Math Facts

[C&W'sMum]

My 10 year-old son is very excited about high level math like logic and set theory, etc.  I want to support him in his desire to delve deeper, but I think he needs some work on his math facts..  He does well, but at times is still processing the answer, and I want them to be comfortably memorized.  Short of drills (yuk), are there any resources or methods you would recommend?  

[Guest]

play a round of multiplication war daily.

Don't push memorization, its not necessary and isn't how he thinks.

[vonfirmath]

My 10 year-old son is very excited about high level math like logic and set theory, etc.  I want to support him in his desire to delve deeper, but I think he needs some work on his math facts..  He does well, but at times is still processing the answer, and I want them to be comfortably memorized.  Short of drills (yuk), are there any resources or methods you would recommend?  

 

My 9 year old son enjoys doing Xtra Math (Ios app) daily

[PentecostalMom]

My 7yo likes Xtra Math.  11yo desipses it!  Somewhat depends on the child and what keeps him/her engaged.  FWIW, my 7yo uses Singapore, and the 11yo uses Saxon.

[HomeAgain]

My youngest is going through Highlights' Mathmania books. They work on basic math fluency skills but interest him more than worksheets or flash cards.

[slackermom]

I have helped 2 different kids learn math facts.

 

With one of them, they had blank tables that they filled out (by skip counting) each Monday, and they highlighted patterns that popped out at them. They were then able to use the table they created during math that week. It didn't take them many weeks of that before most of the math facts were memorized.

 

The other kid was several years older, and I was helping as a favor because they just couldn't remember them, and their teacher and parents were frustrated. With that kid, we focused on what I think the schools now call landmark numbers, because they shut down when they tried to memorize everything. Specifically, we broke it down and just memorized facts for doubling numbers, squaring numbers, and multiplying numbers by 10. From there, he worked out if he needed to add or subtract to get to the product he was looking for. It was enough to get him more comfortable, speed up his computation a bit, and then he gradually learned the rest on his own time.

[Pegs]

My 7yo *love love loves* the Mythmatical Battles card game.

[Black-eyed Suzan]

play a round of multiplication war daily.

Don't push memorization, its not necessary and isn't how he thinks.

 

I agree. 

 

Multiplication war is a fun way to practice. I like how this author sets up the cards to get more of the challenging combinations.

 

https://denisegaskins.com/2006/12/29/the-game-that-is-worth-1000-worksheets/

 

Your child will also eventually memorize them by encountering them repeatedly in different contexts.

[sunnyday]

My kids like Reflex Math, IF they are intrinsically invested in improving automaticity after they already have good number sense.

Just for building familiarity through repetition I like some of the pages in Beast Academy, like the jumbled times table. It works the brain from a slightly different angle, you know?

Still...you don't need fluent math facts to do logic and set theory. And as I'm learning from my 10yo, if they're clamoring for the deep end, sometimes you just gotta toss 'em in. I've spent like two years insisting that if he really wants algebra and beyond, he needs to have solid arithmetic especially on fractions and decimals. Finally I threw up my hands and said, "Fine, do Alcumus on topics you've never seen." He's in heaven and learning like a sponge. Who knew?!

[Mike in SA]

Math facts are overrated.  You can have fun by playing multiplication war or having timed "races" through the deck, but honestly, there will be so much repetition in the various levels of math that the facts will eventually come on their own.

 

Number theory is also a good way to learn ways to decompose numbers into easier-to-manipulate parts.

[SparklyUnicorn]

Games

 

I agree with Mike.  Overrated.  ; )

 

 

[Earthmerlin]

Math facts are overrated. You can have fun by playing multiplication war or having timed "races" through the deck, but honestly, there will be so much repetition in the various levels of math that the facts will eventually come on their own.

 

Number theory is also a good way to learn ways to decompose numbers into easier-to-manipulate parts.

Out of curiosity, what are some examples of number theory activities?

[Mike in SA]

Out of curiosity, what are some examples of number theory activities?

 

AoPS has a nice book, or you can find an old "Theory of Arithmetic" textbook.  It's sort of "fun with math" but with a serious purpose.