For the last 3 weeks of summer break, our visual kids need to brush up on math facts! For most visual kids, math is not a favorite subject. As I mentioned in my book, Being Visual, our right brain kids are great with the conceptual side of math but memorizing facts and taking tests really rattles them.

To ease some of that stress, think about where they left off at end of the last school year. Were they doing addition and subtraction? Multiplication and division? Were they counting coins? Or doing fractions? Whatever they were learning to do – now it’s time to remember and refresh!

Here are few ideas to get some much needed practice.

Math apps- are great for practicing the basics like addition and subtraction or multiplication tables. There are tons of math apps out there but look for something simple to drill the basics. We like My Math App for Apple devices and Math Workout for Android devices. They are straight forward and seem less busy and intimidating than some of the others. Both apps have a way for kids to time themselves, while they rinse and repeat. Once they’ve got the hang of it and are ready to pick up speed, encourage them to try and beat their own best score. This is way less pressure than timed tests at school and will help prepare them for those tests. Repetition and the fun of the game will help them gain speed and fluency with their math facts. 10 minutes, twice a day, will go a long way in getting them ready to reenter the classroom.

Flash cards– Going low tech? Flash cards are your best way to practice. Buy a set that shows whole equation, addition or multiplication, so visual kids can ‘see’ the problem and answer together. Set up a schedule, for 10 minutes, 2x a day. Then keep them close at hand, for spontaneous ‘fun’ practice together.

Use everyday life as a teaching tool- Math is everywhere when you look for it. If your child needs practice counting coins, make it a fun activity counting coins in the change jar. Have them practice counting their money before heading to store to spend. Teach fractions while cutting pizza or pie and measurements while cooking and baking. Practice division by dividing up snacks, or….the to do list equally. Count, identify patterns, numbers and geometric relationships all around you.

As school approaches, spending as little as 10 minutes a day on math facts is going to help our visual kids enormously when they’re back in the classroom. I know math can be a difficult even for us parents but practice is essential. Watch this video to get more information on why it matters so much for our visual learners.