Multiplication memorization is the key that unlocked all of this. It may have been a chore to do the memorization, but it made everything that came after far less so.
I know you're right about this... I just wish there was a way to make it more fun. I've always hated memorization (still do) so I have a reflexive aversion to it which I need to overcome, so I can show my kids how to as well...
Free game that is really good for teaching multiplication...TimezAttack (find it by googling it) and down load the free version. TimezAttack is fancy graphics but systematic instruction. (TimezAttack also has an +- in Beta and I think division but we have only been working on x).
Game that costs...Aleks.com...my son is doing the third grade program math class work through Aleks and that includes (separately) +-x and division tables work in a systematic way but also includes little games to play (nothing fancy).
