Homeschool World Forum

I started homeschooling our grade 4 and grade 5 student in A Beka DVD prorgram a week ago and they are doing well in all subjects except for Math. Both are having a difficult time. I love the program - the emphesis on memorizing the tables.

What is the best way for memorizing the tables quickly so that my kids will be able to enjoy their math program?
Thanks.

thanks so much for your reply - I will do that.

I've just had a break through with my DS. I agree with incentives helping. I offer him a penny every time he does a round of flashcards or some other drill with his facts. At the end of the week, each penny equals one minute of video game time. (We ration video game time each week and he's usually spent all of his tickets before Friday. He considers the pennies a real bonus.) He even asks if he can do the flashcards now! I also didn't put any value on them being correct, he just had to try. He has anxiety issues so just seeing flashcards was enough to send him hiding in his room for hours.

Thanks so much for the penny idea - that would work very well for our son too.

Easy!

I've done this hundreds of time with success in my classroom and my own kids.

Let's assume you want your child to memorize his multiplication tables up to 10 x 10. Okay, make, or find a 10 x 10 grid (or use grid paper).

Write down 1-10 across the top and along the side. Then, have your child fill in the missing products (products are the result of multiplication questions). When your child is stumped, have him look at a complete multiplication chart (oh, you'll need one of those as well) and fill in the missing product that he didn't know.

Finally, agree with your child on a seriously good reward when he completes the entire chart without looking.

Good luck.

If you have more than one child, you can use a set of flashcards and turn it into a competition to see who can answer the most questions the fastest. Any math-based game such as Yahtzee, Muggins, etc. may also help.

Another method is to have them just write the table (2x1=2, 2x2=4...) few times a day. Then, they should just fill it. Then, ask them randomly. When they can answer to random ones immediately without a mistake - they are done.

And of course, incentives always work