Math Fun - Part 2

My Fact Family Houses post has continued to be a very popular post.  As it has also continued to be a popular activity here in our home.  So, I decided to come up with a more permanent set up for making fact family houses.  Something that might help keep the focus on the actual fact families. 




Fact Family House File Folder Kit

You can read the original Fact Family Houses post here.
 

This file folder kit comes with:

a front cover sheet, title strip, & directions for playing the file folder game

the house page

a set of number tiles

a description of how to construct the file folder game



Math Fun - Part 1

Basic math facts are a key component of early math.  Later math learning will be so much easier if the basic math facts are down pat.  Yet, learning math facts can sometimes be a struggle.  Some kids take great to the flash card method.  Others "see" math better though manipulatives.   Others might find songs to be a help in getting those math facts drilled in.  And sometimes a variety of concepts is need before these facts are committed to memory.  The great thing about math is that there are so many fun ways to practice these math facts.

 

Our newest practice is these Addition Charts.  My goal with these charts was to help my children "see" the numbers and how they work together. 

 

The charts were made to be cut apart, so that only one sum is focused on at one time.  Then, the child can work with manipulatives, finger counting, etc. to fill in the chart with all the possible addends for that sum. 

Counting Caterpillar

While I had been working on counting by 2's with my Curly Girlie, we only recently started using the terms odd and even.

So I came up with a fun game to help her remember which is which.

Fact Family Houses

I had been working with my Curly Girlie on her addition and subtraction facts.  I really wanted her to see the connection between addition and subtraction - how it's the same numbers, just switched around.  And then it popped into my head today - Fact Family Houses!

These are not a new idea.  But they are simple to pull together in a moment's notice.  And certainly more fun than another worksheet or another run with the flashcards!

The kids were busily working on their seatwork when the idea struck. So I grabbed a stack of construction paper and my paper cutter and began cutting.  Here is what I did today to create these cute Fact Family Houses for my Curly Girlie to put together:

Skip Counting Download

I made this skip counting chart a while back to help my kiddos. 

Download skip counting 2 to 9

My Curly Girlie is at the stage of learing skip counting - counting by 2's helps her learn her doubles addition, counting by 5's helps her when counting nickles or minutes on the clock. 

And my Little Buddy is into multiplication, so being able to skip count by all the numbers is helpful for him as he tries to memorize his multiplication facts. 

So, I made this chart to give them a visual of the skip counting pattern.  It consists of 4 pages with 2 skip counting charts on each page to give us the skip counting numbers for 2 through 9.

Fun with Multiplying!

I told a homeschooling friend that I was working on multiplication facts with my Little Buddy.  And she suggested I download Timez Attack.  I can't tell you how much we love it! 

I really didn't expect much from a free download, but this game is fantastic!  My Little Buddy took to it right away!  And my husband and I have even given it a go, too.  And the littler ones just love to watch.  As far as educational games go, this one is tops!  He is really starting to retain his multiplication facts.  And believe me, I have tried several approaches to help him on this. 

The player's character is a little green boy or girl whose goal is to wind through the dungeon or palace and defeat the giant ogre.