Excellent book for beginning multiplicationAs a tutor, I found that many of my older students (upper elementary and middle school, even junior high) struggle with completing simple mathematical multiplication and division problems because they never took the time to master and/or memorize the multiplication tables. My mother had me memorize the multiplication tables up to 12(times 12) by the time I was eight, and went further as I got older (I think we stopped at 20 times 12 at some point in upper elementary school). It was grueling but boy was I glad we did it because it helped me so much with math!There is a place for memorization in math and multiplication is one area for it. I have a first grader and I decided to help her understand the concept of multiplication in incremental steps while getting her to do basic memorization. I like the Kumon approach as it teaches concepts in incremental steps. The book of Simple Multiplication only goes up to 5 times 10, but is sufficient for children who are beginning to learn and understand the concept of multiplication. The exercises are structured in an incremental manner beginning with familiarity with numbers, practicing addition, practicing repeated addition, before getting the student to repeat a multiplication table out loud.A fun way to do the ‘memorization’ is by getting the child to do something physical and fun, like climbing up and down a step as he/she says it, dribbling a ball, etc. This breaks the monotony and tedium a bit. I am also using another fun learning tool to reinforce the concept of multiplication: Twist and Shout Multiplication Used together, these educational tools can help a child grasp the concept of multiplication and gain confidence in math!
