Before you start
Choose one times table your child is currently learning. Keep a pencil and paper nearby, and find a quiet place if you plan to use voice answers. The five minutes below are a sample session, not a deadline. Allow more time for a useful explanation and stop sooner if your child has had enough.
This example uses the 3 times table. For another table, keep the same steps and change the questions. If your child is just starting multiplication, begin with our guide to showing multiplication with equal groups.
Minute 1: Warm up with familiar facts
Ask two or three questions your child can work out comfortably. For the 3 times table, try 3 × 1, 3 × 2, and 3 × 5. Let them say the full fact: “Three times two is six.” Ask how they know if they want to explain.
If an answer is uncertain, draw the groups or count together. You can spend the whole session here when that is the useful part. Speed does not need to be the aim of the warm-up.
Minute 2: Work out one less-familiar fact
Choose a question such as 3 × 6. Ask, “Could we start from 3 × 5?” Write 3 × 5 = 15, then add one more group of three: 15 + 3 = 18. Say the new fact together.
A question to ask
“If five groups of three make fifteen, what happens when we add a sixth group?” Draw the extra three dots so your child can see where the 18 comes from.
Keep the written example nearby. It is fine to use it when the question appears again.
Minute 3: Try a short practice round
Ask a few multiplication questions in a different order, or play a one-minute round in Fruity Math. In the app, your child reads the problem on a fruit and says the answer in English. A correct answer slices the fruit.
Pick & Play lets you choose numbers to practise. The free game includes the 1, 2, and 3 times tables; the Full Game unlocks the remaining number choices. Choose a small set for this session so there is time to talk about the results.
For a paper version, write 3 × 4, 3 × 6, 3 × 2, and 3 × 5. Ask them one at a time, keeping the pace comfortable.
Minute 4: Revisit one answer
Choose one problem that was missed or took extra thought. In Fruity Math, use the missed-answer review after the round. On paper, circle the question you want to revisit.
If 3 × 6 was tricky, return to the five groups of three and add the sixth group again. Ask your child to explain the answer in their own words. If every answer was correct, choose one and ask for a different way to work it out.
A missed fruit can also mean an answer was not recognised or there was not enough time to say it. Check what happened before treating it as a multiplication mistake. Our voice answers help covers microphone setup and recognition issues.
Minute 5: Finish with a familiar question
Ask a comfortable question, then revisit the fact you worked on together. For example: 3 × 2 = 6, followed by 3 × 6 = 18. Invite your child to choose one fact to start with next time.
Write down the chosen fact rather than a long list of scores. At the next session, ask it again and allow time for the explanation if needed.
Adjust the routine to your child
If timed rounds feel rushed, replace the game minute with counters, drawings, or questions you answer together. If a table feels familiar, mix in a few facts from an earlier table or connect a multiplication fact to division: 3 × 6 = 18, so 18 ÷ 3 = 6.
Use the methods your child's teacher recommends and adapt the length of the session to how it is going. For more worked examples, read how to practise times tables at home.