Most children are taught how to speak. Very few are taught how to listen.
The ability to listen is an essential skill. Maria Montessori, who developed the game known as “Silence”, understood the need to slow down, to listen carefully, and to pause. She worked with children who had hearing impairments and first used this practice with them. She would stand at the back of the classroom and quietly say the name of one child, then another. When a child heard their name, they were asked to walk towards the teacher. For children who were almost deaf, this was an extremely challenging exercise.
Later, Montessori introduced the Silence game in a classroom of typically developing children. She met a mother with a baby and asked for her help. The mother agreed. Montessori brought the infant into the room and showed the baby to the children.
“Look how calmly the baby is lying,” she said. “Can you stay just as calm?”
To her surprise, the children became quiet almost immediately. She noticed how much they enjoyed playing Silence. From that moment on, Silence became an essential part of the Montessori kindergarten program.
Why is this game valuable for children?
The game develops a child’s listening skills and their linguistic intelligence. It supports self-regulation and calm attention. Children learn to notice and distinguish sounds, to regulate the volume of their own voice, and to practise self-control. When Silence is experienced together, it also creates a shared sense of connection. Montessori believed that the Silence game supported children’s spiritual development.
If you would like to explore Montessori theory and other key educational theories in more depth, you can find them explained clearly in my theory pack here:
Invite the children to sit on the floor. Suggest that they keep still and play a quiet game together. Silence does not need to be enforced; it settles on its own. Explain that when we sit calmly and remain quiet, we can hear things that are impossible to notice when we are shouting or talking.
For example, the sound of cars, leaves rustling, an aeroplane engine, the wind, neighbours’ voices, or a washing machine running.
Stay in silence for one minute. Then, in a whisper, ask the children what they heard. Which sounds caught their attention? Were they loud or quiet? Pleasant or irritating?
Hey educators! Circle time doesn’t need to feel like “sit and listen.” With the right props, it becomes playful, hands-on, and meaningful. Here are five of my favourites that I use and demo often on Storykate YouTube.
1. Felt Balls – rhythm, counting, and calm
Children love the texture and weight of felt balls. They’re perfect for passing games, counting songs, and even simple mindfulness. Watch how I use them in action in my video on Circle Time with Props.
Scarves bring music alive. Float them like waves, hide behind them for peek-a-boo, or toss them high to practise gross motor skills. I show simple scarf games in this circle time playlist.
3. Puppets – your best co-teacher
A puppet instantly draws every eye in the circle. They’re perfect for storytelling, managing transitions, or introducing tricky topics. My favourite baby wombat puppet makes a regular appearance on Storykate videos.
With sticks, children can keep a steady beat, copy patterns, or invent their own music. They’re brilliant for building listening and coordination. I share rhythm stick routines in my music and movement videos.
I tried them with pre-service teachers last month and it was also a big hit!
5. Story Baskets – books that come alive
A story basket filled with objects from the book makes every child lean in. Instead of just listening, they get to hold the story. For ideas, see my video on Story Baskets for Early Learning.
👉 You’ll also find Story Baskets printables in my store, ready to use with your favourite books.
Why props matter
Props aren’t extras – they’re invitations. They make circle time interactive, inclusive, and joyful. When children have something to hold, wave, or share, they’re not just sitting in a group – they’re part of it.
💡 Want more? Head over to my chanenl for practical strategies and demonstrations!
Are your group times feeling chaotic, with children losing focus or not responding? You might be making one of five common mistakes that most educators do not even realise they are making. By the end of this read, you will have simple ways to turn group time from messy to purposeful.
I am an early childhood teacher with 17 years of experience. Below are the typical pitfalls I see, plus quick fixes you can try this week.
1. Talking too much
When we talk for too long, attention drops. Working memory and self-regulation are still developing in early childhood, so long explanations are hard to hold.
Fix: keep instructions short and clear. Speak in small chunks, then do something. Use call and response, songs, props, and quick games. Aim for a talk burst, then action. The neuroscience backs it up!
2. Not reading the room
If you miss the early signs, things unravel. Staring into space, fidgeting, side chats, gentle kicks and pinches under the radar are all signals.
Fix: Be flexible. If focus dips, switch gears. Add a 30-second movement break, change position, hand out a prop, or shift to a whole-body activity. If the whole group has tuned out, it is fine to stop and return later.
3. Explaining without engagement
Explaining complex ideas without involving children leads to tuned-out faces. Prior knowledge matters.
Fix: start with what they already know. Co-create a quick mind map in children’s words, use real objects, and build meaning together. Turn explaining into doing with simple choices, partner talk, or a game that uses the idea.
4. A rigid plan
An ideal script that never bends can work against you.
Fix: plan to pivot. Have a Plan A, Plan B, and one fast reset. Change the order, shorten an activity, or swap it out. The aim is not to finish the script; it is to keep learning alive.
5. Going too long
Even strong sessions fail if they run past children’s attention span.
Fix: keep it short. As a guide, 5 to 7 minutes for toddlers, 8 to 10 minutes for kinder age groups, then move on. End while it is still working.
Quick checklist for tomorrow
One clear purpose for the session. What book or concept are you focusing on?
A short opener that gets everyone doing something, e.g. Acknowledgement of Country, the familiar song.
Two interactive moments planned in advance
A 30-second movement break in your back pocket
A simple close, for example, a song cue or reflection question
A 10-minute plan you can steal
1 minute welcome with a song 2 minutes prop reveal and quick prediction (I use baskets and story bags) 2 minutes discussion about the prop 30-second reset movement, touch your nose, touch your toes 3-minute story, song, or problem to solve, shared discussion 90 seconds reflection, then a clear close – transition to the next activity
I Know Five… 🎾🗣️🎶 A flexible, fast-paced game that gets kids thinking, talking, and moving!
How to play:
Stand in a circle with a bouncy ball.
One child bounces the ball as they say: “I know five…” (e.g. girls’ names, fruits, animals, cities, colours) Then they list five things, bouncing the ball once for each word: “I know five fruits: apple, pear, mango, banana, kiwi!” 🍎🍐🥭🍌🥝
The ball is passed to the next child, who chooses a new category.
No repeats — the challenge grows as the game goes on!
Why it’s great: ✅ Builds vocabulary and memory ✅ Encourages clear speech and turn-taking ✅ Adds movement for active learners ✅ Easy to adapt for any age group or theme
You can play indoors or outdoors — no setup needed, just a ball and imagination!
If someone wakes you up in the middle of the night and asks, “What’s eight times seven?” or “What’s nine times six?” and you instantly respond with 56 and 54, you’ve likely memorised your multiplication tables well.
In many countries, however, even simpler multiplication facts don’t always come easily to students. In the UK, for example, the national curriculum requires children to know their times tables (including 11s and 12s) by the age of nine. In practice, even 11-year-olds often struggle with multiplication beyond 10 and frequently rely on calculators in high school rather than calculating mentally.
Extensive experience working with preschoolers and young primary students shows that successful mastery of multiplication should start early (around ages 4-5), progress from simple to complex, and use learning materials tailored to each child’s preferred learning style. Most importantly, it should be fun!
Step by Step: From Simple to Complex
To master multiplication, children need to learn the multiplication columns for 1 through 10. Each column contains 10 equations, meaning they need to memorise 100 in total. While traditional rote learning is one way to achieve this, there are many other effective strategies.
Before jumping into memorisation and problem-solving, children should first develop foundational skills. Activities like sorting socks and shoes into pairs, organising buttons by colour and size, or arranging dominoes or coins in rows of 10, 2, or 3 can all help.
You can decorate a child’s room with a calendar featuring repeating patterns. These patterns can include cars, dinosaurs, or butterflies. Choose whatever matches their interests. When drawing together, they leave handprints on paper and count the fingers. Fold and unfold paper, counting the sections it divides into.
Learning Through Senses: Seeing, Hearing, Touching
We absorb information about the world through our senses, but each person has a dominant way of learning. Some children learn best by seeing (visual learners). Others learn best by listening (auditory learners). Some learn through movement and touch (kinaesthetic learners). Understanding a child’s learning style is essential for teaching multiplication effectively.
For example, as an auditory learner, I found it easy to memorise the multiplication table just by repeating it to myself. But my son, a visual learner, preferred looking at a multiplication chart and using flashcards.
For visual learners, who absorb information best through images, a multiplication chart should be placed in a visible spot. This helps them in their room. The font should be large and engaging. A great resource is the “100 Chart.” It helps children learn to count confidently by twos, threes, fours, fives, and tens. This practice provides a strong foundation for multiplication. By age six, you can add a full multiplication chart next to it.
For auditory learners, who learn best by hearing, multiplication tables should be set to music. There are several excellent resources available, such as I’m the Best at Counting or Musical Mathematics. Singing multiplication facts isn’t just beneficial for auditory learners—it also enhances concentration, stimulates thinking, and boosts emotions.
For unaesthetic learners, who learn through movement and manipulation, hands-on activities are key. Use coins, dominoes, buttons, or multiplication flashcards that they can physically move. Encourage them to run to a chart to check their answers. Incorporate body parts into counting—how many eyes, hands, and fingers are there? Count how many fingers are in the whole group when friends or family visit.
Fun Games for Learning Multiplication
Counting Fingers
Ask children to hold up one finger each and count together up to 20—or even 100 if there are many children. Then, have them hold up two fingers, then three. Kids especially love counting in fives (“High five!”), and tens because it’s so easy.
Secret Agent
When my son was 5 years old, we invented this game while cycling to school. The journey was long, so we played “spies.” I was the “enemy,” and he was the “spy.” I would start a sequence like “two, four, six, eight…”. He had to crack the code by identifying the multiplication pattern. If he got it right, we swapped roles. If not, I gave him a new sequence. After months of playing, he never struggled with multiplication again.
Multiplication Bingo
Making a multiplication bingo game is simple. You’ll need cardboard, a marker, and a ruler (or a computer and printer). Create grids for each multiplication table (1x, 2x, 3x, etc.), writing multiplication problems (e.g., 2×1) in each square. On cards of different colours, write the answers and cut them out.
Each player gets a grid, and the caller announces a problem (e.g., “2 times 1”). Players cover the corresponding square with a token if they have that problem on their grid. The first player to fill their grid wins!
For a simplified version, buy ready-made flashcards and write answers on paper for children to match.
SNAP!
This fast-paced card game reinforces multiplication facts. Each card contains either a multiplication problem or an answer. Players take turns drawing cards and placing them face-up. If a multiplication problem and its correct answer appear together (e.g., 2×2 and 4), or if two identical problems or answers match, the first player to shout “SNAP!” wins the pile. The player with the most cards at the end wins.
The Endless Game
This game works like the classic “War” card game but with multiplication. Shuffle multiplication flashcards and deal them evenly. Players, at the same time, reveal a card (e.g., 2×2, 4×2, 7×7). The highest product wins the round. If there’s a tie (e.g., 2×2 and 4×1), players place another card on top to break the tie. The player with the most cards at the end wins.
Finger Multiplication
This game, from Exciting Multiplication, is a hit among young learners. Two players stand facing each other with hands behind their backs. The leader counts “One, two, three—fingers!” and both players show a number of fingers (from 0 to 4). They must quickly calculate the product of the two numbers and shout the answer. The first to answer correctly earns a letter in the word “FINGERS.” The game continues until one player spells out the full word.
A variation from Lynette Long’s book, Vanishing Fingers, adds an extra challenge. If a player gives the wrong answer, they lose a letter.
Who’s Faster?
This game is best played with two people and a deck of playing cards. Remove all face cards and jokers, keeping only number cards. Players take turns flipping over two cards and multiplying them. The first to shout the correct answer wins the round and keeps the cards. The player with the most cards at the end wins.
Post-it Multiplication
Sticky notes make multiplication practice interactive. Take a large board or sheet of cardboard and three sets of different-coloured sticky notes.
On one set, write 1x, 2x, 3x, etc.
On another set, write 1=, 2=, 3=, etc.
Leave the third set blank for children to write answers.
Children create multiplication equations by pairing the first two sets. Then they write the correct answer on the blank sticky notes.
A Playful Approach to Learning
After trying all these methods with preschoolers, I’ve found that no single approach works for everyone. However, children respond best to interactive games that involve movement, counting, and competition. Sorting objects and arranging them in rows should start as early as ages 3-4. Children can also learn to count by twos, fives, and tens at this age. Games like lotto and the spy game make practising multiplication both effective and fun.
