Fourth Grade Multiplication

I was helping Abby with her homework last night and something caught my eye.  We've been doing homework together for several years....but something was weird last night?!

Since when is multiplication a star/snowflake and not a x- multiplication mark?  This is the first time she's really getting multiplication, so I've never noticed this or didn't know this before.  Why is Math so different now?  Check out how they do the problems too, she's doing one by writing out 100's and 10's and 5's it's interesting.  If she asks for help, I do it the way I was taught.  But she's fast, she knows how to do it, I sit there at the table with her and say to myself...."If she asks, I'm going into the other room and using the calculator", come on I know you did it too!

This new math, do you get it?