# 3 on the Fabulous Four homework is always multiplication. Now whereas eventually we want children to be able to memorize these basic facts it is also important for them to understand why the answer is what it is. Teaching your child to solve the problem and not just memorize will help the concept of multiplication much clearer for him or her, and they will be more successful with it. To do this I explain multiplication in four different ways:
"Times I Add"
Ex: 3 x 4= can be read be replacing the multiplication symbol with "times I add" so that it reads 3 "times I add" 4 and it can be shown and solved by adding 4 three times.
"Rows of"
Ex: 3 x 4= can be read be replacing the multiplication symbol as 3 "rows of" 4 and can be shown and solved by drawing an array.
"Groups of"
Ex: 3 x 4= can be read be replacing the multiplication symbol with "groups of" so it reads 3 "groups of" 4 and can be shown and solved by drawing 3 groups of 4 and then counting the total.
"Times I Count By"
Ex: 3 x 4= can be read be replacing the multiplication symbol with "times I count by". 3 "times I count by" 4 can be shown and solved by counting by 4.