Best times tables app (not TTRS)

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My child is currently in year 2 and struggling with times tables recall (understands all the principles and can do them by writing them down).

We expect he’ll really struggle over the next few years having to learn all 12, because he’s currently only doing 2s, 5s and 10s.

The school uses TTRS from year 3 so I don’t want to introduce this now because then he will be “bored” of it next year when he is meant to be using it and competing against his class. I also don’t think the speed element that I’ve read about is that useful yet.

Are there any other apps/online games that would help? I’d be particularly looking for one where you can select the tables and preferably that keeps a record of results so we don’t need to look over his shoulder and put him under pressure.

He does seem to respond better to electronics rather than pen and paper (he’s not the best writer, so this takes a lot of effort for him)/our help (he gets frustrated being corrected by us, but does seem to learn from repetition even without extra input), but any other suggestions very welcome.

Thank you

Hit the button is popular with my kids, and numberblocks songs, and scratch garden "counting by" songs on you tube

This helped dc - we danced around the kitchen www.bbc.co.uk/teach/supermovers/times-table-collection/z4vv6v4 during lockdown

The doodle learning apps are great, they have doodle times tables, doodle maths & doodle English. They aren't cheap though, I think about £70 for both the maths ones for a year and £120 for all three. I think you can do a free trial first though, to see if your child gets on with them

Hit the button looks interesting to me, I quite like that it’s a fixed selection of answer buttons rather than having to type. I’ll try the web version tomorrow and then possibly buy the app if it’s a success.

I’ll try the songs but we’ve had limited success with those so far, but actually recommended ones might be more appealing to a child than what I pick!

I think I’d really struggle to be silly but I’ll have the videos a go!

Hit the button

We’ve tried Doodle in the past and got really confused at how it actually works ability wise and how to actually progress!

I’ll try the free trial again if it’s got a specific bit for times tables.

Thanks

Stick and split is very good- gets children to understand about factors and really see the structure of multiplication. It is a different skill to practicing instant recall of facts.

Tablefables/ fable world - it worked miracles for my 9 year old. It’s designed to teach in a different way, using stories to aid memory (so focuses on getting the facts in there in the first place not just increasing speed as TTRS does). Would highly recommend.

I love the idea of stick and split and I’ve downloaded it. I’m not sure how well it will assist with recall but it looks fabulous for reinforcing multiples and general number manipulation.

My DS likes to understand and I think that the “playing” with numbers to do different things will be enjoyable for him which is always a big plus!

I’ve watched some of these this morning and I think they’re awful… which probably means that my DS will love them!

I agree - my child loves it too. A really simple concept!

Also for recall you could try learning the "rolling tables" which are kind of like rhymes/songs that help with skip counting of the numbers in a times table. Again it isn't working on instant recall of facts but can help embed the multiples.

I think TT Rockstars have them as videos somewhere on their site but I may have misremembered. Otherwise you can just YouTube them. Usually done in a group but you could do them in the car etc and not as hideous as some of the other songs out there.

Another vote for Hit the Button.

Squeebles - they have a variety of primary education apps which my kids have used for years!
https://keystagefun.co.uk/times-tables-apps/

It takes time to develop automaticity in recall of times tables. He's only in year 2 so don't panic - it's completely normal for it to take some months to move from being able to work out a fact to recalling it effortlessly. Agree about stick n split.

Try also encouraging him to look for connections - get him to write out his 5 and 10 times tables next to each other - what does he notice? Can he see the doubling and halving relationship between the two? Look at the patterns in the end digit of each answer too. Once he's seen the pattern between 5 and 10, write out is 2s and then challenge him to use that pattern to write out his 4s.

The greater the number of connections he spots, the better as he'll be able to use these to support his memory. And just because he's struggling with something that's currently new learning for him, don't assume he'll struggle in a year or 2.

If you want something non-electronic, these cards and all their free supporting resources are fantastic. A pack of cards is £10 but there are so many games you can play with them, the children will start to internalise the cards and therefore the facts that they show without even realising they are learning. https://www.funkeymaths.com/

Thank you for all that amazing advice!

We’re definitely not panicking, but more observing that it’s not coming easily and that he’s in danger of finding maths a chore if he’s constantly just a bit behind where the class is.

He’s always engaged well with apps and he’s spent some time tonight on “stick and split” and enjoyed that. While it might not teach him the recall, I’m happy it’ll help with identifying factors and multiples and gives us a sounding board to chat about times tables.

I’m just keen to find something that works for him so we know before the dreaded 7 and 8 times tables have to be learnt!

I know you're not keen on TTRS but in case you don't know the 'Jamming' game has no timer - dd was only allowed to play this in yr2 as she got so upset & stressed out playing any of the timed games!

You might have a child like mine who simply cannot recall times tables in the normal way.

She is a very able mathematician - top sets at an academic prep school - but just can’t do it. It has caused huge amounts of stress and was flagged as a “problem” area. We worked with the school and did lots of work at home as guided. Still didn’t work.

She totally understands the concepts of times tables inside and out. The best strategy we came up with is learning the sequences - 5,10, 15, 20, 25 etc and using fingers to identify the multiplier. Yes it takes longer but it works.

It’s more that I don’t want to take away the novelty of TTRS before school introduce it, as it’ll be better for him to use it then than now.

It sounds like a stressful time pressured app, so glad to hear there is other modes too!

Squeebles! My kids love the app. Worth the money. I’ll also recommend the Einstein app for telling the time! Brilliant bit of tech.

It could well be, he can recite the patterns and knows a number is a multiple of 2/5/10 so can identify the factors, it’s just a case of getting things working the other way around too!

My son enjoyed using Lego something like this if you have bricks at home . I started with 2 and 3 but the concept sunk in.

If you want to generate your own paper times table sheets, this is a brilliant resource from TES (you can decide which times table to include).
The Ultimate Times Table Practice Sheet | Teaching Resources (tes.com)

Squeebles.
my kids hate TTRS but enjoy squeebles
Also dragon box big numbers was popular