Raising Maine

When we live in Italy, they had the kids just repeat and repeat and repeat so that it almost became a mantra...I sometimes still hear my 13 and 14 year repeat the fact in Italian. A CD which was recommended to us is called "MATH FACTS." The kids enjoy it regardless of the fact that it has (and I quote from the case) "No Clowns, Trolls, or Space Aliens..." It is parent and user friendly for a non-computer person like me. :) The e-mail shown on the back of the case is email@mathfactsnow.com. Sorry I can't remember where I bought it from...

My girls really enjoy playing on the computer so I found a website that has math games, quia.com. I know a lot of teachers as well as home schoolers that use the site and I think it has a format that make it fun for the kids to practice basic math skills. The girls like this game because they can choose Matching or Concentration: www.quia.com/mc/1100110.html. And this one can be played with one or two players so sometimes I play with them and sometimes they play against each other: www.quia.com/cb/208932.html. The games aren't real glitzy but the basic multiplication facts are reinforced and my girls like it because they know getting more worksheets is the other option ;-) To find more math games, go to this page on the site: http://www.quia.com/shared/math. You can create your own math games too but that requires paying a fee but it doesn't cost anything to play the existing games.

.Just wanted to tell you how great your blog is. I ran into you at our childrens' school the other day and you let me know about your blog. So funny. Back to work now. But really great.

Kid one was working on subtraction the other day. she was struggling. we switched the term minus for "what's the difference between the two numbers". I don't know why but she's able to whiz through em. So you might try 4x8 or 8x4 as 4 across by 8(smaller # by bigger #). That's what your times table is saying. There's research that says real words work better for some students. Especially good readers. might be a left brain right brain thing.

My then 5 year old son figured out how to multiply all by himself. He used toothpicks to make his number groups....never had a problem after that confusing 2+3=5 vs. 2x3=6.

Aplusmath.com This is a wonderful (free) website where you can print out worksheets so that the children can practice. With my daughter Alee she had to know them all in 5 minutes. We would print out the worksheets, set the buzzer and she would just keep practicing over and over and over. Writing the answers helped her memorize. Can't wait to see your show on Thursday! (cousin Stephanie, - Patsy's daughter)

Thanks Steph! :)

Ann, you may have to try out a few different websites to find things that fit the learning style of your kids. There are some cool-looking games out there that look like they make the whole thing fun. www.bigbrainz.com has a free version of "Timez Attack" that looks like fun, really looks more like a video game---I'm sure that'll appeal to them, and www.helpingwithmath.com has a list of a bunch of games to help with this. Hey, make it fun and they'll study it 'til they beat it, just like video games! Here's a low-tech alternative: Find laminated placemats with "the tables" on them, and create games during dinner. We used to do that with the maps of the US and the world, the US Presidents, etc. Eventually our kids could beat us at the game, and we could retire the placemats (or move on to the next one). Good luck--your kids are smart, you just need to find the right tools.