Remember the idea that the other children are bunnies, happily crunching on blades of educational grass, while your child is an elephant, starving, educationally, if it can't gobble down whole trees?
I figured out for my son, that if I want him to eat the grass (memorise math facts) then I had better make garlands of it and string it on the trees that he is inclined to much on, so he'll digest them and never know it!
Best example is: Needing to firm up the math facts - I introduced him to a long hand multiplication of triple digit numbers. He got to practice the math facts (blades of grass) while chomping on the triple digit mulitplication problems (tree.) Just make to teach him short hand multiplication as soon as possible!
Another way of saying the same thing, is to try to get the upper level thinking to create a need for the rote memorization.
And -
There's always computer games!
Of course, in an idea world, I'd like to get the kid to program their own math drill game, then use it one themself! Perhaps possible with powerpoint, but I never pulled that off!
Trinity
