Review: Times Tales

More educational supplement reviews!! As we're heading into SOL time here in Virginia, I hope that these reviews will be helpful to all of you, not just homeschoolers! This one is particularly good- The Trigger Memory Co. provided us with the digital version of Times Tales for us to use in our home school, and we have really enjoyed it. I used the product with my 10 year old 4th grader, who already "knew" his times tables and wasn't super interested, but my 8 year old second grader really likes the program and has asked to use it each day.

Times Tales is, admittedly, a little weird at first.  I learned my multiplication tables the old fashioned way- my mom ran through flashcards until I cried, she yelled, and I tried again.  Eventually I got really fast at them, and then the dreaded cards went away, not to be seen or heard from again until my own children needed to learn.  Times tales, however, takes a very different approach.  If you have a learner that doesn't like route memorization or that does better with visual learning, this might be exactly what you've been looking for- whether you need a refresher before testing or you need to teach multiplication from scratch.

Each multiplication fact is told as a story.  In the first CD or digital download, the student is introduced to a cast of characters like Mr. and Mrs. Week (who only go out together).  Once they memorize the characters and confirm they know each one, they are able to move on to learning the "tales" portion.  Here's my daughter explaining a little more:

We've really enjoyed Times Tales for helping Savannah learn her multiplication facts, and we think that it's a great option, especially for kids that have not enjoyed learning facts in more "traditional" ways, or parents who just want to make multiplication fun from the outset! Another thing I really like about this program is that it moves seamlessly from online to offline.  The program includes printable resources that make a lot of sense- they start with the images of the characters your children have learned and then move to math facts with regular numbers, allowing your child to move from the stories to the written math to traditional math easily and without tears.  Additionally, the program is very easy to use- Savannah was able to use this as a supplement to her regular math curriculum without my assistance, which is always nice when you have three learners who need you.  At this point, after being taught how to open and run the program, she can do it entirely independently, although she's quite comfortable with her math facts after only a few hours using Times Tales and doesn't really need it anymore!

You can purchase a digital download of Times Tales for just $19.95 right now, and there's no waiting or shipping because it's instantly delivered to your computer.  If you're a classroom teacher, they also have classroom bundles available that include mini flip charts and a classroom sized flip chart, as well as a CD to print all of the hard-copy reinforcements that I mentioned earlier.  We really liked using Times Tales and think you'll like it, too! It's a little different, but if it's your learning style, it's the perfect way to learn your math facts in a fun way with no tears!