is it impossible for a 8 year old to learn all the times-tables up to 12 off by heart in only 2 weeks?

I don't know if everything can be memorized in 2 weeks, however here are some things you can do to help your child with their homework: Children learn best when it’s something fun.

* Purchase a set of multiplication flash cards

* after dinner, be in a room without any distractions - no tv, radio, other family members or pets, etc). NO other family member should be hanging around OR playing the game. This will distract your child & defeat the purpose of the game, which is to help your child learn by having fun & also to have a one-on-one quality time with just your child.

* Make sure that this is fun, it is not really a competition between you & your child - you really don't want to be the winner of this game. You are trying to help your child build confidence in math. If you are angry, frustrated, or acting like you want to rush through this, your child will not want to play. I’ve played this game with many kids with different personalities & they all have loved it. But I’ve also acted as though this is a really fun game & the kids love it when they earn more “rewards” than me!

* have a pile of "rewards" in a baggie or small closeable container (like a plastic "wipes" container that's been washed out & dried). AFTER game is over, all "rewards" are put back in for the next game. You need to have MORE "rewards" than questions that will be asked. They should be something that can be reused over & over again & should all be the same size: dimes, OR buttons, OR small colored pebbles, OR beads, etc. something that was the same worked for us because then there wasn’t a problem with the child saying, “but I wanted the blue one not the red one” or “I want to change this for the other ___”

* tell your son/daughter that you will be playing a new game that's fun & will help him memorize the times-table.

* when starting out, do the ones that are the EASIEST first so that your child will start earning the "rewards" & gain confidence & the game will seem easy & fun

* Prepare the deck ahead of time so that you are not searching through the deck for easy cards while your child is sitting there getting frustrated & bored.

* Let your child know that in the beginning of the week they might not get as many right; but by the end of the week they'll have A LOT more right. Keep a pad of paper to keep track of the "Reward" scores.

* Explain the rules to your child:

* When your child gets a RIGHT answer, they get 1 reward from the pile to add to THEIR pile on the table.

* When your child gets a WRONG answer, they have to take 1 reward from THEIR pile & give it to you for YOUR pile.

* Look over the "wrong" card with your child. Is there a "trick" to remembering this math problem?

Examples:

***anything times 0 equals 0

***anything time 1 equals that number

***anything times 2 equals double that number

etc. Remember how we used to memorize the times table? 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30...etc

try this in the car when you are driving somewhere, or take a walk around your neighborhood & practice these.

* Keep aside the cards where your child got a wrong answer & go through them again with your child, see if they get any of the cards right this time.

After the game has ended, you & your child count up each pile. Keep a pad ready to record the scores. By the end of the 1st week you should see an improvement in your child's score.

***This game could be used to help your child learn other things as well. Use it for your child’s Spelling Words. This can also be used for any other homework your child needs to memorize.

*** Another way to help your child when they have to memorize words & their definitions is to make up your own flash cards. Keep a "Master list" for yourself that has the words & their definitions on it.

On the computer, make up flash cards. EACH "Flash card" should have either a word OR its definition on it. Mix up all the cards & your child has to match up the word to its definition. Check the answers against your master list. Again, use the above game so that your child is "rewarded" for the RIGHT answers.

***Playing this game will bring the 2 of you closer while helping her to learn at the same time.

In two weeks, it's pretty unlikely she'll get there.

You didn't ask, but if you wanted advice on how to get her to learn them quickly, I'd say have her just memorize the answers in order. For example, have her learn 12, 24, 36, 48, 60, 72, 84, 96, 108, 120, 132, 144. Instead of memorizing 12*5=60. If she knows all the answers in order, she can just count through "12, 24, 36, 48, 60. Okay, the answer is 60." That's how I learned my 12s, 8s and 9s, back in the day. It's also how my mother learned all her multiplication tables. Eventually, she'll get more comfortable with them and wont have to count through them all.

I did that because my mom promised me my own phone in my room when I memorized all of the tables and she quized me on it. I think it took me a little less than 2 weeks. It was great because it let me get a head in math- when the class was learning multipication facts I was on long division by that time. Though I have a really good memory. Plus I caught on that 2*4 was the same as 4*2. I probably worked at it for an hour a day because I really REALLY wanted a talking m&m phone.

Yes-but depending on the 8 year old. My cousin was like gifted or something and learnt them by the time he was 7! I was still learning them when I was 12....

Probably. What's the rush? My 9 year old is in tutoring for that very reason. What I've been doing, however, to speed along the process is to print out a blank multiplication table from 1x1 through 12x12 and have him fill it out every other day. He hates it, but every time he does it he gets faster and faster and more confident. He used to hate math, now it's the first thing out of his backpack.

Try this: http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=blank+multipli...

It's not impossible, but what's the rush? Life is not a tournament.

... but you can practice with games like these:

It's not impossible. I'm pretty sure my brother knew it at that age.

But it's really hard!

It's not like he/she is memorizing right? It's a pattern, which isn't too hard.

make a song... she'll learn them faster

Yes, unless its stupid