Multiplication fluency for grades 2 to 5
There are only 36 facts. We teach the hardest ones first.
Most practice saves 7 × 8 for last, right when kids are tired and the year is running out. The Multiplication Hustle starts at the summit with 9 × 9 and gives every fact a song, a move, and a game, so every fact after the hardest one feels easy.
How it works
Why only 36? And why start at the top?
Take out the 0s and 1s, those are rules. Take out the 10s, that’s place value. And 7 × 8 is the same fact as 8 × 7 wearing a different hat. What’s left is 36 facts. That’s the whole mountain.
Start with the facts kids avoid
9 × 9, 8 × 8, and 8 × 9 come first, while energy is high. Every fact after the hardest one feels like coasting downhill.
Give every fact a hook
A called dance move, a concept card story, and a spot on the poster. Different kids grab onto different hooks.
Practice, check, celebrate
TimeTable Express, card games, and short paper practice keep the same order. Students earn badges and mark off each fact they own.
The song
The song calls every move. No choreography needed.
Press play and the song tells kids exactly what to do. Each fact gets the same move every single time, so the move itself becomes the cue for the answer. On the freestyle beats, kids do their own thing.
See all 36 facts and moves
Try it yourself
How fast can you go?
Start with the summit sprint: the 10 hardest facts. Feeling brave? Take on the whole mountain, all 36. Hand the keyboard to a student and watch which facts slow them down. Those are exactly where the Hustle starts.
The toolkit
One order. Seven ways to remember it.
Every tool follows the same hardest-first sequence, so a student who dances through 7 × 8 in the morning sees the same fact in the game that afternoon.
TimeTable Express
Students drag the right answer onto the train to keep it rolling. Seven levels follow the mountain from the summit down, with badges, stats, and a parent and teacher dashboard.
The Multiplication Hustle song
All 36 facts, hardest first, one fact per line. The song calls every move, so teachers never have to learn a dance.
The mountain poster
The whole mountain on one page. Students mark off each fact as they own it.
Concept cards
A rhyme and a picture story for every tricky fact.
The books
The Multiplication Hustle Practice Book gives short daily drills in mountain order. The Multiplication Hustle Coloring Book turns color by number into fact practice. The card game adds fast partner races.
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James and Salwa Kinsey
Who made this
Two educators who got tired of kids stalling on 7 × 8.
The Multiplication Hustle started as a song and a few worksheets for teachers to try with their students, and grew into a full toolkit and app.
James shares the first song and the 7s to 9s worksheets with teachers to try with students.
The concept cards are published.
TimeTable Express launches on the App Store in February.
The mountain poster and the called line-dance version of the song arrive, and we open founding classroom pilots.
Founding classroom pilot, 2026 to 2027
We’re looking for 10 classrooms to help prove it.
We don’t have published results yet, and we’d rather earn them than make them up. Founding classrooms get everything free for a semester in exchange for a quick before-and-after fluency check.
What your class gets
- TimeTable Express access for every student
- A printed mountain poster, concept cards, and both books
- The song with called moves, ready to press play
- A 20-minute setup call with James
What we ask
- A 2-minute fact check at the start and after 8 weeks
- About 10 minutes of Hustle practice, most school days
- A short reflection from the teacher at the end
- Permission to share anonymous class results
Get started
Tell us where you teach.
For schools and classrooms
Apply for a founding classroom pilot or ask about a school or district license. We reply within two school days.
For families
Try the sprint above tonight, then keep going in TimeTable Express on iPhone or iPad. 7-day free trial, then $5.99 a month or $19.99 a year.
Free printable
Get the mountain poster for your wall.
Print it, hang it, and let students mark off each fact as they master it. Leave your email and the download appears right away.
Teacher resources
The articles teachers keep coming back for.
Classroom ideas, guides, and stories, all built on the same hardest-first approach.
20 Easy DIY Book Character Costumes for Teachers
From Miss Frizzle to the Very Hungry Caterpillar. Perfect for Book Character Day and Read Across America week.
What is the best app for learning times tables?
How to choose practice that builds real fluency, not just screen time.
Math meets magic: the 9 × 9 story of Whimsy Wood
The summit fact, told as a story kids remember.
Questions
What teachers and parents ask first.
Something else on your mind? Write to [email protected].
Why start with the hardest facts?
When hard facts come last, they get the least practice and the most tired students. Starting at the summit gives 9 × 9 and 7 × 8 the most time and the most hooks. The easier facts come quickly once confidence is up.
Do I need to know the dance?
No. The song calls every move out loud. Press play and follow along with your class.
Is this just an app?
No. TimeTable Express is one piece. The song, poster, concept cards, card game, and practice books all follow the same order, and many classrooms use the paper tools with no screens at all.
How much class time does it take?
About 10 minutes a day works well as a warm-up, a math station, or part of intervention time.
What devices does TimeTable Express run on?
iPhone, iPad, and Apple silicon Macs. It’s free to try for 7 days.
What does it cost for a school?
Founding classroom pilots are free for a semester. School and district pricing depends on the number of classrooms, and we’ll walk you through it after the pilot.