Would anyone have any ideas on how to help my 4 yr old memorize her math facts? She does really well solving them using Touch Math. But she forgets them when we do flash cards.
Any ideas?
Should I just flash the whole math problem plus answer? Like I do with her reading cards?
We work on a few facts at a time. We do it ABA style. 3 facts are presented. If DS can get it right 3 times in a row without error he has base line mastered it. The fact is retired a new one is added in its place. If he got it wrong we go into teaching, where I ask him the question and then full prompt him the answer, then I start fading out. Once he has gotten the answer right with no prompts I wait a day and I have someone else ask him the question(this is call generalization). If he answers it correct, the problem is retired, if he answers it incorrect, the card goes back into teaching. We do a mix of flashcards, verbally asking him and homemade worksheets. Once he got the hang of it we started doing groups of problems. Like all the +5’s up to 10+5.
Hope this helps. I know its very left brain but it seems to work.
Have you tried using music? I have been playing a Multiplication Song (in Chinese) for Ella on and off for the last month and she has memorized most of it. Here are some Math Facts CDs in English that I’ve bookmarked in the past. I don’t have any of them but you can listen to samples from their website.
Hi aangeles, can you share what multiplication songs in Chinese you have been showing to Ella? Thanks!
I am dealing with this same issue with my older kid. He uses dots, manipulatives, or a number line to add. I thought he would just naturally learn his math facts and not need these crutches anymore. Now I am worried that he will always need to count on something to add. I found a simple iPad app that teaches kids to spit out their math facts fast. It flashes math problems. The kid has to choose the right answer fast from multiple choices. If they don’t clear the level fast enough a timer beeps warning them to speed it up before they run out of time. My son doesn’t like it. He has attention deficit disorder and gets nervous when the timer starts to beep. However your daughter might like it. I’m hoping that my son will like it later once he gains more mastery. For now I have to find a more gentle approach. If I find anything else interesting I will keep you in mind. The app is called Addition 101. Here is the link:
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/addition-101/id376282984?mt=8
Good Luck, Lori
Lori,
Thanks for the link to that app. I have been having my 6 year old do the same addition worksheet for two weeks adding numbers up to 3. She has been doing addition for a year. I’m becoming very discouraged because she doesn’t seem to be memorizing any facts at all, other than 3 + 3. I’ve read that memorizing math facts is extremely important. But no matter how much she does in terms of worksheets, workbooks and the Rocket Math app for the iPad, she is still counting up to figure out the answer. After a year of addition and two weeks on the exact same worksheet, I had expected more progress. I’m also wondering what more I can have her do at this point.
Pretty neat. I wish I had an Iphone though. LOL
fma001,
I feel your pain. Every morning, My son does a random mix of +1 and +2 problems (40 problems) plus some flashcards. He was totally dependent on a number line. Now instead he counts aloud add +1 and +2. I feels like it is taking forever for him to memorize these math facts. However I think we are suddenly making more progress. I was watching kids do their Kumon worksheets on youtube. I showed my son one video to inspire him. He was most interested in the kids racing against the timer. So for the past 4 days, I have been timing him. He enjoys it much more. Also he has gotten faster. It is too early to tell yet but (even though he still counts aloud) it feels closer to memorization. I’m trying to reproduce the Kumon style. I time him, circle his mistakes, and write the score and time on the page. Then he corrects his own mistakes. Apparently this rapid feedback is essential to their approach. I read somewhere that it takes the average kid 6 months to get through addition in Kumon so I’m trying to be patient and have faith. Actually I think the Kumon kids do at least 100 problems per day. Maybe in this fast paced world, I just underestimated how long it can take to memorize facts. My daughter is a sponge and just absorbs stuff without effort. My son has to work much harder at everything. I try to remember that adversity builds character. Anyway I hope this kumon style works for him.
TracyR4,
Up until a few weeks ago, I was convinced that TouchMath was my answer. I didn’t stick with because it became obvious that for my son it was just a new way to avoid memorization. However he is much older so it is a totally different situation. I’m saving the touchmath stuff and might try it with my 4 yr old daughter in the future. I’m avoiding teaching my daughter addition until my son gets through it. Anyway I had a thought about your flashcard question. Maybe you could make up a 2 sets of flashcards - problems on one set such as " 2+2" and answers on the other set such as “4”. Then you could lay some possible answers in front of her, flash the problem, and ask her to pick the right answer.
If anyone knows exactly how many problems kumon kids do daily it would be helpful. I think they do 10 sheets back and front but I can’t tell how many problems are on a sheet. They could be doing up to 200 problems per day. If so, then I’m not giving my son enough practice with this mere 40 problems per day. I’m already deep into bribery. I motivate him with a prize every week (cost - about $20). I need squeeze more problems in daily without giving any greater external rewards.
Good luck everyone, Lori
We use bribery too. As of right now my DS that just turned 6 knows all his addition up to 12+12 and subtraction up to 11-11 just by using Mike and Ike candies.
We use flashcards like I described before, but we also found if we(his tutors and I) start off with homemade worksheets with 4-6 questions with +1’s, if he got a 100% he got a single candy to be very motivating. After he mastered that we moved up to +2’s. Sometimes we use the white erase board, sometimes the chalk board, sometimes paper. I find mixing up the mediums helps. Then at bed time he asks me to “play math”. He tells me, “You ask me plus and minus and I’ll ask you times.” Oddly enough he has memorized a few times tables problems by asking me questions.
I think his tutors also use Hooked on Math from time to time as he was asking me to use it tonight. I’m going to pull it out tomorrow and see how that goes.
Just a little aside in regards to bribery: We’re using Iron Kids Omega 3 vitamins (2/day) and a Flintstone’s chewy multi-vitamin as rewards. He has NO IDEA that these are good for him so, usually after a meal he “does his words” as he calls it and then he gets his “chewy”. 
LOL kizudo! Thats like when Wesley was little, I convinced him crackers were cookies.
What a great idea to check out Kumon kids on youtube! I am recently starting to get interested in math fact memorization too. I think I am going to start flashed equations with answers first and then without, and possibly reinforce with some audio math songs. That’s the plan anyway, now that she gets the concept of add/sub.
In regards to timing, check out this cool gadget.
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51ziTsjEU2L.jpg
http://www.amazon.com/Learning-Resources-LER6900-Programmable-Electronic/dp/B0007DHU0S
that’s a pretty neat gadget for timing. That looks like something that would be useful in our home.
As for bribery. I think that’s what I’m going to have to use.
I know I bring out the flashcards and let Maggie write her answers on the dry erase board. She loves writing on it so I figured I’d just let her do what she loves to get her to do what I want. LOL
I do need to get back on track a bit with her math. My oldest were away at camp for a week so I took the opportunity to clean so I stopped doing math with Maggie. I’m most sure I will have to start over. But that’s okay.
For a bribery treat James gets a blueberry, raspberry or blackberry. Mostly he gets this after he has used the potty. It is like candy to him.
Has anyone tried subliminal learning? I saw two different CDs offered on ebay for memorizing addition facts. Of course I would still continue with our daily math work. Maybe it would enhance the absorption of his daily math practice.
Lori
My 4 year old has been enjoying www.funbrain.com. She has not memorized her math facts but she likes to use her fingers to figure the answers as she plays math baseball. I am sure it is helping her, it is a game and she has memorized some of the facts.
I’ll have to give that a try. I had forgotten about Funbrain! My older girls have played on that website before on and off. Thanks for reminding me! If anything I think she’ll like playing the games , and she learn something from them.
Lori,
To answer your question about how many questions the Kumon students do, I don’t know for certain since my daughter hasn’t reached that level yet (she has just learned to write her numbers), but it appears that they start with 6 addition questions per side. Then it increases to 8 addition questions per side. Then 7 to 8 subtraction questions per side. Then eventually 8 to 9 addition and subtraction questions per side. I think they do ten pages per day.
At the moment, my daughter does 5 pages per day (writing numbers), since that is what I requested, but the instructor has already asked that I time her to keep track of how long it takes to complete each assignment. I believe she’ll be starting the addition portion soon.
Hope this helps.
Eschlem,
Thank you so much. It helps alot. My son needs math remediation, so I’m trying to recreate kumon style. Our school doesn’t do enough practice of the basics for average children to memorize their math facts. During the school year, there is homework. I’m trying to commit this summer to him learning his addition facts. We are up to doing 80 problems per day. From your description, it sounds like the Kumon kids are doing up to 180 problems per day. I suspected as much. It takes my son about 11 to 12 minutes to finish 80 problems. It is a small time commitment yet I’m having trouble squeezing more out of him. Once he did 100 probelms but insisted it was too much so I caved in and went back to assigning 80 problems per day. He needs alot more concentrated practice than most kids to learn and integrate new skills. Obviously I have to find a way to motivate him to do more. I got to read Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother again. Surely if she can get so much work out of her kids, I should be able to get at least 30 joyful minutes of my son’s morning. He is cooperative and proud of his speed and progress in math. However whenever I suggest adding more problems he starts crying.
Thanks, Lori
How many questions are on a worksheet?
When I had students who were overwhelmed with the length of math fact page I would simply fold the sheet in half so that they would only see four or five lines at a time. When they got to the bottom of the first half, they’d flip it over and do the second.
When I wanted to challenge a student to do just a bit more, I’d put a dot or happy face sticker on the question where I wanted them to get to. If they went past my mark, they’d get a sticker or a jelly bean. So, if they seemed to have a block at 57 questions, the sticker was below the 58th one. Maybe you could just slowly move your son from 80 to 81, to 82, etc.