Helping students learn mental math and computational strategies can benefit students in multiple ways. 

Mental math greatly improves a person’s number sense, the ability to understand the relationships between quantities. As your child advances through school, formulas for solving math will be a method to arrive at the solution. If students do not have a firm grasp and understanding of how numbers relate, they may have difficulty understanding the meaning behind the formals of mathematics in 6th thru 12th grades. 

Math helps us function in our daily lives in situations such as shopping, cooking, building, banking, and comparing the value of products or services.  Though your child is not doing all these in the moment, they will become life long needs in adulthood. 

Mental math actually keeps our brains quick and sharp. The brain, like the muscles, gets stronger and more efficient with use. 

In math this year, we will use and discuss multiple mental math strategies. The goal is for students to find the strategies that make them successful in solving math situations. Below you will find strategies for addition, subtraction, multiplication and division along with short videos explaining the strategies. 

My hope is that you have conversations with your child on these methods throughout the year that allow you to hear the deep understanding they have of the number system we all use daily!

The resources listed below are free resources from Rachel Edmonds @ Rise over Run.