For the learning table
Give a child something to notice.
Choosing homeschool math books often means looking for a resource that does more than fill a lesson slot. Families want materials that meet a child where they are, make room for questions, and help an idea become clearer through use. For some children, a page of facts is enough. For others, the moment of understanding comes when they can see a pattern, point to it, and trace it for themselves.
Number Patterns in Hundred Charts was made for that second kind of learning. It brings hundred charts, addition tables, and multiplication tables together in a format that invites children to look closely at how numbers repeat, line up, and connect. The book is not a full curriculum. It is a practical companion for the moments when a family wants to slow down and make a math idea visible.
Created from lived experience
A math resource shaped at home.
Teressa L. Diggs began home schooling her children in 1985. She knew reading and math were important foundations, but she did not want mathematics to become only a set of facts repeated until they were memorized. She looked for ways to help her children see why numbers worked together, not simply what answer belonged in a blank.
That search led her to create her own collection of hundred charts, addition tables, and multiplication tables. The pages were designed to be placed in clear sleeves after the black squares were carefully cut out. When two pages are layered, common multiples can appear through the windows. The activity gives a child something concrete to examine while an adult asks, “What do you notice?”
That origin is what makes this book useful in a home learning setting. It came from a parent who was building a rhythm around real children, real questions, and the need to make room for different ways of understanding. The result is a resource that can sit beside the rest of a family's chosen math program without pretending to replace it.
The book
A visual companion for home math lessons.
Use it when a child needs to look, compare, and talk through the connections that a number pattern can reveal.
Hands-on learning
Number Patterns: In Hundred Charts
An interactive reference book of number facts and patterns, designed for looking, playing, comparing, and discovering how numbers connect.
Find the book ↗What children can explore
Turn number facts into a pattern a child can follow.
A hundred chart gives numbers a place to live together. A child can follow the count by twos, fives, or tens and see the spaces between the numbers. They can look down a column, scan across a row, or ask where a pattern begins again. That physical arrangement makes a useful change from hearing that numbers relate to one another to actually seeing the relationship on the page.
The addition and multiplication tables create more opportunities to compare. A learner can find the same total in different places, look for a fact that repeats, or notice how a sequence changes as it grows. None of those observations has to become a formal lesson immediately. A child who is allowed to describe what they see is already practicing the habit of mathematical thinking.
The clear-sleeve activity adds a tactile layer. As pages are combined, the windows reveal shared multiples. That makes the idea of a common multiple less like a definition to remember and more like a pattern that appears in front of the child. Families can use the activity to prompt a prediction, test an idea, and talk about why the visible squares landed where they did.
For a home schooling parent, that flexibility matters. One day the book may support a quick conversation before another lesson. On another day it may become the centerpiece of a longer investigation. It does not require a family to follow one pace or one method. It gives them a dependable visual tool they can return to whenever a child is ready to look again.
A simple way to begin
Start with a question, not a quiz.
Open a hundred chart and ask a child to find the numbers they say when they count by twos. Then try fives or tens. Do they see a shape? Do the numbers fall in the same column? Which spaces are skipped? There is no need to rush toward a vocabulary word or a correct explanation. The goal is to help the child pay attention to something that is really there.
When the time is right, bring out the addition or multiplication tables. Let the child look for a result they recognize. Ask them to choose two numbers that might make the same answer in different ways. If you use the layered pages, invite a prediction before looking through the windows. A guess that changes after observation is part of learning, not a mistake to hide.
This approach can be especially helpful when a child is becoming discouraged by math. A chart does not judge. It holds still long enough for a learner to trace an idea, try again, and explain it in their own words. The book offers a calmer way back into a concept that may have felt too fast or too far away.
It can also help families keep a lesson responsive to the child in front of them. A child who is eager to move ahead can choose a new sequence to investigate. A child who needs more time can stay with the same chart and practice noticing one change at a time. The material does not ask every learner to arrive at the same observation on the same day. It gives the adult a clear way to follow the child’s curiosity while still working with meaningful number ideas.
Try leaving the book within reach instead of saving it for a formal lesson. A hundred chart can become a useful reference while a child is working through another problem, playing a number game, or wondering about a multiplication fact that keeps appearing. Over time, those small returns to the same visual can help a pattern become familiar. The book is there when a family needs a prompt, a place to point, or a fresh way to say, “Let’s see what happens.”
Families can pair the activity with Terri’s home schooling experience and philosophy of education, where she shares more about building learning around a child's needs. The broader Learning page also offers a useful next step for families who want to explore the ideas behind the book.
A thoughtful fit
For families who want math to feel more understandable.
Number Patterns in Hundred Charts is a strong fit for home schooling families who want a hands-on math book to support visual learning. It is particularly useful for children who enjoy patterns, like to ask why something works, or need a concrete way to revisit number facts.
It is also for the adult sitting beside them. The book makes it easier to begin a conversation with a chart, a table, and one genuine question. That shared focus can turn a frustrating subject into a small moment of discovery.
Find Number Patterns in Hundred Charts ↗Frequently asked questions
Before you choose a homeschool math book.
Is this a complete homeschool math curriculum?
No. Number Patterns in Hundred Charts is a hands-on reference book and activity, not a full curriculum. It is made to support number exploration, reinforce ideas a child is already learning, and give families a visual way to talk about counting, multiplication facts, and common multiples.
What does this homeschool math book help children explore?
The book brings together hundred charts, addition tables, and multiplication tables. Children can scan for repeated intervals, compare facts, and use the cut-out windows and clear sleeves to see shared multiples appear when pages are layered.
Who created Number Patterns in Hundred Charts?
Teressa L. Diggs, a Wyoming educator, mother, and longtime home school parent, created the book after looking for a more visual way to explore mathematics with her own children.
How can a family use it during a homeschool day?
Use it for a short number conversation, a visual reference during another lesson, or a hands-on activity when a child is ready to investigate a pattern. It works best as an invitation to notice, predict, compare, and return to an idea.
Bring it to the table
Make room for one more number question.
Use a hundred chart, follow a pattern, and see where a child’s curiosity leads next.