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Primary education

Join our Primary Education forum to discuss starting school and helping your child get the most out of it.

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Original poster

Times Tables Help

15 replies

MrsScavo · 14/08/2007 11:08

I'd really like DS to know his times tables before he starts Year 4, but he seems to have lost all interest. Are there any websites or games out there to make them intereting?

OP posts:

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babygrand · 14/08/2007 11:15

You could try one of those tapes where they sing them - play it in the car?

LIZS · 14/08/2007 11:15

some here

chocolatedot · 14/08/2007 11:31

ELC has a card game and a DVD.

LIZS · 14/08/2007 11:31

Watch the elc ones , they don't go beyond 10x

Original poster

MrsScavo · 14/08/2007 11:39

Thanks guys! - we did play a CD in the car, but DS1 totally tuned out. (DS2, who's only 4 seemed to pick them up quite well though)

OP posts:

lljkk · 14/08/2007 15:53

Buy one of the number tables posters (sold in Waterstones, Ottakers, Woolworths). Put up somewhere he'll see it every day.

Original poster

MrsScavo · 14/08/2007 17:45

We've got a chart, adn he ignors it every day! I think this might be a case of you can lead a horse to water......

OP posts:

cylon · 16/08/2007 23:39

yes, say them in the car on the way somewheer. and dont get out to the activity until he knows the table.

MaureenMLove · 17/08/2007 00:10

In answer to the OP, there is NOTHING to make them interesting!!!! They are as boring as hell! You need to have several different methods for learning them imho. If you get the posters, they'll look at them for a week or two and then not bother, the tapes are fun for a fortnight, then they 'hear' them but don't 'listen', so you have to combine the two. Parott fashion over and over again is the only answer.

cylon · 17/08/2007 00:13

something funny about times tables.
people always know them in what ever language they originally learnt them in. no matter how sophisticated a person may look and sound. get themto say their timestables, andit will be in the local village dialect of whatever part of the world they were in then.
is really funny if you can get differnt people tosay them after a few drinks

MaureenMLove · 17/08/2007 00:21

Cylon! Is this your party trick! Where the hell did you get that golden nugget of info from! I will, of course, be testing your theory at my next social event!

cylon · 17/08/2007 00:28

it happened when ds was learning his timestables. dad started reciting them, but in a particular formof pounjabi spoken in his mountain village in the himalaysa. with the singsong lilting to it. i have very rarely heard him speaking this language. its usually english, the proper King's english, not the crap we all speak, or urdu occasionally. he is very sophisticated normally, so this was a revelation.
thereafter i got several other people to do it, and realised how common it is. completly hilarious.

jellybrain · 20/08/2007 21:55

try www.mathszone.co.uk click on number facts x/divide(sorry no symbol on the keyboard but, you the know the one I mean) then tyr Balloon Invaders. theres actually loads of links so there's bound to be something that appeals. DS s 10 & 7 love this it involves shooting at balloons with the answers to Times tables questions ... I couldn't believe how quick they were particularly ds 1 who has a bit of a block when it comes to maths! DH is a Y6 teacher and says he lets his class use it sometimes as its pretty good.

Good Luck

yetihed · 22/08/2007 19:08

Sounds like he may benefit from something a bit more active? You could try writing out the times table he needs to learn on bits of A4 paper and putting them on the floor, so he can jump from one to the next, shouting out the number as he does. Timing him to see if he can get faster may provide enough motivation to keep repeating it. Once he's got the hang, try mixing up the order to see if he can get it right, then put some incorrect numbers in to try to 'trick' him. At this stage, I wouldn't worry about the '3x4' bit, just the answers so all he's shouting is one number. I'm a teacher, and to be honest it sounds like he's got a bit anxious about it all- especially if he's seen his younger brother pick it up faster than he has. He's probably not switching off, just hiding the fact that he thinks he cant do it? I may be completely wrong, of course!

IcedCupCake · 23/08/2007 07:13

Here's a tip with mastering the 12 times table - my eight year old was struggling with these. As long as you know your 11 times table you're sorted, and they're pretty easy to get to grips with.
So 1x11=11 so.... 1x12=(11)+1=(12!)
2x11=22 so.... 2x12=(22)+2=(24)
3x11=33 so... 3x12=(33)+3=(36)
4x11=44 so add on 4 to this =(48)
5x11=55 add on 5 to this =60!!
and so on and so on!
Can you see this pattern? I am sure there is a much better why of explaining this, but it's late here and I've had a long day! My DS was extremely excited to have been shown this method as he could now master the 12 times table. It gave him the confidence to go for it. (PS it took me a while to grasp the concept, so if you're struggling yourself, rest assured you're not alone!) Anyway thought I'd pass this one on, as it could be of use to someone out there!
There is also something he did with his fingers for the 9 times table, but that really is another story!

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