Do you recall those tedious afternoons as a child, sitting at the kitchen table, endlessly flipping through flashcards, all while dreaming of the freedom to play outside with friends? Trust me; I’ve been there, and it was a struggle. For me, memorizing multiplication tables felt like climbing a mountain. So, when my 8-year-old son returned home one day effortlessly reciting them without a single flashcard session, I was both amazed and a tad jealous.
How was this even achievable? Somehow, he had mastered all his multiplication tables from 1 to 12 and was enjoying the process! A little voice of envy bubbled up inside me, wishing he had faced the same struggles I had, but I quickly let that go once I realized I wouldn’t have to endure the same tedious learning process.
Curious about his secret, I asked, and, as most kids do, he eagerly shared. His teacher, a charismatic woman he admired, taught them to skip-count using familiar nursery rhyme tunes. The once-daunting strings of numbers were now as easy to recall as singing “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.” It felt like a revelation.
In the following months, I would watch him at the dining table, diligently working on his math homework, occasionally breaking into song in his head to help him remember the numbers he was multiplying. He never faltered, and soon he was so quick with his calculations that I found myself practicing just to keep pace and avoid the embarrassment of being outsmarted by my third grader.
By the time my younger daughter reached the same grade, I was all in. We sang these catchy tunes while washing the dishes, belted them out during car rides to gymnastics, and even sang them at the table during homework sessions. My 5-year-old picked up most of the songs, and surprisingly, my 3-year-old could manage a few lines too. It’s entirely possible that the only lyrics he knows to the tune of “Mary Had a Little Lamb” involve the multiples of seven. Does that make us unique? Most likely, but I embrace it.
Naturally, I shared this math method with friends and family, detailing which tunes corresponded with each set of multiples. However, many struggled to get the tunes right without hearing them first. When they expressed their difficulties, I decided to do what any resourceful parent would do. I enlisted my son to help create YouTube videos featuring each of the songs, complete with simple animations.
We aimed to spread this knowledge far and wide, hoping to spare trees from becoming flashcards and families from the inevitable homework battles. 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 first published on August 25, 2015.
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In summary, using music to master multiplication can transform a tedious task into a fun and engaging activity. By incorporating familiar tunes, children can effortlessly learn their multiplication tables.