Start from zero — the basic math you need before everything else
Multiplying is adding the same number again and again. 4 × 3 means "four threes": 3 + 3 + 3 + 3 = 12. A nice picture is a grid. 4 rows of 3 dots is 12 dots, and that is also the area of a 4-by-3 rectangle.
Dividing is sharing equally, or asking "how many fit?". 12 ÷ 3 asks how many 3s make 12. The answer is 4. Sometimes things don't share evenly and a little is left over. That leftover is the remainder. Multiplying and dividing undo each other, just like adding and subtracting.
Multiplying counts things arranged in a grid. A theatre with 4 rows of 5 seats has 4 × 5 = 20 seats — you don't count one by one, you multiply rows by seats. Dividing is the reverse question: 20 seats split into 4 equal rows gives 20 ÷ 4 = 5 seats per row.
▶ Multiplying & Dividing