The workbook ran out of problems, but the skill isn't solid yet. What do I do next?

When the workbook runs out before the skill is solid, make more problems in the same model the lesson used. Five a day is plenty. Ask them for a few minutes, stop while your child still finds it clear, and do it again tomorrow. You don't need a new book or a second program. You need a few more problems that look just like the ones already done.

Why the book runs out first

A workbook is written for a typical pace. It teaches a skill, gives a page or two of practice, and moves on. Many children are ready to move on. Some understood the lesson on Tuesday and lost it by Thursday's mixed page. That child doesn't need a new explanation. They need a few more tries at the same thing, in the same pictures, until it comes easily.

Reaching for a different program usually makes this harder. A new book teaches its own way, and your child ends up holding two methods for one skill. More of the same is the quieter fix. (We wrote more about this in how to get extra practice without a second program.)

Tonight: five problems in the same model

1. Find the misses. Look back at the pages your child already finished. Circle two or three problems they got wrong or had to think hard about. Those are your starting point.

2. Change one number. Copy each missed problem and change one number, keeping the same model the book used. Then add a couple more the same way until you have five.

For subtraction with renaming, if the book had 52 − 17, you might write:

• 53 − 17 = 36
• 52 − 18 = 34
• 62 − 17 = 45
• 52 − 26 = 26
• 42 − 17 = 25

Every one of these needs renaming, because the ones digit on top is smaller. If the lesson used place-value discs, have your child show 53 as 5 tens and 3 ones, then trade 1 ten for 10 ones to get 4 tens and 13 ones. Now 13 − 7 is 6 and 4 − 1 is 3, so the answer is 36.

For a times-table row, if the 7s page is used up, ask five facts from that row in a new order, such as 7 × 3, 7 × 6, 7 × 4, 7 × 8 and 7 × 7. Use the same picture the book used, like an array of dots or skip counting by 7s.

3. Ask, then stop. Work through the five together. Let your child talk through the picture before the answer. When all five are done, stop, even if it went well. Stopping while it's still clear is what makes tomorrow easy to start.

The rest of the week

Do this for a few minutes a day. Start each day with the problem that gave the most trouble yesterday, then write a fresh five with one number changed. Short and daily works better than one long session on the weekend. If you're wondering how short is short enough, see how long times tables practice should be each day.

If you'd rather not write the problems yourself, Extra Practice in Founding Scholar lets you pick a grade band and one stuck skill, then gives a short set of calm problems drawn as discs, number bonds, bar models or ten-frames.

How you'll know it's solid

Your child starts the problem without asking how. The picture shows up on its own, or they skip it because they don't need it anymore. When two or three days in a row go by with all five done calmly, the skill is ready. Let the book move on, and come back for a quick five later in the week if it starts to slip.

A calm way to practice facts

For a times-table row that needs a few more reps, try Flash Cards for free.