The Math Trick Every Kid Should Know

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Do you remember the tedious days of your childhood, sitting at the kitchen table, flipping through endless flashcards, all while dreaming of the freedom to play outside with your friends? I can relate, and it was no fun at all. For me, memorizing multiplication tables felt like climbing Mount Everest in elementary school. So, when my 8-year-old daughter came home one day joyfully reciting her tables without a single flashcard session, I was both amazed and a tad envious.

How did she do this? Somehow, she had mastered all the multiplication tables from 1 to 12 and was actually enjoying the process. A wave of jealousy washed over me; she clearly hadn’t endured the same struggles I did. But I quickly got over it when I realized I wouldn’t have to suffer through her learning them the traditional way.

Curious about her secret, I asked her, and like most kids, she was eager to share. Her teacher, whom she had a crush on, showed the class how to skip-count to familiar nursery rhyme tunes. The jumble of numbers that would have taken me ages to memorize was now as easy for her to recall as the lyrics to “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.” It felt like magic.

In the following months, I watched her tackle her math homework, pausing occasionally to hum a tune in her head while using her fingers to keep track of her multiplications. She never forgot any of them, and her speed was impressive—so much so that I had to practice just to keep up with my own third-grader!

By the time my youngest daughter reached third grade, I was sold. We sang these catchy tunes while washing dishes, belted them out on the way to gymnastics, and chanted them during homework time. My 5-year-old knows most of them, and even my 3-year-old can recite a few. In fact, it’s possible that the only words he associates with “Mary Had a Little Lamb” are the multiples of seven. Quirky? Maybe! But I’m totally okay with that.

Naturally, I shared this fun math trick with friends and family. I told them which tunes matched which multiples, but they struggled to get the rhythm right. So, being the resourceful parent I am, I decided to have my daughter star in a few videos. Well, “star” might be a stretch, but she helped me create simple, fun videos featuring each song paired with animations.

We aimed to share these with as many people as possible, hoping to spare trees from becoming flashcards, prevent homework-related meltdowns, and maybe even help save the planet. Here are our seven “Skip Counting” videos:

• Skip Counting By 3s: “Where is Thumbkin”
• Skip Counting by 4s: “Row, Row, Row Your Boat”
• Skip Counting by 6s: “London Bridge Is Falling Down”
• Skip Counting by 7s: “Mary Had a Little Lamb”
• Skip Counting by 8s: “This Old Man”
• Skip Counting by 9s: “Ten Little Indians”
• Skip Counting by 12s: “Jingle Bells”

This article was originally published on Aug. 25, 2015. If you’re looking for more parenting tips, you might also enjoy some insights from our other blog post on home insemination kits here!

Summary:

This article shares a fun and effective method to help children learn multiplication tables through catchy nursery rhyme tunes. Instead of traditional flashcards, parents can use music to make learning more enjoyable. The author highlights personal experiences with her daughters, illustrating how this method not only makes math easier but also brings families together.