Learning the times tables is good brain exercise. Multiplication is, of course, the inverse of division, so all the above applies to anything involving quick division. Division, the other side of a rather useful coin. Knowing the times tables aids in in recognising patterns, a vital skill that is applied throughout higher level problem solving. It teaches children to recognise patterns. This means, unfortunately, that should a child struggle with multiplication in primary school, they’re likely to fall behind in secondary school. They’re the base upon which more complicated maths concepts are taught. Times tables are the basic building blocks of maths. We’ve listed just a few benefits below: 1. Turns out, knowing 2 x 2 = 4 is actually all kinds of useful. Why? We just assume they’re important, but are they really? Are they possibly just an ancient form of torture passed down from generation to generation, or is knowing the 8 times table actually a good thing? Hang on, what are calculators for?īefore you think you’ve discovered a conspiracy and you can now instead focus on turning little Judy into a Youtube star… you’re unfortunately not off the hook just yet. We feel under pressure to make sure our kids know them. We’ve all been told we need to know the times tables. Additional tips on learning the times tables.Use the Power of Story – numbers going on a journey Entertaining ways to practice times tables.Drilling, not for oil, but for multiplication mastery. Not-so fun ways to learn the times tables.The best order in which to learn the multiplication tables.Knowing the multiplication tables frees up brain space. Knowing your multiplication tables is VERY useful. I hope that these resources make it a little more fun for you and your family. Multiplication is not always the most enjoyable subject to learn or teach. We listen through our Apple Music subscription, so again, this doesn’t cost us anything extra to try. For kids like that, the Multiplication Nation album from The Rappin’ Mathematician is terrific-the songs are easy to remember, and the sound is more current than the Schoolhouse Rock options. One of my kids learns best by listening rather than by reading and writing. These song-and-cartoon videos were made in the early 1970s, so you might find their style and content a bit… dated?īut the songs themselves are catchy and they’re streaming on Disney+ right now, so if you already have a subscription, this won’t cost you anything extra to try. My nine-year-old and twelve-year-old are super into games, so finally trying this one out was a big win. Most math games seem to throw in multiplication facts as the boring thing you have to do in order to get through the game, sort of the eat-your-broccoli-before-dessert method.īut in Prime Climb, the math is built into the strategy of the game, and color-coding helps to guide younger kids who don’t yet know their math facts. If I understood how helpful it was going to be for teaching times tables, I would have gone for it much sooner. I probably looked at this math game one zillion times before bringing it home. For more than one kid to use them, you would need more than one set. The only trouble with these is that each set is intended for just one kid to use at a time-all the way from beginning to mastery. It’s a clever system, and pretty painless. For one thing, these show times tables math facts visually (afflinks), not only as equations.Īnd for another, these include a method for moving through the cards in an order that helps kids practice just the facts they don’t know until they stick. Here’s what we’re using to help teach times tables in the meantime: (Ah, the joys of high school math!) Having multiplication facts at her fingertips then will make life infinitely easier. She doesn’t really care about memorization at all.īut I also know that one day, eventually, she’s going to want to work with quadratic equations or find the sum of a geometric series. She’s willing to add it up, or to count by fours, or to use a model to work it out. It’s always the sixes, sevens, and eights that give us trouble around here!Īnd I know, I know, my nine-year-old doesn’t mind figuring out what 8 x 4 is every time. There are so many ways to learn the concept of times tables/multiplication facts-maybe you’ll share your favorite methods with us in the comments?! But no matter how you learn, at some point you just want to know that 6 x 7 is 42. It’s open through this Friday, and I’ll walk with you live to design a homeschool you love! 4 Tools for Teaching Times Tables at Home ~Ī note from Jamie: If you feel discouraged by your homeschool right now, please check out my course, Homeschooling with Purpose.
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