Can Multiplying at 6 and 7 years of age happen?

It has been quite some time since my last post.  Lots of good things have happened since then and I am so thankful for that period of time.  So, I am now back to blog about Elementary Mathematics!  :)

Multiplying, can it happen at 6 or 7 years of age in a student's life?  Most certainly!  Teach your students to get comfortable with patterns, how to see patterns in real life objects (flowers, seasons, roller costers) and making up their own patterns.  Grab a 100-Chart and begin to skip count 2s, 3s, 4s, 5s, etc... Discuss the pattern taken place while moving forward and backwards on the 100-Chart.  Keep practicing this concept for about 3 or 4 months.  Then, introduce multiplication along with the meaning of the different mathematical symbols.  There are other steps involved to get your students multiplying in 1st grade but this will help get you started.