Math Cheat Sheet for Student notebook

I have kids at different levels in math. In theory, they are all completing the same level of math, but each child has different abilities. To help all of my kids excel in their math lessons I’ve put together a math cheat sheet to put in their student notebook. It’s a little Homeschool How-To that helps them excel and remember what they need to do.

(There are affiliate links in here, also my friend Samantha gave me a copy of her math cheat sheets to tell you about, but opinions are mine, anything that puts it all together and I don’t have to put together is good to my brain)

Hi, Future Ticia 2023 here, I’m updating with new logo, and making sure all of the links still work, I’ll add any comments I need to.

How I’m challenging my math kid

Each month I give my kids a challenge. I printed off the monthly calendar from over at Math Geek Mama (looks like it’s currently only in her membership site, but I’ll have an update on that in a few weeks). The idea behind it is to solve each day’s problem. But that is too easy in my mind.

Each day’s math problem is the number for the day (1-28 in February’s case). If I left the calendar all in one piece it wouldn’t take my kids long to figure out they just have to write out the numbers in order.

So I took the problems and cut them out. I give them an envelope with the problems, and they solve the problems and glue them on.

It’s great.

It really challenges my super math kid, and it’s one that I can help my less inclined math child with.

Similarly ideas like this: Math problems a day 4-8, Every Day of the School Year Problems (similar, but not the same, these are several problems for the day)

The math helps I’ve given them

A few months ago, Samantha over at Creative, Clever, and Classy put together a Math Cheat Sheets book. Most of it is pretty straightforward for them, but some were perfect for reminding them of stuff they don’t do so often.

Like geometry. None of their math curriculums have spent a significant amount of time covering it, so when they come up on those topics they have to look up formulas every time.

So, when a random child comes up to me with the “I don’t know how to do this question,” I first point them to look at the math cheat sheet book.

Usually, they’ll take a quick look at it and say, “Oh yeah, now I remember how to do that.”

Sometimes, they study the math cheat sheet for a bit and say, “Now I get it.”

If that still doesn’t do it, I’ll sit down with them and look at it again.

Math is a challenge in our house

I have one child who doesn’t really need help. Mainly this child charges ahead and has to be brought back to show his work so he can see where he got off in a step. This is my child who takes a quick glance at the math cheat sheet and says, “That’s right, I knew that.”

Then I have a child who enjoys math, but it’s not super his thing. He’s my child who studies the math cheat sheet for a minute and then says, “Now I remember. I’ve got it done.”

My final child, will look at the math cheat sheet and say, “This doesn’t make sense.” Once we start walking through it all step by step, then suddenly it all makes sense, and she’s impatient to finish up.

It really amuses me how different each child is.

Math Cheat Sheet

This has quick references for 4-8 grade students. A lot of the information is on our mini offices, but now that we’re up into junior high, the quick references and reminders they need are a little more than easily fit on there, so this is where our math cheat sheet is so helpful (I need to reprint my writing cheat sheets for two of my kids because they lost them, and a couple of times a week I’m reminding them of something they should be looking up there.).

I’m considering making a similar math reference book like our writer’s notebook, but I’m not sure how much use it would get long-term, so we might just stick with my current printed-out and bound with the binding machine.