My eldest boy has started learning times tables in earnest last year.
If you’ve been through, or are going through that stage at the moment, you’ll know what I mean: lots of repetition (tantrums), bribery (chocolate, nintendo ds, you name it) and distracted parents passing the buck at revision time.
On my last trip to London, I stocked
up on various times tables activity books that make practice and revision a bit easier, but still way off making the whole process much fun. Then a few weeks ago I found this game of cards in France and my little monsters have been addicted ever since!
Since finding out about this great game, I realised that many of my friends knew about it already so apologies for being a bit late to the party, but just in case someone hasn’t heard about it yet…
Basically, the game couldn’t be any simpler: it consists of 110 cards which have times tables (1 to 10) multiplications on one side and the correct result on the other.
They can be used in a myriad of ways, playing alone or in groups, for instance as a memory game for younger beginners, or as a form of “snap” where players compete at being the quickest to give the correct answer to each multiplication.
I found “Cartatoto” completely by chance in a French shop, but I heard it’s widely available and used in Switzerland too, or you can order it from Amazon. The price is less than 7 euros, so definitely worth a try especially if your little ones have a bit of a competitive streak!
Do you have other tips or recommendations that can make learning times tables easier and more fun? Please share it in the comments box below, TIA!
