[blindkid] subtracting in Nemeth braille

[Joy Orton]

Dear Friends,
Our third grader is doing subtraction with two and three digit numbers and
some borrowing. In print, the number is crossed out and a new digit written
in above it. In nemeth, you have to use a "start cancelling" sign and a
"stop cancelling" sign before and after each digit to be changed. I know
this takes lots of paper.

Right now our daughter is doing subtractions problems in her head.
Occasionally she gets mixed up, so the answer "21" might turn into "12." She
knows her math facts, but two and three digit numbers are a lot to keep up
with. She has been introduced to the "long" way to do it in Nemeth, but she
does not seem comfortable with it. (Honestly right now she is missing no
more than one in 10 of this kind of problem. Maybe I'm hyper-sensitive.)

I don't know if her teachers are emphasizing writing it out. I know right
now it's not a big deal, but I think it will be important in the future to
have the skill of cancelling a digit or expression. I can think of reducing
fractions as an example of when it is needed.

How have you dealt with this situation?
1. How much do I need to emphasize it?
2. How can I encourage the teachers and transcriptionist to help her work on
it?

A related question: Is there an easy to read Nemeth guide or "cheat sheet"
like the alphabet and contraction sheet? I have a 255 page binder from BANA
with the whole code and all the rules, but it is hard to find what I want.

Thanks for your help!
Joy Orton