Don't Skip Skip Counting, Let Skipper Skip

Skip Counting

 is a long, lost skill.

When modern educators thought rote drills were too monotonous, 

boring and unproductive,

they stopped having the kids chant in class,

2-4-6-8-10-12...

3-6-9-12-15-18...

The multiplication tables weren't chanted, either.

1x7=7

2x7=14

3x7=21

4x7=28

They even came up for a name for it...

"Drill and Kill."

You can research all the arguments. 

They use a lotta' big words and catch phrases I didn't understand,

but I know this,

some things have to be repeated over and over to be learned.

How many times have you told your kids to flush the toilet?

How many times do you go in a find a toilet full of...

well...um....ah... you find the toilet is unflushed?

My point exactly.

Repetition is good.

Anything valuable has to  repeated over and over  to get through their

knuckleheads, peabrains, noggins,

their precious little minds.

Skip counting is valuable in addition and multiplication.

Jolanthe from Homeschool Creations

is an amazing teaching mommy.

Generous, too.

She offers many, many free printables and ideas to make your

teaching rock.

She inspires me so much I think I wanna' be her when I grow up.

Start by printing out her

Skip Counting Charts.

If you do this, drop a comment and thank her.

Did I tell you how amazing she is?

2,700 followers think so.

I put mine in clear page protectors in a binder,

but they could also be laminated.

Thanks to Jolanthe blogging about a great deal on a laminator,

I got one for Christmas.

Back to Skip Counting.

Here's where my little touch comes in.

Remember how I love toys?

I really, really, really love toys.

Just like a spoonful of sugar makes the medicine go down,

toys make any lesson better.

I thought we needed Skipper to help us Skip Count.

Since we're trying to learn the 3's in multiplication,

we hopped through the list a few times,

counting out loud.

Then, we began working on the facts,  beginning with Skipper on zero.

If I said,

2 x 3

Skipper hopped twice up to the six.

I made Rebekah repeat the problem and the product,

yea, that would be the answer in multiplication.

Skipper landed on 27. 

Quick...

what math fact did I call out?

Yea, yer' so smart, 3 x 9.

3 x 4 = 12

Yea!  Got another one right.

Then you introduce the commutative property.

If 3x4 = 12

then

4x3=12.

It's a two 'fer one kinda' deal.

You memorize a lot less facts when you understand this concept.

Then, just when I was really patting myself on the back about

our amazing math lesson I had presented and the blog I was gunna' write

Skip Counting With Skipper

Rebekah said,

"But, Mom, this doll's name is Stacie."