Multiplication Drill Sheet
Is your child having a hard time remembering the multiplication table? These tips might help them memorize their times table easily. Read on…
One of the most daunting task in primary school is to memorize the multiplication table. Mastery of the times table comes handy in more complex math topics taught in school and is very useful in everyday living. Those who got overwhelmed in memorizing their tables find math (in general) as a challenge. Here are some of the things we did that could help your child in memorizing the multiplication table:
Put up visuals for familiarization
Most kids are visual, well, my kids are. They learn more by seeing. What we did was to post the multiplication table on the wall where they can see them. We would encourage them to recite the number table by reading it every day. At first we would read it with them, then, we encouraged them to read it on their own. Our goal here is to familiarize them with the set of numbers so that they won’t be intimidated by it.
Tip: Have a schedule on when to do it and be consistent, focus on one number table at a time.
Skip Count with a tune for retention
Kids learn song lyrics easily, why not weave skip counting to some tunes that they are familiar with? We skipped count 6s to the tune of “Bahay Kubo”, 4s to the tune of “Row, row, row, your Boat” and 2s to the tune of “How Bad can I be?” from the movie The Lorax. Nowadays skip counting songs are available online, these would greatly help your children memorize their multiplication table.
Tip: Make your kids listen to the skip count songs over and over. Play it as background music while they are playing or doing other stuff and in no time they will absorb it, just make sure the lyrics are very clear to avoid confusion.
Flash Cards for instant recall
Given that my kids are visual, the flash cards helped them grasp it more. At first they used skip counting to compute but seeing the multiplication number combination in the flash cards over and over made them recall the answer instantly. Repetition would make the recall somewhat automatic, when 7×3 is flashed, they would automatically answer 21 since they saw it repeatedly in the flashcards.
Tip: To make it more fun, play games with prizes using the flashcards.
Drill Sheets for reinforcement
These written exercises help to reinforce their knowledge in multiplication. On vacations we would print out a number of multiplication drill sheets for them to answer. They would have a schedule on when to answer them. By doing this over and over they became more comfortable with their multiplication skills and it gave their math confidence a big boost. There are a lot of free drill sheets available online for download.
Tip: If you have more than one child, make them check each other’s paper to further sharpen their multiplication skills.
Multiplication Games for supplement
There are tons of online games and apps that could help your child learn the times table. Using gadgets promotes independent learning; they can do this without our assistance. It also makes learning fun for the younger generation.
Tip: Make an arrangement with your children that they have to play the multiplication game first before playing any other game.
Hope these ideas will help you and your child in memorizing the multiplication table. Please do not expect that they will master it in a week’s or even a month’s time. Each person learns differently, cut them some slack if they forget or get confused, even us adults get confused sometimes though we’ve been using the tables for decades haha! Remember, always enjoy and have fun while learning with your kids. Thanks for reading, wish you’d visit again!