✖️ How to learn multiplication tables: the plan that finally works

Every evening, the same scene: your child recites their 7 times table perfectly… and the next morning, it’s all gone. You sigh, they get annoyed, and the multiplication table becomes the appointment no one looks forward to. The good news: it’s neither a lack of memory nor a lack of intelligence. It’s almost always a question of method andorder.

Here is a clear plan to learn multiplication tables without crisis: the right order to avoid discouragement, tips table by table, five minutes of play per day and a six-week calendar. Enough to support a child from CE1 (Cours Élémentaire 1, ages 7-8) to CM2 (ages 10-11), even if you yourself have bad memories of your tables.

Why multiplication tables seem so hard

At first glance, there would be a hundred results to memorize by heart: ten tables, ten rows each. Enough to give vertigo. Except this number is an illusion. Two reasons make the mountain shrink:

• The commutativity : 3 × 8 gives the same result as 8 × 3. Learning one is learning the other. Half the work disappears at once.
• The easy tables (2, 5, 10) and the obvious ones (× 0 and × 1) are remembered almost effortlessly and cover a large part of the table.

Once you remove all that, only a small handful of stubborn results remain. So the challenge is not quantity: it's to reassure the child and start off on the right foot.

In what order to learn the multiplication tables?

The classic mistake: following the order 1, 2, 3… up to 10. You quickly hit the difficult tables and the child gets discouraged. It's better to move from the easiest to the hardest, to chain small victories:

1. First the free ones: the table of 1 (the number doesn't change) and that of 0 (everything equals 0).
2. Then the easy ones: the table of 2 (doubles), the table of 10 (you add a zero) and the table of 5 (the result always ends with 0 or 5).
3. Then the medium ones: the table of 4 (just double twice) and the table of 3.
4. Finally the tough ones: 6, 7, 8 and 9. This is where the real points to work on hide… but they are much fewer than you might think.

This progression also follows the school system: generally, you start in CE1 (ages 7-8) with tables of 2, 5 and 10 and all tables should be known by the end of CE2 (ages 8-9), before being consolidated in CM1 and CM2 (ages 9-11). So no need to finish everything in one week.

Tips to remember each table

Each table has its little trick. Here are the most effective ones, to try starting tonight:

The 9 times table on the fingers. Hands flat in front of you, the ten fingers aligned. For 9 × 4, lower the 4th finger starting from the left: there are 3 fingers to the left (the tens) and 6 to the right (the units) → 36. It works from 9 × 1 to 9 × 10, and the “magic” effect always hits the mark.

Another cue for the 9 times table: the tens digit increases by 1 at each line while the units digit decreases by 1 (09, 18, 27, 36…). And if you add the two digits of the result, you always get back to 9. A good way to check that you haven't made a mistake.

For squares, three values to know by heart come up all the time: 6 × 6 = 36, 7 × 7 = 49 and 8 × 8 = 64. These tips are just a start: you can invent an image or a phrase for almost every tricky result, as shown by our 15 mnemonic aids from CP to Bac.

Learn your multiplication tables by playing, 5 minutes a day

The secret is not the duration, it is the regularity. Five minutes every day beats a whole hour on Sunday evening. The brain needs to review often and a little, not a lot at once. And the most effective of the five minutes is the game:

• The multiplication battle: each player turns over a card, the first to announce the product wins the trick.
• The dice to multiply: roll two dice and give the result as quickly as possible.
• The lightning quiz: three questions during tooth brushing or on the way to school.
• Recitation in motion: one line of the table at each step of the staircase.

Well-designed online games also work: our free runner The Great Leap reviews calculations with the mascots from the workbooks, in short sessions and without registration.

The schedule to learn multiplication tables in 6 weeks

Here is a realistic pace, to adapt according to your child's age and ease. One new table per week, and above all: always keep a few minutes to review the previous ones.

• Week 1: tables of 0, 1, 2 and 10 (the free and easy ones).
• Week 2: table of 5, then mix with the previous ones.
• Week 3: table of 4 (double twice) and table of 3.
• Week 4: 9 times table (the finger trick works wonders).
• Week 5: 6, 7, and 8 times tables — only a handful of truly new results remain.
• Week 6: all mixed up, in play, to anchor everything.

A key point: progress is made by testing oneself, not by rereading. Rereading the table gives the illusion of knowing it; asking yourself the question and searching for the answer is what really engraves the result. If a table still resists, it’s not a problem: slow down and keep smiling, a bit like when you have to review without turning the moment into a chore.

The essentials to remember

Learning multiplication tables requires neither talent nor a last-minute marathon. Three habits are enough: start with the easy tables to build victories, rely on tricks (doubles, zero, the fingers trick for the 9 times table), and play five minutes a day by quizzing in random order.

Want a complete toolbox? All these tricks — for tables, but also conjugation, spelling, and calculation — are gathered, sorted by level and illustrated, in Le Grand Livre des Pense-Bêtes. Enough to never hear “I forgot” the night before a test again.