Are you mad about mad minutes? You’re not alone. The most common question I get from parents at this time of year is “How can I help my child do better on Mad Minutes in school?” If you’ve never heard of these, consider yourself lucky! Mad Minutes are timed drills of basic math facts. They can be addition, subtraction, multiplication or division depending on your child’s grade level. Some teachers allow 5 minutes for 30 problems, others allow only 2 minutes or 1 minute. One Smyrna school expects children to complete 13 addition problems in 30 seconds – that’s less than two and a half seconds per problem!
When preparing for these drills, it’s best to emphasize accuracy over time. Who would want their child to be really fast at doing something wrong? With accuracy, comes speed – but it doesn’t work the other way around. Start by timing your child as he or she completes an entire worksheet. The goal should be to get them all correct, while slightly reducing the time with each practice sheet. There are many free websites that create practice worksheets. Our favorite is SuperKids.
There are also plenty of fun ways to practice these math facts at home. Think beyond the dreaded flash cards! Board games that use dice are an excellent way to practice addition facts. For more of a challenge, try 8-sided or 12-sided dice, available at teacher supply stores. For another twist, have children find the difference of the two dice and advance that many spaces. Remember the old card game "War"? Instead of each player turning one card at a time, have children turn over two cards at a time. The winner of each hand would be the player with the largest sum, difference or product. You can also play a “Rock, Paper, Scissors” version of the War game. Each player holds up a number of fingers and the first player to find the sum wins. No matter which methods you use, remember to keep it light and fun.
Mathnasium is a learning center on South Cobb Drive where students go year-round to boost their math skills. We are currently accepting students from both ends of the love-hate math spectrum, and hope to move those math haters to the other end of the spectrum through specialized instruction, one-on-one teaching and a healthy dose of fun. For more information, visit their website by CLICKING HERE.
