🏔️ Math Mountain · Fluency

Mental Math in kindergarten to grade 5

Solving without writing — the strategies behind quick answers. Daily Academy tracks it as its own skill, separately from the 9 others in math mountain, so it can never be averaged away by a subject score.

Check it tonight

“What’s 39 + 24 — without writing it down?” Ask what they did.

What to watch for

Trying to picture the written algorithm in their head. That is not mental math, it is the slow method with no paper.

Real mental math questions from the library

3 activities currently target this skill. These are actual questions, shown at the difficulty they are served at, with the explanation a child sees after answering.

Difficulty 2.2 — mid grade 2
30 + 40 = ?
Explanation: 3 tens plus 4 tens is 7 tens, which is 70.
Difficulty 2.2 — mid grade 2
56 + 10 = ?
Explanation: Adding ten only changes the tens digit: 56 → 66.
Difficulty 2.2 — mid grade 2
Which pair makes 100?
Explanation: 70 + 30 = 100. Number pairs that make 100 are worth memorising.

The other 9 skills in Math Mountain

Each one is estimated separately, which is what lets the parent dashboard name a specific gap rather than report a subject average.

Number Sense“What does the 4 in 438 actually mean?”Addition“What’s 8 + 6?” — listen for a retrieved answer, not a count.Subtraction“What’s 42 − 17?” Then: “what did you borrow, and what was it worth?”Multiplication“Draw me six sevens.” An array or six groups, not a recited chant.Division“Share 12 among 3” and “how many 3s fit into 12?” Both should be easy.Fractions“Which is bigger, 3/8 or 5/8 — and how do you know?”Word ProblemsRead a problem aloud, then: “what is it asking you to find?” — before any calculating.Measurement“Would you measure this room in centimetres or metres? Why?”Time & Money“It’s 2:40. What time is it in 35 minutes?”

Common questions

How do I know if my child has mental math secure?

“What’s 39 + 24 — without writing it down?” Ask what they did. Trying to picture the written algorithm in their head. That is not mental math, it is the slow method with no paper.

Which grade is mental math taught in?

It appears in both. Daily Academy does not gate skills by year group — a child is placed on a continuous difficulty scale during a five-minute intake, and mental math is then served at whatever level they are actually at, adjusted separately from every other skill.

Practice by grade

Grade 2 math practiceWhat grade 2 math covers in Canada, where children usually get stuck, and 10 minutes a day of adaptive practice in addition, subtraction, fractions, time and money.Grade 3 math practiceWhat grade 3 math covers in Canada, why word problems are the usual sticking point, and 10 minutes a day of adaptive practice in multiplication, division, fractions and time.Grade 1 math practiceWhat grade 1 math covers in Canada, why counting on fingers is fine and then suddenly is not, and 10 minutes a day of adaptive practice in numbers to 20, shapes, measuring and coins.Grade 4 math practiceWhat grade 4 math covers in Canada, why fractions are the year that decides secondary math, and 10 minutes a day of adaptive practice in multiplication, division, fractions, decimals and area.Grade 5 math practiceWhat grade 5 math covers in Canada — fractions with unlike denominators, decimals, percentages and volume — and 10 minutes a day of adaptive practice with the reasoning behind each answer.Kindergarten math activitiesWhat kindergarten math covers in Canada — counting to 10, more and fewer, first adding and taking away, shapes — with every question read aloud so a child who cannot read yet can do it alone.

See where your child stands on mental math

A five-minute intake places them on a continuous scale, and the skill map shows every skill separately from the first week. The daily mission is free.

Start free See the parent dashboard