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All right, have you gals been at my dinner table recently? DS was complaining about math - the repetition (he is completing 3 column add/sub) and said that he "hates math." Scary words from one that young. DT (dear teacher) recommended the times tables at conference in October (unrelated to the current "hates math" due to the many 3 column worksheets). I will suggest the geometry approach. Our school uses EM (Everyday Math) and it spirals up and down and can seem very repetitious. I don't want to force it. I do think the patterns approach might work... It's worth a try without a hard sell as is the music in the car. DT is stickler this year - any math errors have to be rewritten - the whole problem not just erasing and correcting. Same for vocab/spelling. I will ask her about alternatives to "drill and kill." Perhaps she can give him work from ancillary material rather than the current wkbk. Inky - I like breaking it up into parts - nice trick...Thx!

Just avoid using the term "drill and kill" with her. She's not likely to respond well to that characterization of her teaching.

(even if it's accurate...)

It sounds like I have been at your dinner table. My daughter started saying she hated math and the end of kindergarten last year. I worked with her over the summer and took a different approach from the procedure drills that the school seemed to emphasize (i.e Math Minutes). Instead we worked on critical thinking and problem solving. She went from "I hate Math" to "more Math!"
This year in first grade she has Everyday Math. The approach is fine but the level isn't right for her. They've started math groups with another teacher but the first homework came home and "drill and kill" is a good description. It was 63 problems of 2 digit addition with regrouping. We managed to break it into smaller chunks to get through it but I fear the "I hate math" attitude will come back with a vengeance.

Yes, I don't think I will win friends and influence people using the term "drill & kill." LOL!

Inky - I dislike EM (Everyday Math) - there was a thread on this Board about it at one point and most folks dislike it. EPGY was favored as were several others. Alas, I don't HS. FWIW: Supposedly, EM is the "best" of the worst with the general consensus that there aren't many good math programs in this country.

I do like your idea of other ways to challenge DS with math (along with the suggestions of several others). I do fear EM isn't meeting his needs. Kids today are bright enough to catch the repetitious spiralling, even if some of it is from previous years! Ugh! Good luck to you as well.

I don't think DS had a 63 problem worksheet (I am not sure where that figure came from but if I used it, it was inaccurate) but he did bring home 5 pages from his workbook of triple digit add/sub. I think it was a few too many sheets at once for him. Dottie, what grades did your kids go through EM? I think we start to veer away from it around 4th gr with lots of supplemental items as determined by the teacher (some are great at this). We were also told that this year, several kids, including DS will begin pre-algebra etc. I am so reassured to hear that your kids have gone through this program with success! Did you have to supplement it with any other items? At this point, we don't do anything extra with DS. He finds subjects he enjoys and "researches" them... That is why trying to teach him multiplication is so challenging. We don't really "work" with him at all. Thanks for your insight and to all who have posted.

Thanks Dottie! DS has been in it since KG (they start on 1st gr EM in KG) so he is probably in 3rd gr EM now (I guess; he is in 2nd gr). DD also started KG this year so she has EM for 1st. Our school is K-8 so I guess some of the kids start to outgrow EM by 4th with some outgrowing it even earlier. I don't know what else we use after that. Again, thanks for sharing your experience. One last question: did DD, DD and DS have to memorize their multiplication at some point to progress through EM?

Whoa; what's not to love about that?

(I know that is not the EM norm, per Dottie, but it did almost make me shoot coffee out my nose!)

This is a great thread! Great tips
I am looking online now for the music!

Found some tricks here... http://math.about.com/bltricks.htm

DS8 loves the 11 times rule. I think he learnt it in one of the Murderous Math books.

One CD which my friend used was "Learning to Tell Time & Multiplication". She said it was useful for her kid. I am not sure about it as I have never heard/used it.

Edited to add CD info.

http://hunkinsexperiments.com/pages/multiplication.htm

Check this link for a multiplication trick. I don't think it'll make your ds fast at fact recall, but it's pretty neat.

DS7 loves the 2-digit 11s trick, too.

He's good with his 9s, too, though the trick I taught him took longer to sink in than the 11s. Here's what I use:

For any number times 9, look at the non-9. Subtract 1 and you have the 10s place (so for 9x3 => use 3-1=2). Then use that 2 to figure that 2+?=9. That's 7, so 7 goes in the 1s place for an answer of 27.

Simple and quick, and no fingers!