Need advice/help with Kindergarten Math facts

[MEVmom]

My DD is in Kinder. We are using Saxon 1. Everything has been fine as far as her understanding the concepts. But she seems to be having trouble with the facts. Specifically the adding 2 facts (that's as far as we've gone so far). She doesn't struggle with doubles or anything. Yesterday it took her 10 min to do a fact sheet of adding 2 facts (Previously she had done much better). I made her do the sheet several more times (made copies). Today she did the sheet in 3 minutes. I thought yay! But then I found out she is counting to find the answers instead of using her odd/even number knowledge to arrive at the answer. She seems to understand that adding 2 to an even number results in the next even number, but that's not the strategy she is using to answer the facts. How big of a deal is this? My husband says he never memorized addition facts. I can't remember. Do I need to camp out on this issue and not move forward until I have her doing it right? Or do I move forward and hope it sorts itself out?

Thanks!

[serendipitous journey]

I wouldn't camp out on the facts at this age, but I would teach them -- math is much easier, and (very important IMHO!) much more fun with facts down. And I definitely wouldn't fret about the even/odd thingie.

 

For K I did not like to do sheets. Certainly not the same sheet every day! Do oral drills of her +2 facts, present them in mixed-up order, and do them 2 or 3 times a day at first. She might like to combine them with some movement (jump after each answer) or drill with a stuffed animal. In K we did a set of facts at "circle time" each AM.

 

Another nice way to get them down is with Wrap-Ups.

[The Way of My People]

This is helpful. Thanks! We're also using Saxon 1. We're eight lessons from finishing it. Early on, my son was flying through the fact sheets with no problems, but now that we're doing the harder facts, he's REALLY struggling. It's not unusual for it to take him 15-20 minutes to do a fact sheet. He seems to understand the concepts. I think his brain just isn't ready to keep that many facts available for instant recall. For what it's worth, the teacher's manual says that automatic fact recall is not expected until the end of Saxon 3.

[blondeviolin]

Counting on is a valid form of mental math with +2 facts. I wouldn't fret at all.

[IceFairy]

I am a firm believer in facts. We are 8 weeks in to our math and DS(5) has his addition facts to 10 and counting by 2s, 5s, and 10s. We started subtraction facts to 10 this week.

[purduemeche]

Memorizing is critical...try songs and games to make it fun.

[kitten18]

Memorizing math facts (especially with worksheets) is NOT critical for a 5 year old.

 

You can play some games to work on facts but keep moving on in your curriculum.

[MEVmom]

THANKS so much to everyone. It's only my 2nd year and I just do not know what is truly important sometimes (and when it is important). And I forgot about wrap-ups! I need to look into that. I absolutely think memorizing multiplication facts is essential, I just didn't know if the same applied to addition. And I didn't know if it mattered whether she was counting up or using the evens/odds strategy. I just didn't want to get into trouble later.

[kitten18]

THANKS so much to everyone. It's only my 2nd year and I just do not know what is truly important sometimes (and when it is important). And I forgot about wrap-ups! I need to look into that. I absolutely think memorizing multiplication facts is essential, I just didn't know if the same applied to addition. And I didn't know if it mattered whether she was counting up or using the evens/odds strategy. I just didn't want to get into trouble later.

There are a lot of games and activities that you can do that would give practice with the facts.

 

You could look at the Rightstart games, some of the games are on youtube and you can modify a regular deck of cards to play them.

 

Also check out education unboxed http://www.education...activities.html for math games videos.

 

ETA - and she will get a lot better with her facts as she continues to use them.

[Rosie]

This should help:

 

Education Unboxed

 

Yes, memorization is important, but it SHOULD NOT come before full comprehension of concepts is there. It sounds like she's not at that point yet since she isn't transferring her knowledge over to her practice sheets. Cuisenaire Rods help kids to SEE numbers instead of just memorizing symbols.

[boscopup]

I would not time the sheets. Give her access to manipulatives while she does them. She's only 5! That program is designed for a 6 year old, and there is a often a big difference between a child at 5 and a child at 6. ;)

 

My K'er (who turned 6 in Nov.) does not do timed drills. He does know his addition and subtraction facts. We use the mental math strips in Singapore *untimed* (timing it would freak him out and cause him to freeze up). I didn't start the mental math strips until he was starting to not use the manipulatives during regular math time. He still has access to C-rods during regular math time, but he rarely uses them now. He knows his facts cold. Even if he didn't, I wouldn't be worried, because he's just *K*. By the end of 2nd grade, I'd like the addition and subtraction facts to be memorized. So far, two of my kids have surpassed that expectation, but that is my minimal expectation. Beyond that, I don't worry about it.

[MEVmom]

What kind of manipulatives? Wrap ups?

[boscopup]

What kind of manipulatives?

 

 

I recommend Cuisenaire rods (the kind that are NOT notched). They are inexpensive and very effective. Watch Rosie's Education Unboxed videos for help learning to use them.

[laf919]

This is one of the problems with Saxon, in my opinion. I know the curriculum works for many, but I think it pushes fact sheets so early that many parents push memorizing facts over understanding concepts - and that will backfire long-term. I would recommend that you play with the facts using something that helps her see the concept - Cuisenaire rods, an abacus ala RightStart, even unifix cubes could work. Worry about having her work with the facts and understand and enjoy - don't push memorizing. The memorizing will come with practice and understanding. FWIW, I got A's in Calculus in high school and didn't have to memorize facts of any sort or do timed fact tests until 5th grade. You may not want to wait that long, but I don't think it would hurt.

Also, with a 5 year old, I would not force doing the whole fact sheet every day if she was losing interest or expressing frustration. You don't mention this, but I really think that focused concentrated effort on a few facts a day, with working them out with manipulatives, will give you more success in the long term. The last thing you want is a 5 year old who hates math because of how you present the basic facts. HTH!

[letsplaymath]

THANKS so much to everyone. It's only my 2nd year and I just do not know what is truly important sometimes (and when it is important). And I forgot about wrap-ups! I need to look into that. I absolutely think memorizing multiplication facts is essential, I just didn't know if the same applied to addition. And I didn't know if it mattered whether she was counting up or using the evens/odds strategy. I just didn't want to get into trouble later.

 

 

Wrap-ups are fun (at least for some children), but they are not manipulatives. The whole idea of a "manipulative" is that it is something you can count, move, or otherwise manipulate to explore a mathematical relationship. Examples: fingers, blocks, Cheerios...

 

If you would like to learn more about what is important in learning/teaching addition, may I suggest this post from my blog:

 

PUFM 1.3 Addition

 

It's part of a series on understanding and teaching homeschool math.