Understanding times tables is key to improving maths skills at primary school.

Mastering the times tables (or ‘multiplication tables’) up to 12 can be tricky, but getting to know them inside out is very worthwhile. A good knowledge of times tables will give your child a strong foundation for later maths development, improving their mental maths and boosting their confidence.

Luckily, there are lots of active and fun ways we can support our children. Here are some activities that I have found useful in helping my two primary-aged children learn times tables facts.

1. Ice cube and egg box arrays

´¡²ÔÌý is a group of shapes or objects arranged in rows and columns. Arrays are great for helping to visualise times tables and can be used for fun activities.  You can use objects from around the house like egg boxes, ice cube trays, muffin tins, together with items like buttons or counters to help explore arrays.

For example, an egg box for a dozen eggs can be used to explore these facts:

• 2 × 6 = 12
• 6 × 2 = 12
• 12 ÷ 6 = 2
• 12 ÷ 2 = 6

Try asking questions like, ‘How many 2s are there in 12?’ or ‘How many groups of 6 can we make if we have 12 eggs?’. You could also use arrays by:

• placing small items (such as raisins or pasta shapes) into even-numbered
• building arrays on paper with bingo dabbers
• finger painting or using corks dipped in paint.

2. Coin counting

Sanitise some 1p, 2p, 5p, and 10p coins (no more than 12 of each) and ask your child to separate them into piles.

Take it in turns to pick up a small number of the same coin. Estimate how much money you think you have and then count in groups to find the answer. How close were you?

3. Playing card products

A bit of healthy competition between siblings or friends can be a great motivator for learning some of the trickier times tables! This game is most suitable for children aged 7–11, but can be adapted for younger children.

1. Take a pack of cards and remove the Kings and Jokers. In this game, Aces = 1, Jacks = 11, and Queens = 12.
2. Deal 6 cards to each player.
3. Each player places 1 card down at the same time, and then both players must multiply the cards together.
4. The winner of the hand is the player who says the correct product first (the ‘product’ is the name we give to the result when two numbers are multiplied together). The winner picks up the played cards.
5. When a player runs out of cards, they pick up 2 more from the spare pile.
6. The winner is the one with the most cards when the spare pile is empty.

If you want to adapt the game for children aged 5–7, take one of the 2s, 5s, or 10s and place it face up in the middle of the table. This is the times table you are practising.

Each player should work out the product of the card they put down and the card in the middle of the table, with the winner of each hand the player who gets their answer first.

4. Recipe scaling

To show older children how times tables help in a real-life context, look at recipes and scale up or down the quantities for more or fewer people. For example:

A recipe makes 4 portions. Ask your child to work out what quantities would be needed for 2 people, or 8 people, or 20 people. They will need to multiply each quantity in the recipe by the same amount.

5. Multiplication bingo

Each player makes a 3 × 3 grid by drawing squares on a piece of paper. Within each of the 9 squares, each player writes answers from whichever times table you are focusing on in a random order. For example, if looking at the 8 times tables, each player would choose 9 answers from: 8, 16, 24, 32, 40, 48, 56, 64, 72, 80, 88, 96.

The caller thinks of a random calculation from the times table – for example, 7 × 8. If the answer is on the player’s card, they cross it out. The winner is the first person to cross out all their answers and shout ‘Bingo!’

There are lots of other games to explore which help with the learning of times tables, so remember to always keep an eye out for new ideas. Opportunities to practise maths skills are everywhere!

More from Oxford Owl

• Web page: Help with times tables
• Web page: The Year 4 multiplication tables check
• Blog: Times tables tips
• PDF:
• PDF:

We all want to teach our kids that money isn’t everything, but there’s no doubt that being ‘good with money’ will make their future lives a whole lot easier.

Handling coins and calculating with money in real-life situations outside the classroom can really help children see how important it is in daily life… and talking about money is the first step to great skills!

Read on to find out what your child will learn about money at school, and discover our top tips and activities to support their learning at home.

Please note: This advice was written before the lockdowns caused by coronavirus. Please take into account local government guidance on social distancing when trying these activities.

What do children learn at school?

In Reception, your child will use everyday language to talk about money.

During Years 1 and 2, your child will learn the different coins and notes, the symbols for pounds (£) and pence (p), and how to combine coins to make given amounts. They will solve money problems practically, adding and subtracting to give change.

In Years 3 to 6, your child will progress from making change by adding/subtracting pounds and pence separately to recording money using decimals (for example, ‘£1.52’ instead of ‘£1 and 52p’). This ‘£.p’ format is usually introduced in Year 4. Your child  will also solve money problems, including multiplying/dividing decimal amounts of money by whole numbers.

Activities to try at home

Here are some ideas for fun, practical activities to help develop your child’s understanding of money and boost their confidence using money in real life.

1. Set up shop

Playing shops at home is a wonderful way of introducing children to the idea of using money through creative play.

Together, decide what to sell – raid kitchen cupboards, toy boxes, or wardrobes to create different types of shop – and price up all the items with sticky notes. For younger children, set prices with penny amounts or whole pounds using numbers they can cope with. Use real or toy coins (or make coin rubbings with paper and crayons to create your own) and take turns to be shopper and shopkeeper.

Have younger children start by just buying one item and counting out the right coins to pay for it. Encourage older children to choose several items and work out totals and change.

Top Tip 1: More online shopping and contactless card or phone payments mean children often don’t see cash being used. Playing with real money can help them recognise different coins and their values.

2. Be super shoppers

How do you turn a supermarket shop with kids from frazzling to fun-filled? Playing money games that challenge them to be super shoppers might help!

Start by asking younger children to spot and read different prices. (Printing labels when weighing out fruit and veg is a great of providing non-round-number amounts.) As they learn to add amounts, ask your child to find, say, three items that total £5.

Encourage older children to calculate with money by finding the total of your shopping as you add new items to your basket/trolley. In larger supermarkets, handheld scanners offer a fun way to check, but a calculator on your phone works just as well for keeping track on the go. Or you could just challenge your child to see if their total matches the final amount at the checkout!

Top Tip 2: Decimal points in money amounts can be confusing, especially for younger children. Explain that the decimal point separates the pounds and pence, so £2.99 can be read as ‘Two pounds and ninety-nine pence’.

3. Manage a budget

‘Can I have an ice-cream? Will you buy me a new doll/car/dinosaur/hot-air balloon? Can we go to Disneyland, pleeeeease?!’

Even after children have learnt to calculate using money, they often have little sense of affordability! Involving your child in planning family celebrations, days out, or holidays (real or imaginary) can help them to understand the cost of items and activities. It might even encourage them to save for something they want!

Set a budget and research prices together. How much will it cost to get there? Is there a choice of ticket prices? What will lunch/drinks/snacks cost? How shall we divide the budget between party food, decorations, and presents? Don’t forget to talk about the difference between what they need and what they want!

Top Tip 3: When calculating with money, it can be helpful to convert amounts into pence first, before changing back to pounds and pence after the calculation. This helps your child keep track of where the decimal point should go. For example, to add £4.50 + £2.73, you could change the sum to 450p + 273p = 723p, which can then be turned into £7.23.

I hope these ideas have given you some inspiration for exploring money in a memorable way! Have fun!

More useful links

• :Ìýa national activity week in June for primary and secondary schools that provides young people the opportunity to gain skills, knowledge, and confidence in money matters.
• : resources for anyone teaching young people money management skills.
• :Ìýfun activities, games, and videos to help your child ‘get money savvy’.