Nine multiplication shortcuts that let your child skip the scrap paper
Multiplication Shortcuts is Book 2 of Math Magic Missions. Every trick starts as a mystery, ends as a game, and comes with the reason it works, so your child remembers it long after the worksheet is done. Fifteen minutes a day, any curriculum, any country.
Start the missions todayInstant 45-page PDF download. Print it or use it on a tablet. Online missions coming soon, included free.
Try one trick right now
Want the full mission? Play Mission 1 free online →
Your child knows the times tables. So why is 48 × 25 still a struggle?
- You have watched your child line up two numbers on scrap paper to work out 47 × 9.
- You have seen a page of long multiplication finished slowly, with one small slip spoiling the answer.
- You have heard “I’m just not a math person” and felt your heart sink a little.
- You know multiplication matters in every grade after this one, yet the times tables stop at 12.
Here is the surprising part. Numbers like 5, 9, 11, 25 and 100 are friendly numbers in disguise. Multiplying by 5 is just halving and adding a zero. Multiplying by 9 is multiplying by 10 and taking one off. Once a child sees why, the shortcut stops being a rule to memorise and becomes their trick, and children love showing off their own tricks.
Why I made these books
I’m Smita, and I run a mathematics academy in Bhubaneswar, India, where I teach school students every week. Long before that, I was a parent sitting at the kitchen table with my own children, working through olympiad problems that sometimes took us days to crack.
Those days taught me something no textbook had. My children never remembered the answers I explained to them. They remembered the patterns they spotted themselves, the moment a strange-looking result suddenly made sense. That habit of looking for patterns carried them all the way to the national level of junior math olympiads.
Math Magic Missions is a series of short books that give your child that same feeling, packed into small daily missions you can do together. Book 1 was about squaring. Book 2 is about multiplication, the thing children do more than almost anything else in math, and the place where a good shortcut saves the most time.
Smita
Meet Book 2: Multiplication Shortcuts
Math Magic Missions is a series of printable activity books of mental math tricks. Book 2, Multiplication Shortcuts, turns nine multiplication tricks into short missions your child can finish in about fifteen minutes each.
Picture a family trip a few weeks from now. Someone asks, “If a box holds 25 sweets, how many are in 48 boxes?” Before anyone has found a phone, your child says, “Twelve hundred.” You watch the grin, and you hear the car go quiet. That is the moment this book is built for, and once you start the first mission, you’ll see it coming sooner than you expect.
Every mission follows the same five steps
Mystery
A few surprising answers. Your child hunts for the pattern first.
Reveal
The trick, step by step, with worked examples.
The secret
Why it really works, drawn with rectangles of tiles, then proved with simple algebra.
Get your badge
Bronze, Silver and Gold questions. Clear them all to colour the mission badge.
Game
A code to crack, a race to win, or a magic trick for the family.
The nine missions in Book 2
The Eleven Express
Multiply any two-digit number by 11 just by adding its two digits. Try it free online
53 × 11 = 583Half of Ten
Multiply by 5 by halving, and see why 5 is really “half of 10”.
48 × 5 = 240Quarter Power
Multiply by 25 by thinking “a quarter of 100”.
36 × 25 = 900The Nine Shortcut
Multiply by 9 and 99 by going one too far, then taking one off.
47 × 9 = 423Write It Twice
Multiply by 101 and 1001 by writing the number twice, plus a mind-reading trick for the family.
47 × 101 = 4747Halve and Double
Swap a hard multiplication for an easy one with the same answer.
16 × 35 = 8 × 70 = 560Just Below a Hundred
Multiply two numbers just under 100 in two quick steps.
97 × 94 = 9118Just Above a Hundred
The same idea for two numbers just over 100.
103 × 107 = 11021The Tens Twins
Multiply two numbers with the same tens digit, when their units digits add up to 10.
43 × 47 = 2021Plus a mission tracker with badges to colour in, “draw it yourself” grids where your child proves each trick with tiles, a Boss Challenge that mixes all nine tricks, a parents’ guide, a full answer key and a Multiplication Master certificate. 45 pages in all.
Coming soon: an online version of every mission, where answers check themselves and the game keeps score. Mission 1 is already free to play, and everyone who buys Book 2 gets the password for the rest by email as soon as they are ready, at no extra cost.
Book 2 of a growing series
Each book covers one family of tricks, so your child finishes something complete in about a week and can pick up the next book when they’re ready. You do not need Book 1 first.
Squaring Secrets
Six missions for squaring numbers near 50, near 100, ending in 5, and everything in between. See Book 1
Multiplication Shortcuts
Nine missions for multiplying by 5, 9, 11, 25 and 101, and for numbers near 100, so your child multiplies in their head instead of on scrap paper.
Division and Divisibility
Quick checks for 3, 4, 8, 9 and 11, plus fraction anchors, so your child spots answers before working them out.
Peek inside a mission
Mission 1: The Eleven Express · Step 1, the Mystery
Your child gets four multiplications by 11 and a question, with no explanation yet. Look closely at these four. What do you notice?
| Question | 23 × 11 | 45 × 11 | 72 × 11 | 36 × 11 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Answer | 253 | 495 | 792 | 396 |
Look at the first and last digit of each answer, then at the middle digit. Where did that middle digit come from? Your child will spot it in a minute or two. The book then reveals the trick and shows, with a picture of tiles, why it always works.
Is this book right for your child?
It’s for you if
- Your child is in grades 5 to 8, or is younger and loves numbers.
- Your child already knows the times tables and wants to go faster.
- You want math time at home to feel like play, not homework.
- Your child likes puzzles, codes, races or showing off a clever trick.
- You want tricks your child understands, not just memorises.
It’s not for you if
- You’re looking for a full school syllabus or exam prep course.
- Your child hasn’t learned times tables yet. Start there first.
Get Book 2: Multiplication Shortcuts today
Nine missions of discovery, games and practice that your child will actually ask to do, for less than the cost of a single tuition class.
- 9 multiplication missions, each with mystery, reveal, secret, practice and game
- Picture proofs and simple algebra showing why every trick works
- Bronze, Silver and Gold practice for every trick
- A Boss Challenge and a Multiplication Master certificate
- Mission tracker, parents’ guide and full answer key
- 45-page PDF, instant download, print as many copies as your family needs
- Coming soon, free to you: the password to play all nine missions online, emailed as soon as they are ready
In India
UPI, cards or netbanking
Outside India
International cards, charged in USD
Checkout shows the price in your currency.
Your download arrives as soon as payment goes through. Because this is a digital product, sales are final, but if your file doesn’t arrive or won’t open, send me a message and I’ll sort it out personally.
Questions parents ask
How will I receive the book?
As a PDF, straight after payment. You can print it, or your child can write answers on a tablet with any PDF app.
Can my child play the missions online?
Mission 1 is free for everyone to play right now. The other eight are being built. When they are ready, everyone who has bought Book 2 gets the password by email, at no extra cost, and typing it once opens every mission on that device. See all online missions.
Do we need Book 1 first?
No. Each book stands on its own, and Book 2 explains everything it uses. If your child enjoys it, Book 1: Squaring Secrets is a good companion, and a few Book 2 tricks will feel like old friends from it.
Which grades is it for?
It’s written for grades 5 to 8. Younger children who know their times tables enjoy the early missions, and older students find the algebra behind each trick a good stretch.
Does it follow a particular curriculum?
No. These are mental math skills that work alongside any school board or country’s syllabus, from CBSE to Common Core to the UK curriculum.
How much time does it take?
About fifteen minutes per mission. One mission a day finishes Book 2 in nine days, and most children go back to replay the games.
Do I need to be good at math to help?
Not at all. Every mission explains the trick in plain steps, and the answer key covers every question and game, so you can learn right alongside your child.
When is Book 3 coming out?
I’m writing it now. Book 3 covers division and divisibility. Follow along on my Substack to hear the moment it is ready.
Can I print copies for my other children?
Yes, print as many copies as your own family needs. Please don’t share or resell the file outside your home.
What if I have a problem with my payment or download?
Send me a message and I’ll help you directly. I read every one myself.
Give your child their next math superpower this week
Imagine the look on their face when they beat the calculator on a multiplication, and then ask for the next mission. You can start tonight with Mission 1, because your download is ready the moment you pay.
Yes, start the missions