Just joined today after a few months of browsing. This site is the first place I'd encountered the term "math facts." What a horrible idea, particularly for a gifted abstract thinker. Math Concepts and Processes? Yes. Facts? No.
An abstract thinker learns quickly by understanding and creating robust active connections. Drilling creates hazardous ruts and lays down the wrong pathways (being bored and hating is a survival instinct for the precious part of the brain that is trying to save itself from being mis-wired.)
With high perceptual reasoning, they should be drawn to the patterns. Help them discover patterns. Eventually they will have very fast paths to the answers, and when the numbers get larger they'll use the same processes just as quickly while those who had "math facts" hammered in will fumble with no learned process to back them up.
