At what age did your child know his times tables to 12 "cold"?

[Halcyon]

And if your child doesn't know his/her times tables cold yet, please post your plan, or when you THINK a child should know them.

[2_girls_mommy]

I didn't vote, since my 7 yr dd is still learning them. But I think by the end of 4th grade. That is my plan, mainly because I remember having to write a times table to 12 every day of my 4th grade year, so I plan to do the same. Also because we are using R&S math, which begins drilling them in 3rd. I figure between that and handwriting them every day in 4th, they should know them cold before the end of 4th grade (which would be ages 8 and 9 here, before 10 for sure.)

[Renee in NC]

My 11yo doesn't know them.

 

My 16yo knew them in the 7th grade, but he had a teacher that forced them to memorize through the 14s (and write them over and over again.)

[msjones]

My opinion is that kids will benefit from having have effortless recall of all the 'math facts' by the middle of 4th grade. I want my kids to know 8x7 the way they know the word 'and.' Lessons on reducing fractions, converting decimals to fractions, long division, finding a least common multiple, etc. are all extremely exhausting for kids who don't know their facts. And all of those lessons start in 4th grade.

 

I have had great success with our Flashmaster, and also the Right Start Math Games. My boys also benefited greatly from learning the Right Start strategies for the facts. We did not do plain old rote memorization; they first learned strategies for figuring out the facts, and only then did the drill begin.

 

Many of the students I have tutored have no strategies for math facts; they've simply been told to memorize them. As soon as I teach them strategies, they enjoy almost instant improvement! (I believe I've seen that improvement with each and every student with whom I've worked on math facts.)

 

I have also observed that it can take years of daily practice for some kids to develop effortless recall, and most parents want it much faster than that.

[ondreeuh]

My son can figure them out in a couple of seconds, and that is good enough for me. He's in 3rd grade and I figure that with continued use he will get quicker. He utilizes strategies that work - like if he forgets that 7x7=49, he will remember that 7x6=42 and add another 7. Or if he forgets 9x4=36, he will remember that 10 4s is 40 and mentally subtract a group of 4.

 

Should I really be worrying about it being instant?

[delaney]

3rd grade for all so far was the year they really drilled them

[texasmama]

My boys also benefited greatly from learning the Right Start strategies for the facts.

 

Where would I find these materials? I am not familiar with this program but am very interested in multiplication strategies. Thanks in advance. :)

[Carrie12345]

I honestly don't know when my son did, just that he learned them pretty fast. I'm assuming he must have been in 3rd grade.

 

My 7.5yo just started them "for real". She informed me that she had been working on them earlier in a random workbook we had around the house. I would like for her to have them down cold by the end of the school year, but I'll be happy if she can just figure them out quickly and work on memorizing them next year.

 

FTR, she's working a grade level above her age, so I'm not interested in pushing it all that hard right now.

[Ester Maria]

The older one in second grade, the younger one that same year in the first grade.

I always thought second grade was appropriate, I was taught them in the second grade as well.

[GailV]

I never learned them to 12 myself. We went to 10.

 

In organic chemistry, though, I learned the 16s, since that's the gram-atomic weight of oxygen :001_smile:

Edited February 8, 2010 by GailV

[MamaT]

All my kids learned them in 3rd grade. I used the printable flashcards from donnayoung.org. We drilled daily until they knew them without thinking. I think it's important because it slows them down when doing long division or multiplying by two-digit numbers or more if they don't know them really well.

[PollyOR]

5th grade is when it starts to click.

[Dmmetler]

My 5 yr old can skip count for most numbers, but we haven't started introducing the formal notation yet, since we're still working on 1A and that's towards the end of 1B. We're working pretty hard on getting addition and subtraction cold right now.

[Tree House Academy]

My 10 year old has them down "cold" after 2 years with CLE Math drills and flash cards. :)

[Tree House Academy]

All my kids learned them in 3rd grade. I used the printable flashcards from donnayoung.org. We drilled daily until they knew them without thinking. I think it's important because it slows them down when doing long division or multiplying by two-digit numbers or more if they don't know them really well.

 

 

I agree...and not only does it slow them down, it also give incorrect answers. Before my son had them down, he would often get 3/4 digit multiplication problems wrong...and they were always only off by a few numbers. Going over the problem, 9 times out of 10, it was ONE incorrect multiplication that got him. It is so very important to know those facts backwards and forwards.

[msjones]

Where would I find these materials? I am not familiar with this program but am very interested in multiplication strategies. Thanks in advance. :)

 

They are embedded in the teacher guides for Right Start. But, if you contact the author, she may be able to point you to another resource. Here's the link for her website: http://www.alabacus.com/

 

Good luck!

[Jennefer@SSA]

I agree...and not only does it slow them down, it also give incorrect answers. Before my son had them down, he would often get 3/4 digit multiplication problems wrong...and they were always only off by a few numbers. Going over the problem, 9 times out of 10, it was ONE incorrect multiplication that got him. It is so very important to know those facts backwards and forwards.

 

:iagree: This has been our experience as well. Ds8 will miss a long multi-step word problem because of one tiny error in multiplication (or even sometimes addition or subtraction). It is my responsibility b/c I have not taken the time to drill as consistently as I should have to make sure those facts are down pat! :blush: Now once I know that he knows those facts the way he should then the responsibility will be all his! ;)

 

ETA: We are finishing up with working through the subtraction facts this week and will begin multiplication in a few weeks. I am hoping that by the end of this year (3rd grade) he'll have them down automatically. :)

Edited February 8, 2010 by Jennefer@SSA