Times Tables for Parents
- Daisy and Liz
- 22 hours ago
- 4 min read
Does anyone else think back to learning their times tables at school and shudder? Endlessly reeling off "three threes are nine, three fours are 12, four fours are sixteen" yawn, lean back on your chair, get told not to do that because you might die, and "five fours are twenty".
Well, that's how I recall it anyway. So when my children started learning their times tables at school I knew the first thing I was going to do was turn them into something fun for us to do together. Partly because I love to do this anyway, but mostly because I could NOT remember them myself.
How can I support my kids if I don't even confidently know them?
Firstly, I ordered one of these to have up in our house "for the kids" (actually entirely for me). Get one similar, or other times table based support for grown ups in our affiliate shop HERE.
Next up, I started to think about how little me would have liked to be taught the times tables. The lovely thing about today is that there are so many more fun methods being used in schools. My kids came home with a log in for an app called Times Tables Rockstars which looked really animated and is definitely something I would have enjoyed as a kid.
Now one of my children totally engaged with this app and used it diligently to perfect his times tables knowledge, building up his speed and confidence with each game played and record achieved.
The other child realised that she could get a record, and therefore a school certificate, by just doing the one times table she knew (the 10's, we all love the 10's don't we?) over and over again. Therefore she was yes, maybe having a lot of fun, but also, learning absolutely nothing!
I realised quickly that she needed a different type of input.
Repetition wouldn't work. She needed something sensory, visual and that appealed to the play she enjoyed. So I came up with this idea and posted it on my social media.
Now, a short while after I posted this people were asking for MORE times tables play ideas. I had started to play a few at home, and there were some in my second book (Time For School) but I didn't really have a way to share loads of the good ones with everyone.
That's when Liz and I met up in real life. We went to a childcare expo and we chatted about what we wanted to do next. For me it was share times tables games. That's when 2Weeks2Learn was conceived. I know, RIGHT THERE AT THE SHOW IN FRONT OF EVERYONE! Outrageous.
Anyway, within weeks we were bouncing around all our ideas and putting them into an online guide.
We felt like 2 weeks worth of games would be perfect. Just the right amount of time for kids to enjoy playing and get really confident with a particular times table. Plus enough games to keep playing them over and over, mixing them up, without it feeling too repetitive.
We designed a logo, we set up a website, we tested the games and recorded and edited the videos, we designed a deck, we presented it and recorded that, we got a joint bank account (oh the love is strong!) and then finally, we LAUNCHED with...
It was a huge hit. Because the games are so fast and fun, they appealed to children who won't get it through repeating songs or online games. Children with SEND, children with sensory challenges, or memory challenges. Children who do not like to sit down and write on worksheets. Children who likes to jump, and play, and shout. We made the games varied and mixed so they appeal to all. We made them super fast and easy to set up for the PARENTS because we are parents too, and we get it. Nobody has time for this stuff!
This is an example of one of the games from the Times Tables Guide my children both loved.
But why is it even so important our children know the times tables like we did , you might ask? Well, it's foundational to their maths understanding. Once they know times tables they can then move onto more complex calculations that rely on them which follow in their maths lessons. And yes, we all know they will have a calculator on their phones forever, but our education system doesn't work like that!
It works on STATUTORY TESTING - oh joy, and yes the teachers generally hate it too.
When our kids (based in English schools) hit year 4 they do something called the multiplication check.
This is all explained in the guide and also in our FREE Times Tables Checklist we have on this very website. You can download this and walk through the activities to see if your child has a better grasp on their multiplication tables than you do. Perhaps treat it like a refresher course for yourself!
I am of course putting my own multiplication insecurities onto you here aren't I?
Perhaps you were a times tables whizz? Maybe you LOVED counting in 8's at school and were the class champion in multiplying recall. In which case maybe your kids will also be. But if they aren't? Well, we are here to help. Let us turn it in to fun and games. Let us do the hard work of figuring out how to get the kids to actually want to learn it. Let us walk you through it bit by bit with our Times Tables Guide.
So which camp are you in? Maths whizz or needing all the help you can get? Let us know below!
Are you a....
Times Tables Whizz - it's all in my head still!
Still multiplying on my fingers - I need this guide for me!
Either way, let us help you with our offerings to make this as enjoyable for you as it will be for your kids, so they whizz through that check and onto a life of easy maths calculations in the future. It's what has happened with my kids. Both were better at maths than me before they finished primary school. I put it down to their excellent teachers but also, down to Mummy's ability to turn learning absolutely anything into a way to have a KITCHEN DISCO!
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