Facts that stick
How do I help my child learn math facts and times tables?
Build understanding first, then practice a few facts at a time in short daily sessions, keep mixing in old facts so they do not fade, and use strategies and games instead of drilling a whole table at once.
Understanding before speed
A child who sees 7 x 8 as seven rows of eight can work it out when memory slips. For addition, "make a ten" and doubles do the same job. Then learn the easy facts first, such as 2s, 5s and 10s.
Short, daily and mixed
Five to ten minutes a day beats an hour on Friday. Add a few new facts at a time and keep a few old ones in every session. Forgetting addition when multiplication starts is common, and mixed practice fixes it.
Instead of flash card machines
Card games where you multiply the two cards, dice, skip-counting songs, quick questions in the car, and a chart they color in as each fact sticks.
What Clareza covers
Grade 1 math has fast facts to 10 and making a ten, Grade 2 has facts to 20, and Grade 3 starts multiplication with equal groups and arrays, then fact families and patterns in the multiplication table. From Grade 3, optional timed games with coins are one way to practice. The first Grade 3 unit is a free printable at /free/grade-3-math.
What this is not
- There is no separate math facts drill tool. Facts are part of each grade's math course.
- The games are timed. If that upsets your child, the No timers support hides them.
- The Math support includes a calculator button. For fact practice you can switch that one off on its own.
- Clara, the teacher built into every lesson, is an AI and can be wrong.
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Questions parents ask
When should my child know their times tables?
Common Core expects every product of two one-digit numbers, up to 9 x 9, from memory by the end of Grade 3. Many children need into Grade 4, and that is fine.
Should math fact practice be timed?
Only if your child enjoys it. Speed comes from knowing the fact, not from the clock.
What if the facts just will not stick?
Go back to the pictures and strategies for a while. If math is becoming a fight, see /homeschool-curriculum/homeschool-math-for-a-child-who-hates-math.