A times table CD that won't get on your nerves

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poppit
Posts: 196
Joined: Tue Nov 23, 2010 3:15 pm
Location: Birmingham

A times table CD that won't get on your nerves

Post by poppit »

I don't know if such a mythical object exists, but my DS2 is struggling to learn his time tables and learns best with LOTS of repetition. I'm thinking of using it on the school run so I would like the experience to be as pleasurable as possible for both of us.

So if you can recommend a good one I am all ears :)
fatbananas
Posts: 1411
Joined: Mon Mar 08, 2010 2:03 pm

Re: A times table CD that won't get on your nerves

Post by fatbananas »

My DC LOVE Percy Parker (google Percy Parker times tables CD). Even my 3 year old knows some of them from hearing them SO often on the school run. Quite funky tunes. Some very silly lines which keep DC engaged and amused. At first, DS1 answered his timestables by singing the songs to himself very quickly, but he's heard them so often now he can answer them all v quickly, but still wants to hear the CD from time to time!

I know it's not always a popular choice, but it's so soooooo much better than the poor tunes, poorly sung, smash-your-head-against-a-brick-wall kind of repetition CDs that we also have a number of!

There are some examples of the kinds of tunes on Percy Parker's website. :D
Seize the day ... before it seizes you.
Turtlegirl
Posts: 521
Joined: Mon Mar 14, 2011 1:54 pm

Re: A times table CD that won't get on your nerves

Post by Turtlegirl »

This one available from timestables.org.uk is ace - makes us laugh and the kids love it. A great variety of musical genres. I have the sevens going through my head now as I type this. You can get a *** of the 3x table on their website as a sample at the moment!
um
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Joined: Sat May 30, 2009 1:06 pm
Location: Birmingham

Re: A times table CD that won't get on your nerves

Post by um »

My ds1 and ds2's Year 2 teacher developed the Percy Parker dvd/cd :D but it was another idea of his that really made them confident with their multiplication tables...a booklet they bought home from school with all the tables randomly arranged (a page for the 2s, a page for the 3s etc) and they needed to be able to say the answers for each page as fast as possible.
They would be timed with a stopwatch and their scores recorded each week so it did make them fingertip quick - more so than Percy Parker, which they never really caught on to, perhaps because we don't listen to pop music at home so it was a little too alien for them.
fatbananas
Posts: 1411
Joined: Mon Mar 08, 2010 2:03 pm

Re: A times table CD that won't get on your nerves

Post by fatbananas »

Wow Um! What a creative teacher he must be. We don't have pop music at home either but I thought that's why my DC really loved it :roll: :lol:

He hasn't published the booklet, by any chance?
Seize the day ... before it seizes you.
um
Posts: 2378
Joined: Sat May 30, 2009 1:06 pm
Location: Birmingham

Re: A times table CD that won't get on your nerves

Post by um »

He was a great teacher. My boys were lucky. He is now a Head teacher at another Primary.
I wish someone would publish the booklet.
You could make one yourself.
For example the 2x table page looked like this:

1x2= 2x2= 2x3= (and all the way to 12x2= )


Then the tables were jumbled up so you would have half the page with jumbled up 'sums' like:

2x4= 2x10= 2x8= 2x6= 2x3=

The aim was to do each page in under a minute. So I would sit with the book and say each sum aloud and they answered quick and then say the next and they would answer quick...and so on.

They got cards (gold, silver, bronze I think) for speed.

Very simple but effective.

In fact I was thinking about taking the booklet (dog eared and well worn) to dc's (different) primary school to suggest they adopt the method instead of the current one of just getting children to mindlessly write out all the tables in order every week.
ds2 is in Year 6 and obviously knows his tables :roll: and is so sick of this that he chooses 'other' tables such as the 49 x table and does them (mentally) instead!
FluffyD
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Joined: Sun Jul 03, 2011 5:22 pm
Location: West Yorks

Re: A times table CD that won't get on your nerves

Post by FluffyD »

My DS's teacher has a similar thing as well, each week they have to do a 10x10 grid of x tables which are out of order as above so that they cannot fill them in by just doing 2,4,6,8,10.....etc.

The target is 100 in under 2 mins :shock:
There is 1 boy who has managed it and my DS is under 3 mins but not near the 2min marks yet.
The ultimate motivator is that £5 that the teacher will pay for any sub 2's!!!
Vic x
fatbananas
Posts: 1411
Joined: Mon Mar 08, 2010 2:03 pm

Re: A times table CD that won't get on your nerves

Post by fatbananas »

Think I will do that Um. A 2 minute target sounds like a very good aim. And 49 times table!

a £5 incentive would definitely work in this house. Not least with me :lol:
Seize the day ... before it seizes you.
um
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Joined: Sat May 30, 2009 1:06 pm
Location: Birmingham

Re: A times table CD that won't get on your nerves

Post by um »

The 49 x times table is actually a bit easy (1 less than 50) but he does choose other more stretching ones :wink:
Roll on secondary school when he will hopefully get some useful/appropriate homework....
poppit
Posts: 196
Joined: Tue Nov 23, 2010 3:15 pm
Location: Birmingham

Re: A times table CD that won't get on your nerves

Post by poppit »

Thank you fatbananas, Turtlegirl and um

I can now go off and purchase a CD in full confidence that my current finger tip grip on sanity (caused by the loooooong wait for the results) won't be adversely impacted by helping my DS2 learn his tables.

A perfect result

poppit
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