My Latest over at Crafting a Green World: Cool Math Games

We are all multiplication tables all the time lately. I am ready for this multiplication table memorization to happen already, so I've taken the kids to full immersion learning.

Want to know what we've got for breakfast? Well, what's 4x8?

Going somewhere in the car? Let's recite multiplication tables the whole way there!

Lied to me about brushing your teeth? That's a 6x table offense, kiddo.

We play multiplication games, such as Roll 'n Multiply, multiplication dominoes, and this awesome-fun DIY Multiplication Touch game that you can make yourself (I've also got a round-up of other DIY math games and manipulatives this week):

We've completed art projects, such as the entire village of "multiplication houses" that Syd and I made on Monday, and dot marker arrays.

The kids each wrote a full, loooooooong factor chart on butcher paper.

I've yet to finish making the hands-on decanomial square for them to assemble, but mat board is 30% off at Hobby Lobby this week!

I've yet to wield flash cards at them, but I have an entire set printed and waiting to be cut out. They're coming!

And if Will's not fully adept by next week, when her math curriculum moves into a place in which she must be adept in order to continue (she can calculate in her head so quickly and easily that she's never bothered with memorizing the multiplication tables, but that extra couple of seconds to figure out 6x8=48 is going to start to seriously add up now that she's moving into more complicated, multi-step calculations), then I'm going to make her do Kumon multiplication drills every day instead of Math Mammoth; it's very much the stick rather than carrot, but I bet it'll get it done!

But for today, at least, math, other than my random questions and forced recitations, is finished. Will has since played Zoo Tycoon, and built a real-life Zoo Tycoon out of building blocks in the middle of our main walking path, and is currently immersed in Day #2 of the observational training required for her Girl Scout Detective badge. Syd got drawn into zoo play for a while, and is now sitting down in front of a stellar late breakfast of an orange, strawberry yogurt, and tapioca pudding. After that I need to corral her for the grammar that Will and I did yesterday while she was in the bathroom making an aquarium for her toy animals. After that, the park if it's not raining (it's going to rain). After that, fingerprinting. After that, Stage Fright on a Summer Night. After that, homemade pizza!

It's looking to be another wonderful day!