Parents! You can practice more multiplication with your children by using counters you can find around your house. Use beans, cheerios, peas, whatever!

Have your child make up some equal groups using their counters (we used beans). Here are some questions to ask them:

• How many equal groups of beans are there?
• How many beans are in each group?
• What is the total number of beans?
• What equation describes this?

Try rearranging the counters in the reverse groupings (for example: if you had 3 groups of 2, now change it to 2 groups of 3).

Play around with the counters. Try asking your child to make up different array combinations. An array is an arrangement of objects into rows and columns. Count the rows and columns or number of groups. Describe the equation.

Try putting the beans into rows and columns (an array).
How many equal rows of beans are there? How many beans are in each row? What is the total number of beans? What equation describes this?

Other Fun Ideas

• Draw out some counters, such as dots or stars, and ask your child to circle the groups.
• Try using stickers, toy cars, figurines, trains, raisins, pebbles at the beach, kids in class.
• Explore your city - look for buildings with rows of windows or doors.
• Make a list of equations and ask your child to use the counters to represent them.