CalcuPaks / Calculadders

These are great - painless, quick, easy to take and good for you - no wonder they're called "Learning Vitamins." These are designed to get the brain working quickly and automatically - a must before going into higher-level math! We have seen marked improvement in our children's computational speed and skill after using these. Advantages over other drill sheets we've seen (and used) are the sheer variety in the sheets and the incremental level of difficulty from one sheet to the next. Cute graphics "grow" up the margins of the page as students progress, adding to the visual appeal, and an appropriate scripture verse is a definite plus (if you're drilling several students, the ones who finish ahead can meditate on something worthwhile!).

Originally printed as a workbook with 12 copies of 16 individual master worksheets, students completed one page each day until they reached the target speed. Then, they moved on to the next worksheet and repeated the process. The target speed might be reached after completing two or three worksheets or it might take a student the entire 12 to reach the speed goal. Although the print versions of the Calculadders have gone out of print, the publisher has transitioned their successful drill program to either a computer-based option (CalcuPaks) or the Super-Slate (an interesting and somewhat uniquely designed re-mark system) that uses a single master copy of each drill sheet.

Calculadders have six levels which take the student through basic math - addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, telling time, fractions, percents, and decimals. These roughly correspond to elementary grade levels but can be used whenever needed. ReadyWriter provides practice in basic letter strokes and would be used prior to a formal handwriting program. AlphaBetter helps students speed up their alphabitizing skills.