My Early Years.
I taught myself multiplucation at the age of three. I figured out that multiplucation was a form of addition. I loved playing Monopoly, I thought that if you owned Park Lane and Mayfair you would always win, but it didn't always work out that way !!!
I used Monopoly money to turn my ability to count to twenty into the ability to add up. Then I used the money and would count out loud to learn multiplucation. If I could count by ones, then I could count by fives. If 5 plus 5 equalled 10 then it followed that 2 times 5 equalled 10 also .
With a little more difficulty, I learnt to count to 100. I would ask one of my two older brothers or my two older sisters to listen to me count to 100. I would ask my mother or my father to listen to me count to 100. I didn't always get it right, but I kept trying until I did.
As I counted, I voiced the numbers softly.... one two three four FIVE (loudly) six seven eight nine TEN (loudly) eleven twelve thirteen fourteen FIFTEEN (loudly) sisteen seventeen eighteen nineteen TWENTY (loudly) then, I would simply count by fives... FIVE, TEN,FIFTEEN, TWENTY, TWENTY-FIVE, THIRTY
Having learnt to multiply by fives, I found a multiplucation table. I could read numbers, but I couldn' t read yet, besides being able to multiply numbers was an impressive skill. If I could multiply two numbers, I could ask for a lolly or a square of chocolate as a reward !
