This is what a solved subtraction problem looks like using the technique my second grader is learning.

At first she was drawing all sixty squares. I talked her into drawing tens as long rectangles.

A page of homework is 20 problems. Each problem takes 3-5 minutes. She also has writing and reading.

To fight the tedium, we used legos one day and a whiteboard another.

But the teacher likes to see the written squares to confirm the kids understand. So while making things physical makes it more fun it only adds time.

I know she’s drifting when she starts climbing the table or erases mistakes until the paper rips.

Any constructive advice?