Energy and enthusiasm are very important for both of you. Turn off your cell phone(s), TV, and sit down at the dinner table with some munchies and attack those numbers.
If your child is unfamiliar with multiplying, put it in terms of adding. That is, 4x3 is 4+4+4. Ask your child to bring you their math book and any resources they’ve been given. You’ll be able to see exactly what they are studying and the teaching method used in their school. Have a chart or number line handy showing the numbers 0 through 100. A chart will give you the answers by correlating the row with the column. A chart is better for those just starting off as the answers are quicker to find. A number line is a bit more work. You can have your child circle the multiples of a certain number in pencil or code each number and its multiples with different colors.
After your child has mastered 0-3, move onto 4-7, and then 8-10. If you want to go above and beyond, work with 11 and 12, too. Some teachers will include a few harder problems for a bonus or to gauge where each child is at.
All the multiples of ten end in zero. All the multiples of 5 end in either 5 or 0 and are half as large as the multiples of ten. (10x5=50; 5x5=25, or half of 50) Any number x 0 is still 0. No matter what.
To memorize the 9’s tables, use your fingers. Spread them all in front of you, palms down. For 9x1, put your left pinky down. What do you have showing? 9. For 9x2, put your second finger down (the left ring finger). What do you have showing? 1 and 8. 18. Put your third finger down–2 and 7. 27. This works all the way up to 9x9 (8 and 1. 81). If your child can double a number, the x4’s will be easy. Just double the number and double it again! Take 6x4. 6 doubled is 12. 12 doubled is 24. 6x4=24. Use this to make the answer become automatic. Again, this is about memorizing. To multiply anything by 11, just duplicate the number. 3x11=33. Two 3’s. 4x11=44. Two 4’s. The answer is in the question, just twice. If your child is a math genius, teach them this trick to multiply 11’s by double digit numbers. Take the double digit number and split it up. 11 by 17 is 1_7. Add the double digit number together and put it in the middle: 187.
At the beginning, start in order. As you get more and more convinced that they have it down, start mixing it up. They’ll slow down initially but then should spark right back up to where they were.
Have your child make a set of flash cards. Write the problem, like 4 x 9, on the front and the answer, 36, on the back. The act of writing out the multiples will provide another repetition/reinforcement. Use a timer to see how many cards they can go through in a minute. Can they beat that score tomorrow? You could also do this with a blank chart. That’s an easy way to monitor which ones they’re struggling with. Grab a deck of cards. This game is similar to War, but with multiplication. You each get half the deck to place face down in front of you–don’t look at the cards! Each player flips their first card simultaneously–the first person to say the answer based on the two numbers gets both cards (the object of the game is to win them all). If the two of you flip a 7 and a 5, the answer to shout out is 35. For Jacks, Queens, and Kings, you can use 11, 12, and 13, use them as 0’s, or take them out entirely. Say a number, like 30. Can they list all of the possible combinations that multiply to it? 5 x 6? 3 x 10? Say a number, then ask for the next multiple. For example, start at 30 and ask for the next multiple of 6. Or start at 18 and ask for the next two multiples of 9. You could even start at 22 and ask for the next multiple of 4, even though 22 is not a multiple of 4. Be tricky once they have it. Try multiplication bingo. Your child fills in a six-by-six grid with whatever numbers they want. You read off a problem like “5 x 7. " If they have 35 on their bingo card, then they mark it off. Continue until someone has a “bingo. " What’s the prize they could win?
Save the big rewards for school tests. Once they can perform under pressure, you know you’ve been successful.
If they’re going slower than you think they should, relax. Negativity may make them shut down. A bad mood can kill any learning ability. Encourage them to press on.
After a break, quickly review what they’ve already learned before moving onto new facts.
Of course, it’s possible to write out quizzes yourself and you’re more than welcome to do this–but simply being on a computer may make your child feel like it’s less of a test and more of a fun challenge.
It’s always an option to call the teacher and inquire about the curriculum. An involved parent is always appreciated.
