Isaac Anoom is Mr Numbervator. He can’t be bargained with, he can’t be reasoned with and he will not stop in his quest to make maths fun. He was an active participant in Maths Year 2000 and his game show, Who Wants to be a Mathonaire?, was one of the events he ran during the year.

Currently on secondment from teaching maths at Donnington primary school in Willesden, London borough of Brent, Mr Anoom has been visiting schools around Britain with his high-energy brand of maths activities. Whether he is entertaining whole schools in assemblies or individual classes, audience participation is an essential part of his routine. As well as the alternative quiz show, Mr Anoom created a set of Handy Calci as a fun resource to help children learn their, six, seven, eight, nine and 10 times tables.

Mr Numbervator’s Handy Calci are giant hands with numbers on the fingertips. By lining the fingers up and using Mr Numbervator’s set formula, pupils should be able to work out the six to 10 times tables in a few seconds.

At first, it seems a bit tricky. The routine involves lining fingers up, multiplying leftover fingers and adding two sets of numbers together. But once children have had several demonstrations and run through the procedure a few times, they should get the hang of it without constantly having to refer to the instructions. If they forget what they have to do next, the instructions are written on the hands.

The cardboard hands measure just over 40cm and will take a fair amount of bashing before they begin to look worn. If you’re running a demonstration in front of the class, you’re probably better off photocopying the instructions first rather than trying to read from the hands and give a smooth demonstration at the same time.

You can use Handy Calciin front of the whole class or, better still, pass them around for pupils to demonstrate to each other. If you’re suitably impressed and want to buy class sets, you’ll enjoy a 37 per cent discount on the slightly steep single-unit price.

Handy Calci may be a low-tech concept but it is a clever one that will strengthen your armoury of teaching tricks, and provide an entertaining alternative for pupils who groan at the mention of times tables.