts are the ONLY thing, so far, that he has trouble with.

I found 2 websites that have interactive games. We tried a Turbo Twist, he thought it was stupid. He's smart enough to know that I'm just trying to get him to learn his math.

 

[klmklm]

Mouse Math! It's glorified flash cards; I don't know why, but my kids think it's fun.

http://www.hufsoft.com/software/page2.html

 

[Allie322]

I'm not sure if they're still around but there was a series of cassette tapes called "Rap with the Facts". They had one for each of the math processes as well as for the states and capitals. They were by a company called Twin Sisters Productions. My kids seem to retain facts from auditory cues best so these were helpful to them. Good luck--I feel your pain!!

 

[tjmw2727]

We are using flashcards and play several different games with them. We do a version of war and a game called pile up - child gets the correct ones in her pile and I get the others. Sometimes there is an m&m's type reward or an extra 15 minutes of tv or gameboy. Occasionally when they win I have to do a truth or dare. The rewards come from the amount of time spent vs the # of correct answers. I try and reward the effort and hope the results will come.

I have a 1st grader doing the addition and subtraction and a 3rd grader doing the multiplication and division. I find that when I do it with them and make it fun the time goes by much faster than them struggling alone.

We have also modified Uno and even Monopoly to incorporate math facts, makes it fun and interesting (if not a bit crazy!).

Dice are also fun and random.

HTH - fwiw I am much better at math facts than I ever was at school

TJ

 

[clh2]

Pembo - we went through the math-facts pain when DD was in 2nd grade. Everytime she passed on to the next level - she got breakfast in bed on the following Saturday or Sunday. Nonetheless, she hated learning them. We did a variety of things...flashcards...random facts while we were driving somewhere...sample tests...

Third grade was painful - my DD just didn't get multiplication. Her teacher was a royal pain...all in all it was a nasty year - but that should really be another thread. She never did get to even the division problems.

Last summer, we had a huge financial bribe, and she was to take 1 multiplication un-timed test every week. (We were going on a Disney Cruise last fall - and if she took 1 untimed test every week - she was going to get a bunch of Disney Dollars for her spending pleasure on the cruise We didn't feel it was too important to "time" her, since we figured that if she wanted to spend 15 or 20 minutes - that was her playtime she was missing out on. Most times she did the 100 facts in about 5 or 6 minutes. Towards the end of the summer, we threw in a couple of + and - tests too, just for a quick review.

Fourth grade had been my reward for math facts. The "standard" to try to meet by the end of the year is a series of 5 tests, of which each one must be completed in 4 minutes. After a 100% in 4 minutes in addition - they move on to subtraction, then multiplication, then division and then 1 of 100 mixed facts. Our DD has completed all the series of tests, at the 3 minute level; and no longer has to take the timed tests in 4rth grade. She gets to work on some challenge problems while the rest of the kids are doing the time tests. Oddly enough - this year we have spent the least amount of time doing the practice facts, and even very little on division at all.

GOOD LUCK TO ALL OF YOU PARENTS! My best advice to all of you is to find the best motivator for your children, and use that. The practice tests help, as do the flash cards.

 

[Kallison]

Be patient, don't threaten or he'll learn to hate math. My oldest DS took FOREVER to learn his multiplication tables. Probably till the end of 5th grade when he knew them inside out. His little brother and sister probably knew them at the same time, because we drilled so much in the van. He struggled in 5th and 6th grade but now he has suddenly blossomed with math. Getting A's and B's in pre-algebra. Facts are the basis of everything, sometimes it just takes boys a little bit longer to get that fire lit. He'll get it!

 

[cruisnfamily]

Originally posted by chadfromdallas
Flashcards

I know you said he doesn't like them....oh well, that's life, nobody likes everything.

Here's what we did. We set a timer for 5 minutes and we did flashcards for 5 mins every single night right after dinner. Yup, you read that right, only 5 mins a day, but it's got to be every day. Within a week his times had come up so far! Now he's in the "hundreds club" which means he can do 100 addition facts in 5 mins. We did this for several months. We haven't done it in a while now (maybe since Christmas) because I think he's finally got them done pat. He's good with subtraction but not quite as good, maybe we need to start up with the flash cards again.

 

[Cindy B]

Yes, some may hate flashcards, but it is great learning strategy.

Turbo Twist Math is also great.. my son loved it!
(And yes, he knew that we were just trying to make him learn as well)

A fun computer program I picked up on clearance was Math Blaster Jr. Its an older program, we have had it for years, but my kids both loved it.

There are some games out there. My daughters class has something called Sum Swamp or something like that. Another good game is 24. . If you have a teacher store nearby, you will have to check them out.

Unfortunately sometimes with the math facts, memorization is really what you need to do. Its not a fun process, but if you make it fun, thats all y ou can do. Of course, you know that the math facts are the building blocks to multliplication and division.

 

[Pembo]

I found a couple games online, one is timed the other isn't. He really liked the idea of using Mom's computer and being on the internet. The one program is 20 probs in 60 seconds and you can choose the number to drill. That is where we are starting.

Flashcards are great if your kid will actually do them. I'll flash them, he'll just sit there. Did I mention he was difficult sometimes???

I think this computer thing might work and I like the idea of bribes. Earning money is very important to him right now.

Whatever works.....I just know how important it is to learn the facts. I work for Sylvan Learning Center and it is so sad to teach high schoolers who don't know their facts.

 

[ZebraStripes]

Wow. All these suggestions are really great. My DD is in 2nd grade now and is struggling. I'll try out some of these suggestions.