Addition Facts That Stick, by Kate Snow, is a book I’ve been looking forward to trying with my six-year-old son, Silas. The author wrote this book to help your child master the addition facts in just six weeks! How does this work?

There is an introduction to this book that explains why her approach is unique, and why it works. It also tells you how you will use the book. Addition Facts That Stick is divided into six units, with each unit taking about a week. Each week follows the same pattern of activities – direct teaching, games, and written practice. You will need the following things to complete the activities in the book: 15 small counters in two different colors, a coin, two game tokens, paper, pencil, and two decks of playing cards. This is a pretty inexpensive math curriculum!

On day one, you will introduce the new facts and teach a new game to your child. Using a ten-frame (a photocopy from the book and counters in two different colors), your child will visualize the numbers. They will learn that there are five counters on each side of the ten-frame, and will eventually be able to glance at them and know how many counters are on the ten-frame without counting them. I was very impressed with how quickly Silas mastered this visual concept.

You will also teach the new game. The first week, the game is called “Race to Ten”. You will use the ten-frames, a coin, and 20 small counters (beans, counting bears, or anything else small). You take turns flipping the coin. If it is heads, you add one counter to your ten frame; tails, you add two counters to your ten-frame. As you add the counters to the ten-frame, you say the addition fact – “three plus two equals five” or “nine plus one equals ten”. The first player to fill his ten-frame wins. We played this game over and over!

On Days Two-Five, you play the game and your child completes a practice page – a simple sheet with 18 addition facts. Silas could finish these fairly quickly.

Week One, your child learns to add one and two. Week Two, your child adds pairs that make ten. Week Three, your child learns the sums less than ten. Week four, you practice adding nine. Week Five has you child learning to add eight, and Week Six looks at the leftover addition facts. The weeks follow the same pattern, but the games are different and fun. The game boards are found in the back of the book for you to photocopy. I recommend using cardstock and laminating them so they will last longer. The practice pages are also found in the back of the book, ready to photocopy or tear out and use.

“Addition Facts That Stick” is a wonderful math tool for your young child! The addition facts are very important to have a solid grasp on, and this book will most assuredly teach them to your child in a way he won’t forget, without using flashcards. This book can be used a complete math program or as a supplement for any child having difficulty with the addition facts. “Addition Facts That Stick” is available as an e-Book for $14.99 and in print for $18.95. There is also “Subtraction Facts That Stick” available now!

-Product review by Megan Russell, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine, LLC, April, 2017