iPhone/iPad/iPod app: Math Karaoke for Multiplication Facts

Singing Your Multiplication Math Facts

Do I believe in singing your way into multiplication fact proficiency? You betcha! Different kids learn through different means and singing is a very effective way for some children. My oldest was tortured by the multiplication tables; she didn’t want to learn them and struggled with them. What was worse was that she was tested every week on a particular fact family and it took an entire family effort each week to get her proficient.

Our trick? We didn’t have an iPhone or an iPad then, so we used skip counting songs that a 3rd Grade Mom Teacher friend taught me. She used these very effectively when she taught 3rd grade. I have posted these skip counting songs here. To be honest, I sang these skip counting songs over and over until it got pounded into her brain because she just wasn’t into it but I do notice that she uses these songs and her fingers to check division and multiplication on an as needed basis.

You can eliminate the singing torture for both you and your child by using the Math Karaoke iPhone/iPad/iPod app from Rega Interactive. Why? Because my kids actually LOVE singing the math fact tables into the app and then playing them back. Of course, they may change up the content (i.e. as in singing other stuff), but that is when you can switch modes from Karaoke mode to Quiz Mode.

Quick overview:

Math Karaoke has three modes: Learn, Karaoke, Quiz
Learn Mode: has the kids repeat the math tables by fact families
Karaoke Mode: has the kids sing the fact families and record their singing
Quiz Mode: has the kids test their knowledge with multiple choice problems
Math facts are 1x through 10x tables; it doesn’t go higher than 10x (my 3rd grader was tested through 12x tables)
There are 3 different levels: beginning, intermediate, and expert

How would I change this up if your kids don’t love repeating math tables? Try the recording mode using the skip counting songs. So, instead of 1 times 3 is 3, etc. Have your child sing 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18 and 21 to the tune of Clementine — you know that song: oh my darling, oh my darling, oh my darling Clementine. You are lost and gone forever, oh my darling Clementine. Yes, doesn’t that work perfectly? Love those skip counting songs!