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Math Fluency Programs (Untimed and fun?)


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Are there any programs (preferably computer based and adaptable) that practice math fluency with options to not have it timed or change the time?

 

We are using Reflex Math.  DS is getting frustrated because he cannot answer questions so quickly.  We are getting further testing, but there's a possibility of some dyscalculia.

 

I haven't used IXL but it looks boring.  

 

We want: fun and ability to change settings to increase time.

 

Apps would be okay too.  

 

Thanks for any insight.

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Just sharing my experience in case it helps you or someone reading. 

 

None of the apps worked for either of my sons. I eventually figured out that I had an auditory and a kinesthetic learner. The apps are best suited for visual learners. I gave my auditory learner recordings and my kinesthetic learner Learning Wrap-ups and told him to walk around as he did them. They learned their math facts in no time after years of not learning them with apps.

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We have done prodigy but I feel it isn't very efficient. DS seems to spend more time playing than math. I've also not set it to just the facts we need.

 

We have squeebles but he's bored of it. I can use it on rotation though. I can probably put operation math on rotation too.

 

I agree he may do better kinesthetically. I need an independent (mostly) activity though. Wrap ups might work. My ideas are flowing better at least :)

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There's not a way to change the timed nature of Reflex Math, but when we first started, my son was having trouble with the time. For quite a while he focused on doing the ice cream game. We found that one to be a little less overwhelming with the time pressure - at least until the last few seconds when it's like a warning alert and then he just didn't make any cones during those seconds.

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If it's dyscalculia, it might not be a worthwhile goal. Or you might need to work through Ronit Bird and get him visualizing the facts first. I have a tiny app, Fast Facts Math, that is perfect for drilling. But we only drilled things we had done with Ronit Bird. So if we learned things that make 5, then I put those facts in and drilled them to fluency. Then when we did ways to make 7, we put those in. And so on. 

 

Have you worked on RAN/RAS? If you haven't, that could be part of the problem. 

 

Dyscalculia is number sense, not technically an inability to memorize. My ds can memorize the facts, but then he doesn't generalize them to a new situation. That's the autism. So he'll have them in the FFMath app but not have them in the next setting. Gotta love generalization issues, lol. And his number sense is off, so it doesn't necessarily click for him that the answer he's giving (in the new situation) isn't reasonable. 

 

So Ronit Bird, lots of use in lots of situations, etc. I think it's fine to drill them. Given the other disabilities, I wouldn't connect them to writing, etc. The FF Math app is totally adequate if you just want to drill the specific facts you chose. I think I paid maybe $5 or something for it, but it was worth it for the precision and control. No frills, just done. Really though, they're not what's holding you back. Number sense is. For that, you want lots of real math lots of ways. 

 

And yes, Prodigy is sort of odd. It's kind of handy right now, because it's getting him to use his abacus to do things. He got really stuck on it yesterday, so we'll see. He wanted to blast through all 100 levels of it in a day if he could, and I pointed out that there were 8 grades worth, that it might not be possible to finish in a day.  :lol:

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We're using reflex math but the timed focus is making DS stressed. Is there a way to increase the time?

 

With FF Math there were a few options. Like you could turn off the time, or you could set it to start reading the problem after an amount of time, or it would turn over to a really nifty multi-faceted presentation of how to solve it, etc. 

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I am someone where Reflex Math ended up working out.

 

My son was maybe older (more like 4th grade) and had had a lot of exposure and practice.

 

I also typed for him at first, so he only had to say the answer, so it was extra time in a way.

 

I feel like now -- stuff he did that was practice but "didn't work" did help bc it was still practice. It just wasn't working when I wanted it to work (or as fast as I wanted it to work).

 

And then if I type for him I also can be doing some emotional support and there is a big mental side to math facts if they are hard, it is easy to get discouraged. So that went a long way.

 

From what I remember, on Reflex if the answer wasnt fast enough it wasn't super punitive, my son would have to do it for a while to answer in time.

 

But I did help him with some "reveal the picture" ones where he couldn't do it fast enough and just wanted to get to the games.

 

Also, if it is independent my son might play around with his treehouse more than I wanted. So I would sit with him partly for that.

 

But i think anything that gets too frustrating is going to get counterproductive, but maybe it can be good later.

 

At a certain point too, maybe my son just liked Reflex math better than other options, and he knew he had to do something. So he picked it after the free preview, but it wasn't that he really really liked it, it was just the best option.

 

So if there are free trials or things you can rotate, maybe let him pick how he practices math facts. I think it can help a lot, they know they aren't doing the most boring thing or the most frustrating thing, or at least they got to pick.

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