Help Kids Learn Multiplication with These Strategy Mats

There are a lot of different ways to think about how groups of numbers work together when you’re learning multiplication. You can think of them as groups, as numbers being added together, as an array and more.

Childhood 101 has a great printable multiplication strategies mat that helps kids visualize how multiplication works in different ways, including:

equal groups
array
repeated addition
skip counting

It also has a place for them to write the full multiplication sentence.

Print out the mat and laminate it or stick it in a plastic sleeve so you can write different multiplication problems on it for your kids to work through, or grab her multiplication cards printable along with her multiplication bingo game. This is a great way to reinforce math facts and make it a little more fun for kids.

Do you have any tips for teaching multiplication? I think we’re going to work on it this summer!

[Photo: Childhood 101.] Looking for more resources? Check out these board games for learning Math and Multiplication?

Leif Erikson Day is celebrated on Oct. 9, and it’s a great time to learn more about the Vikings and why we still remember Erikson all these years later.

If you don’t know about Leif Erikson (sometimes spelled Eriksson), he’s believed to have been born in Iceland, and is considered the first European to set foot on continental America, more than 500 years before Christopher Columbus.

123 Homeschool 4 Me has a printable mini book about Leif Erikson and the Vikings for kids to read and color. It talks about who the Vikings were, what kind of ships they used, how they got to America and more. It’s a good overview for younger kids to use.

A good unit study is available from Simple Living Creative Learning, which includes a page where kids can write what they know, what they want to learn and what they learned through the unit, as well as information on the Vikings, longships, helmets, clothing and more.

Get a printable Viking unit study with reading passages, comprehension questions and other activities aimed at grades 4-8 from Creative Classroom Core at Teachers Pay Teachers. (And see more Vikings content from TPT here.)

Tina’s Dynamic Homeschool Plus has some great unit study ideas, too, including suggested books and videos. The post includes information about the Viking voyages, society, mythology and ships, as well as some vocabulary and a list of famous Vikings. While you’re over there also check out her free printable lapbook, which includes mini books on ships, a timeline, a Viking women coloring page, draw your own Vikings, geography, ancient runes and more.

Piqolo Kids has a lesson on Viking women with (available for purchase) worksheets about a day in the life of Viking women. Even if you don’t grab the printables there’s some good resources on that page and a link to a video on Viking women.

Learn how to draw a Viking ship with instructions from Drawing How to Draw, or grab Vikings coloring and labeling worksheets from Kids Puzzles and Games.

There’s a Leif Erikson Festival annually in Norway, Michigan, which you can learn more about here.

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