Math - Ridgeland,MS

My son's school started teaching multiplication in 2nd grade, and he seemed to grasp it pretty well. To help reinforce it at home, we took games where you had to collect things (Hi-ho Cherrio, Mancala, etc) and at the end when we tallied up how many items we had, I'd put them in groups so he could see it visually as well as in an equation. That seemed to really help him (I am a visual learner, as well). I think once the basics of addition and subtraction are down pat, regardless of age, you can move on.

As a teacher, I say 2nd grade- 7/8 yrs old. Make sure addition and subtraction have been learned first and make sure they understand what multiplication is...make arrays, group items, etc. Skip counting is a good way to start learning the facts. Counting by 2s, 5s, 10s, then 3s, 9s, 4s, 6s, 7s, 8s. 6, 7, and 8s always seem to be the toughest.

2nd or 3rd grade usually. A child needs some basic skills down first, so a bright child might move faster.

Typically children start learning multiplication by grade level not age. Usually towards the end of grade 2 or beginning of grade 3.

If your child knows his/her addition and subtration and cout by 2's, 5's and 10's then he's ready.

I am also an elementary teacher and agree with Lisa. Make sure addition and subtraction are down pat (if the child is in 1st or 2nd grade or younger). Skip counting by 2's, 3's, 4's, 5's, and 10's really help.

Also, a CHEAP manipulative is red kidney beans or pasta. Have your child group them into piles and talk about what 2 X 3 means. I also use words and examples that children can relate to. There are two kids and mom wants to give each kid 3 cookies each. How many cookies does mom need to buy? I then follow it up with a "joke" of "those kids must have been really good, eh?"

The more you relate it to their world, the easier it will be for them. Some kids are natural drawers, so have them draw sets of items. For one student, I made separate manipulatives for each set of numbers. One's was a dog and I printed off a bunch of bones. Two's were cats with milk bowls. It made her able to remember the numbers with the animals and make it make more sense to her. Not all kids need this, but this is just an example of how to tailor what you are doing to the child's learning style.

Good luck and have fun. Also, keep the chart away as long as possible. Usually, I don't pull it out until I teach division and use it for the kids that didn't learn all of their facts but need to learn the steps to division. In the classroom, you sometimes have to push the kids along even when they haven't totally mastered the steps before it (esp. with math facts). As a parent, you don't need to push the child ahead if they aren't ready.

KEEP IT FUN! :)

My daughter is in 2nd grade and she will start to learn simple multiplication facts sometime towards the end of this year. Right now, and she's one of the ones in her class who are ahead of the others, she's on subtraction/addition facts through 18. She was getting tested once a week with a 2 minute time limit worksheet, and in order to go on, she had to get all of them right. For the past two weeks though, she's moved on to 1 minute 30 seconds. First she did addition, passed those, and did subtration last Friday. If she passed, she will probably go onto more difficult ones such as 18-11 because when I helped in class last week, the teacher had me assessing the kids using flash cards with double digits to see how many of them comprehended how to figure them out. So, I don't see her getting into multiplication for another month or so atleast.

I think that you need to be sure that the other skills that multipicationi rely upon are mastered first. Just like building a house...you build the basement, then the 1st floor, before you start on the 2nd floor!!! So make sure he has the basic skills down first, subtraction, addition, then you start thinking about multipication. I agree with one of the other Moms about grouping things in his everyday life so that he has a visual grasp of what you are talking about. If he is going to eat finger foods, (grapes, nuts,dry cereal etc) group them in 2's or 3's or 4's and then move the groups together to show him what "2x2 " is!!! Make it fun...so he learns to love Math!!!

When I went into kindergarten as a child my dad had taught me addition and I went into first grade knowing how to multiply. It's never too young to teach ur kid math!