Apparently learning your times tables can be a lot of fun! Our daughters are currently learning theirs, and we've found they actually enjoy reciting them and trying to remember them if we use rhythm.
Combining saying your times tables with some kind of rhythm and exercise seems to be the most fun combination.
A few weeks ago, I was walking up a local hilly walking track with the girls, while Dad ran around a bigger track. They started to get tired, and began to drag their feet and want to stop, so in an attempt to take their mind of walking, I suggested brightly we see if we could remember our 2 times tables. To my delight, they took up the challenge, and as we walked up endless steps, we chanted the tables to the rhythm of our stepping. Everyone we passed noticed our strange 'walking song' and smiled and encouraged the girls on.
I've since taken to 'challenging' the girls to see if they can tell me their times tables on the swings when we go to the park - in the rhythm of swinging backwards and forwards, and also while bouncing on our mini trampoline. They mix their times tables in with other rhymes and songs they have learnt.
Of course this is great, but they do need more practice than just reciting them in order. So I've been looking online for some multiplication games and have found a fantastic site called Multiplication.com
It has lots of different multiplication games, like for example the fashion girls game, where you
'win' more clothes for the girls each time you get a multiplication right. There are so many more too - detective games, multi- player races, granny racing!! I do recommend having a look.
How have you made times tables fun for your kids? How do you remember learning them when you were a kid?
NB: The recommendation for the website games is just my own personal opinion - I've not been paid or rewarded in any way for it!
