What's the best way to learn times tables?

[PasstheTwiglets]

It seems to have fallen to me to teach them to DD (not sure why they aren't doing them in school but that's another issue!)

What's the best way to learn them, do you think? Me telling her and her reciting them, parrot-fashion (that's how we used to do it at school), writing them down, listening to times-tables songs...? Also, DD's maths tutor has suggested she repeat the pattern (3, 6, 9, 12) instead of the sum (once three is three, two threes are 6, three threes are 9). But I can't imagine that you get a quick recall of a particular multiplication unless you say the actual sum, can you?

Creative Curriculum certainly isn't all about getting children to learn things themselves!

The only curriculum that is compulsory is the National Curriculum but it can be delivered in a creative way
www.teachingexpertise.com/articles/the-road-to-a-creative-curriculum-3134

Another vote for Percy Parker, particularly on days when we drove to school as a short blast in the car helped prepare dc1 for the tables test thay did each week.

Dc1 was fully competent up to 12 x 12 by Christmas of year 3 and I give 90% of the credit to old Percy, it was well worth shelling out £9.99 for.

We still fire tables questions at dc1 at random times and it causes much laughter but amazingly there is no memory loss they seem totally fixed in the brain as the answer always come back right.

We liked this CD

The songs are fun, and the different characters and voices help with differentiating each table in your memory.

We played it in the car a lot.