subtraction Archives - The Crafty Classroom

If you have children working on their addition and subtraction skills, teaching them about fact families can go a long way! The idea of fact families is that numbers can be grouped and reordered to create different equations. This is a great way for children to visually see that numbers have relational values. With the number 2, 5, and 7 for example we can make four different equations:

Two addition equations:

5+2=7 and 2+5=7

Two subtraction equations:

7-5=2 and 7-2=5

Learning that numbers can be interchanged like this provides children with core strategies they can use to solve more difficult math problems later in life. Plus, fact families are fun to learn!

Print our Fact Family Game and Follow up Worksheets Here

I’ve even included a follow up worksheet children can use to show mastery.

While I recommend purchasing a set of plastic number tiles (I use these all the time) you can also print a set of paper number tiles that you can laminate and use in your classroom.

Find more Free Math Games Here

Oh Golly.

You know.

I think this is probably one of THE MOST talked about subject in homeschool circles.

Or maybe it’s just me….
running around in circles
asking the question:

HOW do you get your kids to memorize those math facts?

What works with one of my kids, doesn’t even sink in with the other.

And everytime I DECLARE that we have learned our math facts,
I soon find out that, “OOPS! We didn’t learn our 8’s as good as we could have”

Tell me please that I’m not the only one.

This is the point in which you would inturrupt me
with a big, “I KNOW! Mine TOO! I tried this,
and that and the other thing but we still haven’t got them all down.”

Then we would laugh and hug and say,
“Oh I’m so glad your kid doesn’t know his 8’s either.”

Happy Happy Day.

Or
Something like that.

But you see,
over these past zillion days we’ve been struggling with math,
I’ve realized that there isn’t a MAGIC anything that is going to make
it sink in.

The only formula that seems (to me) to REALLY works is repetition and time.

One thing were doing this year to brush up,
re-learn, and speed-up are daily math drills:

More Minute Math Drills

(yes. in addition to our daily math lessons)

We simply take 5 minutes each day and dedicate it to learning math facts.

5 little minutes gives us time for 5 speed tests.

The book is a simple progressive collection of math facts.

Here’s how we spice it up:

-We set a standard beginning goal as we start each new set of facts
-Then the goal each day based on yesterdays performance
-Kids are rewarded with a sticker for meeting the days goal.
-A Full sheet of stickers (for us about 70) equals an ice cream social

It only takes Five simple minutes a day
and Math Fact Guilt is gone out the window.

(try it….it’s cheaper then therapy)

And yes, the children are getting FASTER and more accurate,
but seriously,
I’m more excited to kick the Math Fact Monkey on my Back to the curb.

We have both Addition/Subtraction and Multiplication/Division with this series.
I would definitely recommend using this system for
Five Minutes a Day x Four Days a Week

Yes.
You read that right.
Four Days a week.

On Day Five you might want to play a simple math facts game like this one.