We were recently sent a set of Dinosaur Times Tables Tutor cards by The Natural History Museum to review. Perfect for the eldest (8) who has to practise his times tables weekly and I thought it would be a fun way of practising them together. I will hold my hands up and admit I’m pretty rubish at mine. I learnt them in a funny way saying 8, 16, 24, 32 rather than 1 times 8 is 8, 2 times 8 is 16, so when I get asked something like 7×8 I have to go through them till I reach the answer. I’ve tried to re learn them over the years but there are still a few numbers I struggle with. When I did my teacher training the people my age had also learnt them in a similar way so it must have been a policy at the time.
The boys love dinsosaurs and maths strangely so they were both keen to have a go at the games. I wasn’t sure if Finlay (5) would be able to join in so was pleasantly surprised that he could as there would have been a drama otherwise. There is a warm up game you can play and then different versions of the main game. Starting with 2,5 and 10 times tables. Finlay was able to join in as although he didn’t know the multiplication he can recognise numbers so figured out quite quickly that a 10 and a 10 together was bigger than a 2 and a 10. When we told him the multiplications he was also able to say which one was the largest number, meaning not only is this game good for older children, younger children will be able to practise their number recognition and counting when playing with you.
I went on to play one of the more challenging versions with Kyle (8) in which you both turn over a card and then the first to say the multiplication wins them both. For some of them we were pretty evenly matched. You could vary this game to focus on a particular times table by selecting the cards you include to include more from that particular table. We included them all so could pull out anything from 1×10 to 12×8.
They have both asked to sit and play the Dinosaur Times Tables Tutor cards game with me since which shows how much they enjoy it and the fact its educational is a real bonus. The cards are available online at The National History Museum, priced £7.
I’ve got another two sets of the Dinosaur Times Tables Tutor cards by The Natural History Museum to giveaway. Enter via the Gleam form below. Good Luck!
Win a set of Dinosaur Times Tables Tutor cards By the National History Museum