Fun Ways to Learn Multiplication

Natalie is in 3rd grade and they are learning their multiplication tables. She is her mother's daughter in that she gets bored easily :). She mastered her two's by just doing the boring old let's practice your multiplication table and I'll set the timer to one minute on the oven but when it came to 3's she was a fussy mussy. She didn't want to practice them. I tried playing a game in the car where I asked her one and then she asked me one but that only lasted about 5 minutes before the boredom and I don't want to do this syndrome rolled in. I feel for her. I was getting sick of asking them to her as well. So for each set of numbers I plan on coming up with a fun way to learn the set of multiplication tables. So without further ado...Here is week 1 for the 3 times table but you could use it for every # if you want.

Here is what I did for the 3's:

• Go to Fridge


• Pull out an Egg Carton


• remove all Eggs (otherwise this could get messy)


• Take a pen or sharpie in my case and write the #'s 0-11 in the holes where the eggs go


• Then write a 12 on the bottom flap


• Cut off the top of the carton with scissors or it rips off pretty easily


• Get a piece of candy or some other object that will fit in the holes of the egg carton and start tossing

How to Play

• Take "tossing object" and throw toward Egg Carton


• Mom or whoever is over "the game" yells 3 times "whatever # you land in" and the child yells out the number. If the object does not go into a hole that's when they have to answer 3 times 12.

So far we have played 2 nights in a row and my daughter can not get enough of it.

I hope you enjoy this game. Check back for more ideas as we go through the entire multiplication table.