Adding Life to Math

Math has always seemed cut and dried to me, and yesterday I was thinking about my second grader's addition and subtraction facts. She knows how to find the answer to, say, 4+3, by counting on her fingers. I have no problem with this, but feel strongly that it's time to start doing the dreaded work of memorization. I want the facts to come easily and quickly, without her having to think about them.

I discovered these nice printables from worksheetfun.com, and made a booklet out of addition facts for each number: 2,3,4...all the way to 9. 

My original plan was to have her do the left column one day, skip one up (move to the 3's, for instance) the next day, then go back and review. A friend suggested also having her write them out several times. Sometimes work like this has to be mundane.

But if I think like Charlotte Mason, there can be an element of fun, too. Charlotte wanted her students to think in terms of real life, and I agree. How could my child understand what all of this means? How can we teach the dry facts, but make them come alive?

I took a plastic cup from the kitchen and filled it with about 12 slips of paper, each one containing a "fun" noun. Here are some examples:

As my girl completed each problem, I had her take a slip of paper from the cup. With each problem, we used the noun to make the sum come alive. For example: 
Teacher: "If you already have 2 birthday gifts, and receive 2 more, how many do you have now?" 
Student: "Four!"
Teacher: "Why?"
Student: "Because 2+2=4."

We went all the way down the column, my girl delighting in choosing a new noun for every problem, with me having to think fast to ask questions!
"If there are two poodles at the pet store, and six more arrive, how many are there now?" 
"Eight!"
"Why?"
"Because 2+6=8!"

This works for subtraction, multiplication, and division as well. Sonya Shafer conducted an informative workshop at the Grace to Build conference last fall, and demonstrated this teaching style for our group. The teacher asks the question, the student answers, but it's most important for the child to express the why in the form of the equation.

I extended this to my 3rd grader's math page today as well:

From Horizons Math, Level 2, Book 2.

Of course, after seeing her sister have all the fun, she was itching to get in on the action!

Teacher: "If ten missionaries each want to take five Bibles to Africa, how many total Bibles do we need to collect?"

Student: "Fifty."

Teacher: "Why?"

Student: "Because 10x5=50."

Teacher: "If there are two kids and they each get three tennis balls, how many total tennis balls are there?"

Student: "Six."

Teacher: "Why?"

Student: "Because 2x3=6."

Doing plain math facts with a Charlotte Mason flair makes math real and much more fun. The girls can't wait to see what will be on the next slip of paper, and they even get to practice reading the words, too. I hope this helps homeschoolers who need to "add" a little life to their math! Pun intended.