Confessions of a Flashcard Failure: Making Math Fun

I remember the pressure of standing next to Mark Henderson in the first grade as the teacher held up a card that read "7 + 3." The pressure was on! The first one to blurt out "10" would win the round and get to keep traveling "around the world" as long as he or she kept yelling out the flashcard answers first.

I imagine that those kids who were good at this competition loved it. I imagine they felt full of pride and coolness whenever it was math time. I can only imagine. I always froze when in front of the class, and the answer "10" somehow got trapped behind my tonsils, never making it out to gain me glory. I was a flashcard failure.

This game, of course, was to help us master our math facts. All it accomplished for me, though, was associating math with fear, tension, and yes, failure.

I vowed at the beginning of summer that I was going to find a way to help my six year old daughter master her math facts that wasn't full of unpleasantries. She understands how to add, but she doesn't have that automatic, 5 + 3 = 8 mastery that I want her to have. She still has to count on her fingers or count the dots on the dice. I know she's young and has time, but I wanted some of that time to be this summer.

I think I found a great way! I've been letting her play Shut the Box. This game is so easy to learn. The basic rules practice addition facts. Roll the dice; add the numbers. This total is what you flip down in the box. For instance, if you roll a 4 and a 6, your total is ten. You can then flip down any combination of tiles that equals 10: 9 and 1, or 7 and 3...you get the idea. The object of the game is to flip down all the numbers, or shut the box! When a roll happens that no remaining numbers can be flipped, you add the numbers left in the box. This is your score for the round. The lowest score wins. You can play a set number of rounds to determine the overall winner, or play until a certain score is reached. My daughter even enjoys just playing by herself, trying to beat her score from her previous round.

If you want to make it a little more challenging math wise, allow players to perform other math functions. For instance, instead of just allowing addition, allow subtracting the numbers. Or even division or multiplication. With expanded rules, players won't only be practicing math facts, they will also be using logic to decide which math function on any given roll gives them the best score.

The best part? It's fun! My husband and I enjoy playing with her. We all get lost in the fun, forgetting that we got this game to help her learn math. And that, I believe, is how learning should take place.