The kid's school uses Saxon Math. Part of the Saxon method is to teach the kids how to do math quickly and in their head. For example to add 4 + 9 they teach kids to add 4 + 10 and then subtract 1. Or if you have 6 + 7, you can add 6 + 6 and then add one. So far I haven't had to help the boy with is math much. He just fills out his fact sheets, I check them, and then he turns them in. But today he came home with his first set of flash cards.
I held up 7 + 9.
"Mom it is easier to add 10 + 7 and then subtract 1. So the answer is 16."
Perfect! I held up 8 + 9.
"Hmm. I could add 10 + 8 and then subtract 1. . . . Or I could do 8 + 8 and then add 1 and I could do 9 + 9 and subtract 1. What if I add 9 + 10 and subtract 2! Huh, you know I could also just add 7 + 10 and thats all. . . . I don't know. I think I'll just have to use my fingers."
