For many KS1 children, learning times tables means one thing: repetition. Chanting, drilling, flashing cards. These methods work for some, but for many others—especially creative, neurodiverse, or anxious learners—they can turn math into a chore rather than a joy.
As a mathematician, educator, and mother, I began to wonder:
What if times tables didn’t feel like memorizing at all? What if they felt like stepping into a story full of color, curiosity, and connection?
That question led me to create the FUNS Method—Fun and Unforgettable Numbers and Stories—a joyful, screen-free, Montessori-aligned approach for KS1 children to explore multiplication through characters, forest adventures, and hands-on play.
While online platforms like TT Rock Stars can make times tables exciting through gamified practice, they often rely on speed-based drills and screen interaction.
The FUNS Method takes a different path. Rather than isolating facts or racing the clock, children follow animal characters through magical forest settings—solving challenges, earning badges, and discovering numbers within meaningful, story-driven scenes that support fluency and number sense in a joyful, lasting way.
Imagine Sevenster, the gentle sloth with seven-shaped claws and a love for the number 7, helping Sixby the deer—with six proud antlers and a passion for six—free his tangled antlers from 42 vines in the Fruity-Toot Garden: 6 × 7 = 42.
In the FUNS Method, these kinds of playful encounters don’t just teach multiplication—they bring it to life. Children remember not because they’re drilled, but because the experience is meaningful, rhythmic, and tied to number-linked characters and scenes—like Sixby for 6, Sevenster for 7, and Fruity-Toot for 42.
The Problem with Drill-Based Learning
Guidance from the Department for Education (DfE) and Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) emphasizes the importance of fluency and confident recall. But achieving fluency doesn’t have to mean flashcards and speed tests.
Many resources emphasize repetition and gamified incentives. These can help—but for children who learn through imagination, rhythm, and emotional connection, they may not be enough.
Storytelling: A Different Path to Mastery
The FUNS method helps children:
- Build deep memory connections through character and plot
- Visualize numbers as stories, characters, and places
- Strengthen fluency through meaningful story connections and pattern-based scenes
- Learn in a way that feels joyful, emotionally safe, and engaging
This approach supports DfE and EEF priorities while creating space for something children don’t often get in math: imagination.
Why It Matters
We remember our childhood stories for life. Why not let multiplication live there too?
By transforming abstract facts into playful, purposeful adventures, the FUNS Method offers a new path to mastery—one where learning is powered by curiosity, not pressure.
Because when learning feels like an adventure, it stays with them forever.
Masoumeh Mahdieh
PhD in Operations Research | Author and Founder of FUNS Books | funswithbooks.com | drmasoumehmahdieh@gmail.com
Download: Mini Alignment Table (PDF)
Originally published on LinkedIn. Read the original post here