Monday, December 21, 2009

Math Game

One thing we've been doing in math lately is working on verbalization of mental computation. Or, said more simply, actually saying the answer (you know, with your mouth).

I made this game for Hunter recently to help him with memorization of basic arithmetic facts. The one shown in this picture is the plus one board.

The answers are on the board and there are little cards that have the equations on them. The goal is to match the equation to the answer as quickly as possible, trying to beat your previous best score. I think he likes the self competition, it's been going well with him. The first day it took him about eight minutes just to find all the answers, but on even just the second time, he found them in less than four! That has been about the rate he still does it, I'm sure he could do it a little faster but he tends to talk a little too much while doing them.

This is the first time we've ever done anything like this - that is, working on repetition of simple arithmetic. He seems to be doing well with it though, and after only a couple days he is done with the plus one board and is moving on to plus twos, then all the way through multiplication facts, etc. I'm hoping this will help him with speed, we shall see!

"And Isaac said unto his son, How is it that thou hast found it so quickly, my son? And he said, Because the LORD thy God brought it to me." 
Genesis 27:20

Hunter is 4 years, 9 months old

3 comments:

  1. Hi Elizabeth,

    I really enjoy reading your posts and learning a lot from them. Hunter is a very smart boy and you have taught him well. Hats off to you!

    I want to ask what homeschooling curriculum do you follow? Do you create your own based on Hunter's interests? Would appreciate some inputs. I have a 2.5 year old son. :)

    Continue to inspire us parents. :)

    All the best,
    Diana

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  2. Hi there,

    Thanks so much for the encouragement. I really appreciate hearing from you!

    To be honest I do not use a pre-made curriculum. Maybe it is the fact that I was homeschooled and have seen how it can work that I am comfortable just making up my own curriculum based on my individual child.

    We discuss a lot of things, use a lot of books, flashcards, games. It just depends on what the topic is and what works for him. In this post, for example, I had been having Hunter write out the answer to different equations, but it wasn't working out so well so I made this matching game, which he loved.

    A lot of things are based on what interests him, like right now he is really interested in bird watching and botany, so we learn about those things. I also plan things, like this year we are going to be learning about ancient history. I try to expose him to a wide variety of topics and, with keeping the "lessons" fun and quick, he has learned about and loved a great many things.

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  3. Thank you for your reply. Same here, I go with my child's interests so we don;t really follow a curriculum or even a schedule or routine. I go with what he wants to do and don;t impose anything on him. It's just all fun learning.

    I wish you and your family well. Looking forward to learning more from you and hearing great things about Hunter. :)

    God bless,
    Diana

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for your comments!