Times Tables and The Tea Set

by Connie
(NC)

It's funny you have this section on your website because this is one of my favorite childhood memories and I've retold it to my children.

When I was in second or third grade, I can't remember which, we were learning multiplication tables, or as we were taught, times tables.

We all seemed to be struggling. Sure, we all had one through five but that six through nine started to get a bit tricky.

Those were a lot of numbers to remember and who has that many fingers to use for help anyway?

Well, our teacher was wonderful. She had a very nice boy prize like a large truck or girl prize like a nice size doll at the front of the room.

The instructions to us were ANY TIME during the school year if you wanted to go up in front of the class and say all your times tables 1 through 9, you may do so. Just let her know.

If you got them all right, you got to take the wonderful prize home.

Being very shy, for most of the year I watched other kids get up there and at least try. When someone won, our teacher would replace the prize with something just as fabulous.

One day, she brought in the loveliest porcelain tea set I had ever seen. I stared at that tea set many days dreaming of it being mine.

Finally, when I couldn't stand it any more, I faced my fear, memorized my numbers and got up in front of that class to do my times tables 1 through 9.

I went home with a lovely tea set that day.