skip counting magic

Ahh, multiplication facts.
How you eluded me.
Your numbers jumping all around in my head like popcorn in a pan.
Frustration and tears.
I can write poems about math!  Alas, early computation has never been a great skill for me.  I remember still struggling to pass different levels of testing in grade school.  No idea how I finally managed to get through those.  The facts exited my head as quickly as I learned them.  Four words:  "I. Love. My. Calculator."!

Now I, times table failure, have to guide my kids through this same maze.  I don't know if their answers are right or wrong!  Timed tests and rows and rows of problems must work for someone, but they've never worked for me.

Enter my new friend:  skip count kid.  (seriously that's the name of the cd, but don't let it deter you!).  This was recommended to me by a friend and I really wish we'd have purchased it sooner.  Somehow, the skip counting songs really work for me.  They aren't sickly sweet either, like some early preschool songs.  These are palatable to grade school kids and parents and, for me, these have been the key to remembering my facts.  Being able to quickly skip count (count by multiples of single digit numbers) does for me what singing the alphabet does for my alphabetizing. 

We own the Bible songs, but he offers a non-religious CD, too.  Also, I believe these are available on Amazon for download really cheaply.

Happy skip counting!