What worked for your kids for X facts memorization?

[Annie Laurie]

Computer programs? Songs? Filling in a table every day? I'll take any and all ideas for multiplication facts memorization.

 

Thanks!

[charlotteb]

Both of my kids did really well with the Math-u-See skip counting CD. But be warned... the tunes are very catchy and you won't be able to get them out of your head :)

[MtnTeaching]

Times Tales! After months of trying to learn her facts, my daughter learned her times tables in one day. We review every once in a while and a year later she still has no problem remembering them. (I even used them to help me remember a few I have always had a hard time recalling).

 

www.timestales.com

[Kirstin]

http://www.littlegiantsteps.com/blog/category/math-in-minutes-rapid-recall/

 

Select whether you want addition, Subtraction, Multiplication or Division. This is a super system. Enjoy!

http://www.littlegiantsteps.com/xcart/product.php?productid=1390&cat=71&page=2

 

Oh and we also got the flashmaster. THey make a great pair.

http://www.flashmaster.com/

[kgreenaz]

My 7yo just knows them. He's crazy like that. :001_smile:

 

My 7yo is a big picture guy. Has trouble with visual memory. So flashcards don't work. LOVES Times Tales and Timez Attack computer game. The computer game, however, is geared towards boys, I believe. It's all about dragons and creatures and defeating them. But it helps to learn and reinforce the facts.

 

Bought one of those "machines" that you push the button and the answer is on the front of the button. Worked for about two minutes until they learned the pattern of the numbers on the front of the buttons. Very frustrating because they weren't cheap!

 

If your kid is not visual, flashcards won't work well. Even my auditory boy didn't like the songs. But TT works so well for him, it's scary.

 

HTH!! Kim

[Suzannah]

Well, skip counting worked at first. But then somewhere along the way he needed a re-fresher and we found Math Magician

 

http://resources.oswego.org/games/mathmagician/cathymath.html

 

As well as a number of other free online math sources (Cool Math Games was one of them, but if you do a Google search you can find others.) If I remember correctly, Math Magician allows you to print a certificate each time you master a table and then again for the full tables. This was a huge motivator and confidence booster for DS.

 

We are currently taking advantage of the free 1-month trial for homeschoolers for ALEKS.com to shore up math before beginning algebra. Since we recommended two other people who might wish to use it we got a second free month. We're mainly working on decimals and percents, probability, etc. But there's something called Quicktables that drills facts and has games for rewards.

 

There's also a Times Attack which a friend of mine highly recommended but we had trouble getting the demo to work on our computer at the time so we didn't spring for the paid version. You can get a break on the paid version if you recommend someone else too.

 

http://www.bigbrainz.com/

[5parkers]

This is not a very exciting approach, but my son is a visual learner- so everyday (almost!) he writes out a times table- 9 x 1= 9, 9 x 2= 18, etc. or I just have him write out counting by 9's- 9, 18, 24, etc. He writes them on paper, he writes them on the dry erase board, he writes them in different colors. Nothing fancy- but it sticks them in his head and he is remembering his facts! :)

[Nestof3]

Times Tales have helped, but some of the stories aren't easy to remember. I think they could have done a better job with the stories. They should all be in the same order so that it's always _ x _ = _ _. If you see the stories, you'll know what I mean.

 

The Flashmaster has helped too.

[Karis]

Computer programs? Songs? Filling in a table every day? I'll take any and all ideas for multiplication facts memorization.

 

Thanks!

 

 

Facts First

 

Saxon supplement, I thiink.

 

www.FactsFirst.com

[ncmom2dawters]

Times Tales worked for us :)

 

Addition for Fun also has a multiplication resource like Times Tales.

[merry gardens]

Computer programs? Songs? Filling in a table every day? I'll take any and all ideas for multiplication facts memorization.

 

Thanks!

http://www.multiplication.com/order.htm

Memorize in Minutes

My son with dyslexia typically has problems with memorizing, so when I found this book I decided to try it. It worked great! He knows all his multiplication facts.

[PeterPan]

I finally just gave my dd a multiplication table in a page protector and moved on. We've done lots of drill, but she just needed to SEE them a lot.

[Nestof3]

I did this for Nathan as well. It helped him too. Now that he knows them, I use Flashmaster for speed.

 

I finally just gave my dd a multiplication table in a page protector and moved on. We've done lots of drill, but she just needed to SEE them a lot.

[Denainms]

This is not a very exciting approach, but my son is a visual learner- so everyday (almost!) he writes out a times table- 9 x 1= 9, 9 x 2= 18, etc. or I just have him write out counting by 9's- 9, 18, 24, etc. He writes them on paper, he writes them on the dry erase board, he writes them in different colors. Nothing fancy- but it sticks them in his head and he is remembering his facts! :)

 

This is pretty much how we do it, I have tried Times Tales and Skip counting cd, doesn't click. This method is starting to stick.

 

Right now I am trying bribery! :lol: If he memorizes them all by June 1st, he gets the new Wii game he wants, we will see how bad he really wants it.

[AHASRADA]

http://www.multiplication.com/order.htm

Memorize in Minutes

My son with dyslexia typically has problems with memorizing, so when I found this book I decided to try it. It worked great! He knows all his multiplication facts.

 

:iagree:!!

 

I tried Times Tales, which is similar in that it uses stories as mnemonic devices to help the child remember the facts. Unfortunately, Times Tales only has stories for the upper facts, and we could never get that far with only memorizing. "Memorize in Minutes" has stories for all the facts.

 

Both of my dc were very successful with this. In fact, I was never able to memorize all of the facts, either. Even in HS, I would have to start at a fact I knew, like 6x6, and count up on my fingers. It was awful! Now I even use the stories in my own head to correct my dc's work!

 

You will need to give them timed tests to work on speed, and eventually the facts will become automated. However, the stories are extremely helpful and empowering, since the child has something to search for in his mind when trying to think of the answer, instead of just a jumble of numbers.

 

HTH,

[NanceXToo]

I'm glad I read this thread. I just ordered Times Tales based on these reviews (and others I subsequently looked up online after reading this thread). I'm going to do it with my 9 y/o this summer. We've only got less than four weeks left of our OM 4 curriculum, so in the summer between grades I'm going to give this a shot. I hope it works!

 

Until now, we've tried flash cards, going very gradually- like only introducing one times table every two weeks...we'd do the two times tables in order one week, out of order the next. Then we'd go to the three times tables and do the same with that. And so on. It was my hope that if we did it very gradually like that, she'd retain it better. But nope, she still can't remember a lot of them or forgets ones I thought she already knew (even though we'd do a periodic review in between).

 

She also plays games pretty often on multiplication.com. We also have a multiplication tables chart hanging on our wall. We've also occasionally made up our own multiplication games. But most of it just doesn't seem to really stick.

 

And I will say that it never really did for me either- a lot of them I have memorized but there are quite a few I don't and like another poster said, I have to go to an easy one like 6X6 and then count up from there to figure out 6X7 quickly, for example.

 

So I've got my fingers crossed that this will help it stick for both of us :D We'll see!

 

P.S. I also downloaded the free version of timez attack after reading this thread and will encourage her to start playing that- she likes those kinds of things even though most people said it was boyish.

 

So wish us luck that these things help :D I would really love for her to have the times tables down pat before we move on to fifth grade!

[Annie Laurie]

This is not a very exciting approach, but my son is a visual learner- so everyday (almost!) he writes out a times table- 9 x 1= 9, 9 x 2= 18, etc. or I just have him write out counting by 9's- 9, 18, 24, etc. He writes them on paper, he writes them on the dry erase board, he writes them in different colors. Nothing fancy- but it sticks them in his head and he is remembering his facts! :)

 

I finally just gave my dd a multiplication table in a page protector and moved on. We've done lots of drill, but she just needed to SEE them a lot.

 

I think I will try this first and see how it goes, since it's free. I also have a Flashmaster but everyone hates it. Oh well, I guess it doesn't have to be fun in this case, it just needs to get done.

 

But I'm saving this thread to refer to if we need something more, there are some great links here, thanks so much! The Facts First program looks like something my kids would really like.

Edited April 28, 2010 by Annie Laurie

[Mom-ninja.]

Skip counting!

[2_girls_mommy]

We use Rod and Staff math, so the drill is written into the directions. But basically, I make a chart of whichever we are currently learning (right now we are up to the 8's, so the chart has all of the Xs up to the 8s.) Daily she recites the facts while looking at the chart. Daily she does 2 min. of flashcards with all of the facts mixed up. Every other day or so we count by 8's, using the chart. After a couple of weeks of this, she is told to recite the 8Xs without the chart. If she hasn't quite got it yet, I might let her do it once looking, then put it up and have her do it w/out looking.

 

The daily drill does the trick. Not exciting, but gets the job done.

[Medieval Mom]

Schoolhouse Rock has a few multiplication songs, too ;)

[Night Elf]

My dd12 had trouble with her times tables when she was first learning them. We tried several methods and she just wasn't ready. We dropped it for a few months, focusing on other math skills. When we came back to it, simple flashcards were all she needed.

 

Funny timing. She's hit a wall with negative numbers and we're going to stop focusing so heavily on them and instead go back to basic math skills for a bit. I suppose my child is a hurry up and stop kind of learner. :)