Help Your Child Learn Multiplication Facts

 

School House Rock: Multiplication Rock – Do you remember these songs from long ago?  Kids still like them today!  You can check these out from the library, watch them on youtube, or buy them.  

Skip Counting – Practice skip counting anytime you are waiting for something or riding in the car.  Have your child start with 2 and count 2, 4, 6, …  Take turns saying numbers or have siblings join in to help.  Then move on to harder numbers.  If your child likes to compete against himself, time how long it takes him to say the first twelve multiples, then see if he can beat his own time. 

Make arrays – Do you have legos or other building blocks around the house?  These are great for arrays.  Just look at the top of them.  Show your child that 2 by 4 equals 8 and 4 by 2 equals 8.  You can also use the building blocks to create arrays.  Give your child 24 blocks.  Ask her to make all of the arrays possible with the 24 blocks.  If she needs help, show here that you can build 1 x 24, 24 x 1, 2 x 12, 12 x 2, 3 x 8, 8 x 3, 4 x 6, and 6 x 4.

Play Games – My son loves it when he is allowed to play a game on the computer.  He doesn’t realize that he’s also learning at the same time!  His favorite CD-ROM game is Math Blaster.  On the Internet he enjoys playing Fun 4 the Brain.   

Flash Cards – This is not my son’s favorite math activity, but we try to make it fun.  I made my own flash cards on blank index cards.  We study one fact family at a time.  As he memorizes each family, we add that family to the rest and do a review.  Then we move on to the next fact family.  There are also printable flashcards here. 

 

  

What do you use to teach multiplication facts and encourage memorization?