DISCLOSURE: I RECEIVED THIS COMPLIMENTARY PRODUCT THROUGH THE HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW.

Over the past couple of weeks we have done very little school in a real summer fashion. I’m reorganizing some things that require my full attention so the kids have been on their own a lot more. While being bored is absolutely healthy for them, you can tell they are craving routine and something to do with their minds besides reading. An easy task that doesn’t require much from me and a great math exercise for them has been our latest review, Math Essentials Speed Wheel Drills from Math Essentials. At 3rd and 5th grade, my big kids can always benefit from math fact practice!

What We Received:

We received 3 physical books, Speed Wheel Drills for Multiplication, for Division and for Addition.

How It Works:

As pictured below, each wheel consists of a number in the center that the outside numbers use to add/multiply/divide by. Each appearance of numbers is shuffled in a different order so that very page is entirely different. Above each wheel is a space for how many are correct and how much time it took to complete it. The full intent is to time the student completing each wheel and comparing each days times. The pages are not perforated, but likely could be easily pulled out if necessary.

What We Thought:

We used these books with my 8 and 10 year old who are heading into 3rd and 5th grade. My daughter (8) primarily did the addition book, while my son (10 used the multiplication and division ones. Even though they hadn’t ever used a wheel setup for math facts, it was very easy to understand. They enjoyed racing the clock and each other, but due to a lack of an accessible stop watch, they often would just complete a page without timing it. The absence of the timing didn’t seem to affect their completion. From an educational standpoint, the grouping of the factors in a wheel format is an added visual benefit that can aid in memorization and recall. It felt like something I wished we could have started with when they were first learning math facts. There are several great resources in the back of each book that we didn’t use much of yet because we weren’t in the thick of school yet, but it’s great to have them on hand. As my son gets further into fractions and decimals, it could be helpful to have a visual chart to reinforce concepts. Since neither of the kids were significantly struggling in this area, I can’t speak for more sever situations. However, I suspect this could be a fun daily practice and evaluation for a struggler, even if only one wheel a day was completed.

The Speed Wheel Drills books from Math Essentials are perfect for a morning warm-up and a steady evaluation of students’ skills over the school year.

Looking for feedback from students at a different level? Check out the rest of the Crew’s reviews through the link below.