Learning Multiplication with Playing Cards

Rather than having a child stare at meaningless "tables," there are more "organic" ways to have them get really good at simple multiplication.

Here's a way to help your child learn the "two times tables" withoutInstead of showing the child endless multiplication charts and multiplication tables.,
Ready? Get a deck of cards and follow along:

- Remove the tens, and the court cards. We won't be needing those.

- Place any "two" card face up on the table.

- Take out the Ace through Nine of any suit (say diamonds) and shuffle them face down.

- Turn those cards over one at a time, and as you do, multiply the card by two. For example, if you turn over a three, say the product of three times two.

- Just say the answer, try not to say "Two times three is..." The reason for that is that we are trying to get you to give see the answer, not the problem. As soon as you see the problem, try to get rid of the "internal dialogue."

If you have trouble with a problem, like say, two times 8, remember, you are just doubling the number.You may want to "skip count" to the number if you have initial difficulties. Remember, though, we are practicing so you don't have to skip count in the future.

Skip counting by two is simply counting by twos. A you do that,put out a finger for each number you say. When you say "two," you put out one finger. When you say "four," you put out another finger. When you get up to eight fingers, you should be up to "sixteen," because sixteen is two times eight.

Very important: If you don't immediately know the answer to a problem, but can skip count to it, don't think that you "know" the answer now. That is a trap that many learners fall into. The answers must be in your bones for you to really know them.

So when you get to something like two times eight and have to skip count to get the answer to two times eight, you should stop and say out loud:

"2 times 8 in 16"
"8 times 2 is 16"
"16 is 2 times 8"
"16 is 8 times 2"
"2 times 8 is 16."

Say that out loud each time you hesitate with the answer. It will definitely help you for the next time. You won't have to do this often until you will instantly recognize that two times nine is eighteen, any time you see it.

After you have gone through all nine cards, it's time to do some serious practicing.

- Leaving the Two of Spades face up on the table, take the rest of the cards, except for the Tens, Jacks, Queens and Kings, and shuffle them face down.

- Start turning over cards as before, saying their products. Don't forget to do , stop, look at the cards, see the problem, and say the combinations of the answers out loud, as above.

- Keep this up until you can go through all of the cards (there will be 35 of them) in less than one minute. This will not take much practice, and you'll feel great about yourself when you can do it in under a minute.

Learning this way has huge advantages. Once you are great at multiplying by two, try it with three. This method also has the advantage that you don't have to print out worksheets, and you can carry a deck of cards anywhere. You also will improve your powers of concentration when you learn like this. I have been diagnosed with ADD, and this method worked wonders for me.

Please keep in mind that we are only talking about whole numbers here. "Simply doubling" is not the definition of multiplication by two. There are subtleties involved that are beyond the scope of this article. But in order to learn simple multiplication by two, this method is much preferable to the "multiplication tables."

I wrote this e-book because I was disgusted with the way we are normally taught how to multiply. This booklet will open your eyes to a new world. You will learn a method to teach any child basic multiplication of single-digit numbers (what we normally call "the times tables" or "multiplication facts") in about two minutes.

The booklet then goes on to show how to "lock this knowledge in."
It also comes with seven e-mail lessons that will show you the math behind the method, so you can actually understand and show your child why it works!

And here's the big news: I've just added over a dozen videos to help you super-charge your learning and practicing. They are easy to follow and fun. I "hold your hand" as you practice, until you can do over thirty multiplications in a minute.

I truly believe that every parent and teacher should know what is taught in this booklet, so every child can have a meaningful, helpful method for dealing with this important subject.

You can order "Numbers Juggling - (Times without the Tables)" here.