s/o math strugglers--math facts specifically

[cintinative]

I have a child (DS7, almost 8 y.o., rising 3rd)  that seems to have a "teflon" brain for math facts. So far we have tried:  Xtra math (hated it because it was timed), Reflex math (same, stressed him out), Big Brainz, flash cards (stressed me out--and he had no retention), orally going over each fact (2 x 2 is 4, 2 x 3 is 6 and had him repeat)--no retention on that, math wrap ups--refused to use them, and now we are back at Big Brainz. I would say it has been over a little over a year we have been working on multiplication facts and he still doesn't have them down.  

 

I am just very discouraged about how little retention he has despite so much practice. I know for some kids they need more repetitions to get it stuck in their brain, but could there be something I am missing? 

 

ETA: we do have our skip counting songs memorized so he can do that but since he can't call it up quickly I was not counting it.

[kirstenhill]

My DD11 did not have a lot of fact retention until this school year (5th grade), and I think time and maturity was key for her.  Xtramath and any other timed practice was totally frustrating at age 8 or 9.  At age 10, she was ready to meet the challenge of Xtra math head on.  It took her a LONG time to get 100% in six second addition and multiplication (maybe 3-4 months for each of them?) and maybe only a month each for subtraction and division.  But at 10 she had the maturity to deal with the timed work and her retention was much better too.  Not that every kid needs to do Xtra math or another timed fact program, but I was amazed at the difference that maturity made in being able to learn the facts.

 

Prior to that, I had some success with facts set to music (not just skip counting songs, but songs with whole multiplication problems).  I also let her keep addition and multiplication tables handy, hoping that if she looked up the same fact often enough, it would help her remember.  We also played a ton of math games, but I am not sure those actually helped her retain the facts.

[Junie]

My dd8 is in the same boat.

 

Try finding out your ds's learning style.  My dd is extremely auditory.  When I found that out, my methods changed.  We mostly work with flashcards which I show her and ask out loud and she answers.

 

She is still working on this -- we haven't arrived by any means -- but one thing that has helped is starting with the easy facts.  This has really boosted her confidence.  When she see a whole pile of cards in front of her, she is thrilled that she has learned so many facts!

 

We started with 0, added 1, then 5.  (She already knew how to count by 5s).  I think 10 was next.  Then 2.  Then 11.  (11s are fun!)  We are currently working on 3s and 4s.  These take her awhile, but she is able to get them on her own.

 

Hope you find something to help your ds.

 

 

 

 

[Ellie]

One of the reasons I like Rod and Staff's first three years (well, all of them, really) is that learning math facts is what they do for the first three years, because that's the foundation of basic arithmetic. There's no need to do anything extra. And it's pretty painless.

[OneStepAtATime]

FWIW, CLE works on very targeted math fact practice along side the normal lessons through 5th grade.  And allows the child to use a reference chart during the lessons themselves if they get stuck.  Some kids need to use math facts over and over and over, and work with small groups of facts daily, in a very targeted and systematic way, for many years, before they actually stick.  CLE does a great job of this.  Other programs may not be as targeted but there are others that also work on math fact practice for many years.

 

Play with manipulatives.  Work on helping him create skip counting and mutliplication charts.  Let him study and discover the number patterns.  Play a lot of mathy games that don't TEST math facts, but instead help enforce the concepts behind math facts.  Help him break apart and put those pieces back together again.

 

And let him refer to the charts he creates as he does normal math problems.  Work on math facts separately and expect that this may take a long time.  Math facts are not the be all and end all of math.  Make sure he is seeing the interesting side.  That may help him retain the math facts, but even if it doesn't, it will at least hopefully let him see that math can be interesting.  It isn't all just math fact drudgery (although some love math facts :) ).