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math frustration
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So, I thought MUS was going really well for us, but it seems that my ds 11 is still really struggling with memorizing multiplication facts. He’ll do well for a while, really showing progress, then all of a sudden it’s like he can’t remember half the facts he was just flying through two weeks earlier. We move on to the next lesson because he seems to have it, but then, I find out down the road that we need to go back and do it all over again. I don’t know if it’s me, if he has some kid of issue with retaining facts (he has the same problem with spelling) or what. It took him forever to master subtraction with regrouping and he still needs constant review or he loses that, too. Sometimes I think he just doesn’t care, so he’s not putting in any effort. I am considering getting the Right Start games to suppliment with all summer long. I’d like to stay away from computer games for drill unless I have to. Anyone have any other suggestions?
We use Math It! for drill and review. It’s fun to play and I love that the competition is against himself only. The little tricks that it teaches you are very useful. You can probably find it cheaper on Amazon than at Christianbook.com
HTH, Charlene
We use Math on the Level and they stress that maturation is key and that learning math facts is vitally important. I agree. I would definitely suggest you use some games and fun things to not only help him, but perhaps encourage him.
I thought our oldest would never learn to divide. He is 13 now and does it with ease, but it hasn’t been that long he did it this way. It took a LONG time.
Have you considered going back to some skip counting games/activities? Does he like music? There are some great things out there incl. the old Schoolhouse Rock episodes with all of the multiplicaiton facts through 9 I believe. I know maybe twaddle-ish, but it is something I allow on the iPod only in the car, and it does drill them in a way they think is engaging.
But anyway, if he is struggling that much, maybe go back to skip counting and revisit. Maybe make some homemade games with him.
I love this blog for ideas! http://love2learn2day.blogspot.com/ (look on the Math Monday Blog Hop pages; tons of ideas).
Another game that is easy and you can do it if you have a deck of cards. Math War. You can add or multiply. When each of you turns up your card, the player who turns up highest card has to give the product of two cards (e.g 8 and 6 would be 48). If he/she misses or can’t answer, the other player gets to keep the cards.
If this would be too much for your son, just let him answer the product each time and keep it fun and really cheer him on when he gets it right. Maybe try to set a goal like answer in 3 seconds or something like that. Only you know your son and if he thrives on competition or not, but this can be adapted accordingly. You can also use just the numbers you want to drill or the ones you feel he is most confident in at first to help boost his confidence, and of course take out the jacks, queens and kings.
HTH
We used Skip Counting Songs and Flashmaster for drills:
we use http://www.xtramath.org for math drill. Someone else here recommended it a while back, and it is GREAT. We use it mostly every day, it takes 10 minutes, and best of all – IT’S FREE!
And it tracks your progress, so you can see that your child is improving with each day, it emails you when your child has missed a few days in a row, and keeps track of the problems your child is struggling with. For kids that really struggle with their facts, City Creek Press products are awesome http://www.citycreek.com/category-s/24.htm. They help those of us who think in pictures and stories (I am one of them). It makes learning them so much fun. You would not need all the products, probably just the book.
We are not at multiplication yet, but the RightStart math games really helped my son learn his addition facts. We also use Math Wrap-Up keys to review facts. They are hands-on. You wrap a string around the numbers and the back shows if you are right or wrong. You can see some of the RS games on video:
http://rightstartmath.com/resources/card-games-videos
One is called Multiplication Memory.
Yes I second the wrapups. I found some last year at a used sale. You can Find them cheaper on Amazon than RS I believe.
Another resource we have I found on a Montessori site. It was a free printable: a multiplication wheel. I cant find the link at the moment but I will try to find it. If I do I’ll post it!
Oh and the Math Shark is great if you are OK with some electronics. It drills 4 operations plus fractions, decimals and percents. It has 10 levels and the latter ones are quite advanced. I use with all of ours. Also for multiplication you can choose to drill certain numbers or 0-5 or any combo up to the 12s.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00000IRMM/ref=mp_s_a_1?qid=1339695332&sr=8-1
I would not pay $35 for it. I got mine at a discount store for $20 and it is well worth that for the use we get out of it. Can take in the car too.
http://Www.montessoriforeveryone.com
Look up “multiplication wheels”
I colored ours with a crayon, different color on each number, and laminated them.
And it tracks your progress, so you can see that your child is improving with each day, it emails you when your child has missed a few days in a row, and keeps track of the problems your child is struggling with. 
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