| Boy, over the years, I’ve gotten tons of emails from stressed out parents who could just not get their kids to learn their times tables! There are definitely some key things I need to tell you about before you jump into our times tables lessons, etc.
First of all, they are REALLY going to need to know their times tables — REEEALLY well! I cannot stress this enough!  Hey, I have college students who do not know their times tables… Let’s put an end to that right now.
There are two places in elementary school math where we lose kids: long division and fractions. Long division hits first… During one problem, they’ll have to divide, multiply and subtract several times. Without knowing those times tables off the top of their heads, this will seem like an impossible task. I’ve had many, many college kids tell me that long division is what turned them into a life-long math-hater… Until I got a hold of them and changed their minds, of course!
Now, did you notice that I talked about multiplying AND dividing in that last paragraph? That’s because they go hand in hand. They go together like ramma-lamma-lamma-a-diggity-diggity-dong! (Sorry for slipping into a song from Grease there!) Please teach the times tables for multiplication and division at the same time!! (See my lesson on “What Numbers Go Together.”
Here’s another important thing and something parents ask me about a lot:
“My child just can’t seem to remember her times tables. She doesn’t seem to UNDERSTAND them.”
Understanding…. Ah… Trust me on this one. The reason your child cannot remember that  7 x 8 = 56  is NOT because of a lack of understanding, it’s because he/she just hasn’t memorized that one yet!!
Whatever you may hear flying around the elementary schools these days, memorization is NOT a dirty word. Yes, definitely have your child understand what multiplication and division means (I’ve got lessons on it). But after that, it’s all about memorizing those puppies. What comes to your mind when you see the numbers 6 and 7? The numbers 13 and 42 should pop right up and it should for them too!
Really, I think that drawing all those set bubbles for big numbers like 8×9=72 is just a lot of busy work. Stick with smaller numbers for these!
Enjoy!!
— Coolmath Karen |
