Still counting on his fingers for 7 x 8 in class 5. Push the tables, or let it be?

sage_notebook_614514 Oct 2026

Class 5, and my son's maths marks are fine. He understands what he's doing. But for anything beyond the 5 times table he counts on his fingers under the desk, and a 20-question worksheet takes him forty minutes. Part of me thinks speed will come on its own. The other part sees him getting slower as the sums get longer, and I'm not sure whether daily drilling would help or just make him hate maths. I work remotely and I'm around in the evenings except for some production calls, so I have the time to do something. I just don't know what's worth doing.

3 comments

amber_marigold_606814 Oct 2026
is he getting them right? then he has a method that works. speed usually turns up later. mine is 13 and still counts on her fingers for a couple of them, quietly, and her marks haven't noticed
pebble_puzzle_414214 Oct 2026
We did tables in the car, like antakshari. I say saat aath, she shouts chhappan, then she asks me one. My mother did the same with me. My daughter's 15 now, so I can't claim it made her a genius, but she never counted on her fingers after class 6 😄
- juniper_bookmark_689414 Oct 2026
  The car game is lovely. From the school side, what teachers usually want by this age is that children know a handful of facts instantly and can work out the rest quickly, so you don't need all of them perfect. Picking the four or five he's slowest on and practising only those for a few minutes a day is far easier on everyone.
mint_sparrow_400314 Oct 2026
my daughter did a few minutes of tables on a timer in class 5, she liked beating her own time. honestly not sure if it helped or she just grew into it
- sage_notebook_614515 Oct 2026
  The timer idea could work. He likes beating his own records at everything else, cycling laps included. Will start after the holidays with only the ones he's slow on, as suggested above.