Fun ways for a kid to work on multiplication tables over the summer

[Anonymous]

I would just do flashcards that you run through every morning at breakfast with your kid. What’s fun about timetables is knowing them cold. It won’t take that long to get there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kid (rising 4th grader) is struggling with recall of their times tables. They've learned them, and have tricks for remembering specific equations, but I'd say still about half of their multiplication tables require them to stop and either count or use a memory device to get to the correct answer.

I personally did not have my times tables down cold until 5th when I was a kid, so this seemed like no big deal to me, but my kid gets frustrated and says most other kids have faster recall and it means that problem sets and assignments take her a lot longer. She gets the right answer, but spends more time, and this is a source of frustration for her.

I wonder if there are any truly fun ways to work on this over the summer? Something we could do for 5 minutes a day or that she could do on her own maybe a few times a week? I don't want it to feel like just drilling the tables or doing sprints because I want her to get a true break over the summer (she has really earned it, she worked so hard this year) but I also don't want to set her up to feel this same frustrating, maybe increased, next year.

Would love specific recommendations for games or programs that could make this fun and not be a huge time commitment.

[Anonymous]

There are a ton of number blocks videos and songs as well.
https://youtu.be/JxvX-bytrUU?feature=shared

[Anonymous]

We practiced multiplication during dessert each night. The upside was that we had dessert every night for about a month. Totally got my kid engaged. She loves breaks in routines and thought the extra dessert was wild.

Anyway, during dessert I would tell her all of the answers to a particular table in a rhythmic sing song voice—e.g. 8x1 is 8. 8x 2 is 16. I would go through all of the 8s, pausing at the harder ones to have her repeat them back to me. Then, I would quiz her on the 8s. We would stick with the 8s for a few days and then move to the 9s. If she struggled or made a mistake I just told her the answer and had her repeat it back to me. There was zero pressure. She either knew it and could say it quickly or I gave her the answer and we would pause to try to get it to stick in her long term memory. Eventually I would quiz her on all of the tables. I didn’t make the lesson last longer than having dessert. Sometimes she’d get on a roll and beg for more questions and one more bite of whatever dessert was. She still asks for “math dessert” sometimes a few years later.

Some will think linking math and sweets is bad, but it worked for my kid and made the experience fun. We loved picking our new desserts for the game and tried a bunch of unusual ice cream flavors that summer!

My kid is an auditory learning. With a visual learner, I would do the same thing with flash cards. The dessert is the key part!!!

[Anonymous]

[Anonymous]

I STRONGLY encourage you to use screens. Pick an app, online game, etc., that will interest your child. The best way to memorize something is through repetition. Worksheets or flash cards can eventually get the job done, but they’re tedious and your child may be resistant. A game will provide instant feedback and will motivate the child to want to practice more, giving her the repetition she needs without it becoming a chore.

Here’s a thread that includes many tips and techniques for memorizing the times tables. It sounds like she already knows the strategies, though, and just requires repetition to become permanent and automatic.

https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/1255758.page

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I STRONGLY encourage you to use screens. Pick an app, online game, etc., that will interest your child. The best way to memorize something is through repetition. Worksheets or flash cards can eventually get the job done, but they’re tedious and your child may be resistant. A game will provide instant feedback and will motivate the child to want to practice more, giving her the repetition she needs without it becoming a chore.

Here’s a thread that includes many tips and techniques for memorizing the times tables. It sounds like she already knows the strategies, though, and just requires repetition to become permanent and automatic.

https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/1255758.page

Agree and as an elder millennial I remember drilling times tables on Math Blasters. This is one of the few use cases that Edtech is actually good for.

[Anonymous]

15 times table is also a good one to know by heart. 1-12 and then 15 are the most helpful. 15 comes up a lot.

[Anonymous]

YouTube songs. Start with 3’s and listen to it for a week. Then 3s and 4s for a week. Then 3s and 4s and 5s and so on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I STRONGLY encourage you to use screens. Pick an app, online game, etc., that will interest your child. The best way to memorize something is through repetition. Worksheets or flash cards can eventually get the job done, but they’re tedious and your child may be resistant. A game will provide instant feedback and will motivate the child to want to practice more, giving her the repetition she needs without it becoming a chore.

Here’s a thread that includes many tips and techniques for memorizing the times tables. It sounds like she already knows the strategies, though, and just requires repetition to become permanent and automatic.

https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/1255758.page

Agree and as an elder millennial I remember drilling times tables on Math Blasters. This is one of the few use cases that Edtech is actually good for.

I love Math Blaster. You can still find it free to play on a couple different websites (like the one from the 90s, not the more recent ones). I've had my rising first grader practice her addition and subtraction facts on there, and now that she's working multiplication I'll likely have her include multiplication, too.

Might also be worth drilling the squares through 144 or 169. That actually knocks out a handful of multiplication facts, and for whatever reason my daughter has been able to memorize those faster than any of the other facts.

[Anonymous]

I was very successful as a teacher teaching my students their times tables. You need to have flash cards for each set. Then you practice the 2s until she has them down cold. Then go on to the 3s. Do them out of order and work in previously mastered facts now and then. Keep going up the sets with flashcards until you’re done. Every time she finishes a set there is one less to learn in the next set, until she hits 12x12. You can keep track of which sets are mastered on a chart and put a sticker up or whatever. The thing about games and apps is that they will be all mixed up. That’s fine, but going set by set is the best way. Good luck.

[Anonymous]

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[Anonymous]

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=pop+fidget+multiplication&adgrpid=174314029839&hvadid=792711197984&hvdev=m&hvexpln=68&hvlocphy=1027258&hvnetw=g&hvocijid=15858545264848930865--&hvqmt=e&hvrand=15858545264848930865&hvtargid=kwd-1460386162724&hydadcr=27120_14954860&mcid=24062458930b3b3dba0d59c102d5ce70&tag=hydsma-20&ref=pd_sl_4xac7zurba_e_p68

[Anonymous]

Hello! Fourth grade math teacher here… this is my jam. 😀

Lots of great tips here. A few more things…

First, skip counting is a key foundational skill for multiplication. Don’t discourage your kiddo from using that for facts they don’t have down yet.

Also, here’s the order I suggest:
5s, 10s (they probably already know these - use these to build confidence and routines)
2s, then 4s
3s, then 6s
8s, then 12s
11s, 7s, 9s,

The 7/9s are the hardest for most people. Saving them for last means that most have them will have been learned already.

As you go, take the time (once the facts are firm) to also learn the inverse of each fact and the corresponding division facts. Triangular flashcards are great for this.

Good luck, OP!