Why these three tables?
Year 2 pupils are expected to recall the 2, 5, and 10 times tables fluently. The 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12 come later (Years 3–4) for the Multiplication Tables Check.
2, 5, and 10 come first because they have the clearest patterns — and once your child sees patterns, multiplication stops feeling like memorising and starts feeling like spotting.
The patterns
×2 table — every answer is even. 2 × 1 = 2, ×2 = 4, ×3 = 6, ×4 = 8, ×5 = 10, ×6 = 12, ×7 = 14, ×8 = 16, ×9 = 18, ×10 = 20. Pattern: "skip count by 2".
×5 table — every answer ends in 5 or 0. ×1=5, ×2=10, ×3=15, ×4=20, ×5=25, ×6=30, ×7=35, ×8=40, ×9=45, ×10=50.
×10 table — the easiest. Just put a zero on the end. 10 × 3 = 30. 10 × 7 = 70. 10 × 10 = 100.
Games to play
5 minutes a day beats 1 hour at the weekend.
1. Pairs game
Pair up socks while counting: "2, 4, 6, 8..." Pair shoes, gloves, anything in twos.
2. Coin chain
Set out 5p coins. "How much in 3 coins? In 6 coins?" Real money makes it stick.
3. The "I'll lose, then we'll race" trick
Set a stopwatch. "Can I beat 30 seconds on the 5 times table?" Pretend to slow up. When they win, they'll want to do it again.
When to step in, when to step back
Step in when: your child is getting the same fact wrong repeatedly. That fact needs targeted practice. Make flashcards for just that one. Drill for 60 seconds a day, not all of them at once.
Step back when: your child is doing reasonably well and just needs reps. Stop asking, "What's 5 × 7?" while they're trying to relax. Practice should be 5-10 minutes a day, not all day.
What NOT to do: never call your child "slow at maths" within their hearing. Children believe what their grown-ups say. Once a 7-year-old decides "I'm bad at maths", it can take years to undo.
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