Do you say learn table or learn times tables. Which would you say is right?

Do you say to your children – “you need to learn the 4x table” or do you say “you need to learn your 4x tables”?

For the majority of people referring to the “4 times table” looks wrong, even if it is just one table.

Most people will refer to the “4 times tables”, the plural, rather than the singular, “4 times table”. The plural feels to be the right way to say it to me., so learn tables rather then learn tables would be what I might say.

So, is it “learn table” or is it “learn tables”? Does it really matter?

The main thing is that the plural version is the one used throughout the world.

My conclusion is to say what you are happy using, the one that feels best to you.

The more important point is that your children learn the times tables, all of them, really well.

So let's ask a really important question.

When you learn times should you learn them up to the ten times tables or the twelve times tables.

Certainly those of us who are older will have learned tables up to the 12 x tables.

The reason for this was simple; the requirements for schools at this time were set in this way. Children had to learn the times tables right up to at least the 12 times tables.

However, when it comes to children who learn tables today they will very often learn just as far as the ten times tables.

The question as to which tables your children should learn it obvious.

Your children need to learn tables as required by their particular school.

Though it may not be a requirement of your children's school to learn the 11 and 12 times tables it is a good thing for them to do.

However, what is really, really, really important is that your children learn tables so that they know the first 10 tables as well as they know their own names.

Why? Because to learn tables up to the 10 times tables is to learn the building blocks to other extremely important areas of maths namely; mental maths, multiplication and division.

We started by discussing whether we should say 'learn table' or 'learn tables'. We will finish using both ways of referring to learning the times tables.

If your children's school requires that they learn table eleven and table twelve then that is what your children need to do. As the tables are the building blocks of maths what is also important is that children learn tables so well that they know them the answers in an instant.

Your children really need a method involving lots of fun pictures and the times tables; all focused of memory ability.

This way of learning the times tables rather than using times tables worksheets works and your children are much more likely to remember the times tables with ease.

For more information on learn tables, go to www.timestablesmaths.com.