Homeschool Blog

My 9 year old daughter, (to be 10 in May) is having a tough time with math. Specifically, she has difficulty with her multiplication tables and she also is not getting some simple subtractions like 11-4 consistently correct. As a result, she has a difficult time with any multiplication problems involving two digit numbers and also has problems with subtracting 3 digit numbers. She just does not have these multiplications and subtractions committed to memory.

So I am having my daughter do extra work to learn these products and differences. Flash cards would work fine, but you really need two people to do these effectively and sometimes that is not always convenient. So instead of regular old flash cards, I am having my daughter play the Math Blaster Game in the following way:

• She plays the Trash Zapper game at Level 2 for Subtractions and also Level 1 for Multiplication. In this activity, she must type in the answer to the given problems in subtraction and multiplication. So this game functions exactly like a flash card game.
• She plays the Math Blaster game at Level 2 for Subtraction and also Level 2 for Multiplication. In this game, she is given a problem, and she must choose from 4 given answers. This helps reinforce her skills and perhaps adds a bit more fun to the activity.

The result has been that my daughter’s memorization of these subtractions and multiplications is improving, slowly but surely.

And don’t let any “expert” tell you otherwise. It is absolutely essential that a child memorize basic addition, subtraction, and multiplication facts before they can proceed onto division, fractions, decimals, and operations with signed numbers. So get the Math Blaster Game or use these Free Printable Math Flashcards to make sure your son or daughter learns these necessary number facts.