How can I make learning the multiplication tables more fun for a nine-year old?

Question

How can I make learning the multiplication tables more fun for a nine-year old?

Answer 1

pretend it's his favorite food e.g 4 apples times 4 more apples and get him/her to tell you the answer.

Answer 2

I'm not sure if they sell it anymore, but there was this bingo game that was with multiplication problems.

It was fun for me!

Answer 3

Use something they can relate to: money

4x25 (4 quarters = $1.00)  

Try teaching them the easy way the tricks for instance

you want to teach multiplying the 9's

you want to know what 9x8 is

Hold up the number of fingers you are multiplying

subtract 1 finger you have 7

what plus 7 makes 9 =2  9x8 is 72

9x1=  9 (1-1=0+9=9)

9x2=18 (2-1=1+8=9)

9x3=27 (3-1=2+7=9)  etc.

Teach them the easy ones and then teach then the logic behind it so they can figure out the hard ones.  8x8 was the hardest for me ~ go figure.

Answer 4

There is a cool game (free download) called Timez Attack.

http://www.bigbrainz.com/index.php

The website www.multiplication.com is fun too.

We like the old Schoolhouse Rock VHS (I know they have DVD's of the songs too) Multiplication Rock.

Good luck!

Answer 5

I have a 9 year old who was reluctant to learn them, as it was "too hard".  We do a LOt of different strategies... 1's and 2's are easy... (2,4,6,8 who do we appreciate?)... 5's and 10's are simple...

9's are my daughter's favorite. All the answers equal 9... teach the "finger trick", or the teach that for each # being mulitplied, the answer begins with 1 less... ( 9 x 7 begins with 6... what added to 6 makes 9? 3... the answer is 63) and so on... 9, 12, 27 <--- they all equal 9...

We had trouble with the 3's, 4's, 6-8's. The only way to really learn them is by practicing over and over...

* We skip count a number family every time she goes in the kitchen, wants to watch Tv, etc... put little signs up to remind her to skip count every time she is in the bathroom, looks at her closet, etc.

* flash cards... (We have a WAR game with the flashcards... the highest sum "wins).

* you can also use a normal deck, where each # is a card... Jacks are the fact family you are working on, Q=11, K=12... take the cards and multiply by whatever cards come up...

* www.multiplication.com is fun for kids... my daughter can play the games for a long time and never complain.

* make a multiplication lapbook... my daughter liked this: http://peterpanandfamily.blogspot.com/se... It made it "fun"...

* lots and lots of reminders and practice. :)

Answer 6

try to turn it into a game of some sort or have some kind of little reward for so many right answers.

Answer 7

check for some multiplication games......  

one rhyme that my son still says for 8x8=64 is I ate and ate and got sick on the floor

This site is great for learning games...  (even though my kids attend public school, they still use this site often)

http://www.apples4theteacher.com/

Answer 8

Sing them.

Put them to a tune like twinkle twinkle little stars.

It worked for my son.

Answer 9

There are several versions of songs.  Do a search for multipliction songs.  There are lots of math games as well. Math Blaster is one that we've borrowed from the library.  I have also heard good things about a game called Timez Tables at www.bigbrainz.com/index.php  Hope that helps.