This is my entry to win a camera in the “Capture the Educational Moment” Contest sponsored by Spunky and Academic Superstore.

This year Painter and Jokey are both in grade 4 math. We are using Switched-on Schoolhouse, which is a computer-based curriculum, for that subject. They are both doing well with it. The only problem is that they take forever because they do not have their addition, subtraction, and multiplication facts fully committed to memory. It frustrates them (and me) that it takes so long.

I take care in deciding what I am going to force them to do, and it is very little. There is really no subject at this time that I have not been able to make enjoyable for them. Sometimes they put up a fuss over language arts, but once we get into it, they are fine.

So, when the idea of using flash cards to learn their math facts sunk faster than a lead balloon, I started searching for a better way.

I bought an electronic “game” called Math Wiz, but they rejected that too, saying it was the same as flashcards. Painter called it “baby stuff,” meaning “too easy,” yet he still does not have his math facts down.

This morning, I pulled out a math bingo game I picked up at a book sale. I set it up and we started playing. After a few rounds, the answers started coming so much easier to them. I am going to play it with them every morning (or so) until they get the facts committed to memory. If that game gets boring, I have a couple other math fact games in mind.

It is unbelievable to me that I ever spent hours fighting to get them to learn something a certain way when it is so much easier to find a way that works for them and makes learning fun.