I first heard about Times Tales from The Trigger Memory Co. in the fall of 2015. I looked at it, was intrigued, sorta confused, and almost bought it. When I found out I had the opportunity to review the downloadable version of the product I was was like "YEAH-YAH"!
I had read amazing reviews of Times Tales from other homeschool parents. I was reading things like, “My kids learned their upper times tables in an hour” and "this is the easiest way to learn your multiplication facts". So I was curious, but skeptical. I It seemed like we had already tried everything! My kids new what multiplication is but memorizing the facts was beyond them for some insane reason!
Multiplication memorization was a thing I gave up on. They understood it, they new what it was, they could do, but memorizing it- NO MATTER WHAT WE DID- never worked. I was reluctant to spend money on what I saw as a lost cause but getting it to review for free for my honest opinion, well, I can most definitely do that!
The download was simple and easy. It took like an hour but that could be my slow computer. There are 2 videos and 3 PDF files. Before we get into all that though, let's talk about what this program is:
- Times Tales is simple stories that provide all the information about the multiplication problem in an easy to recall audio/visual way. The story and visuals act as mental spring boards for otherwise abstract facts.
"There were two Tree Houses. The first Tree House grew 8 apples and the second grew only 1"Do you see it??? 9 (Tree House) x 9 (Tree House) = 8 (apples) 1 (apple)... 9x9=81!!!!!
HAPPY DANCE!!! HAPPY DANCE!!!! Like, people, I know it now too!!!!!!! My kids know it!!! My kindergartener knows it!!! I think the dog even knows it!!!! It really is easy, and it really does work, and it really is that awesome!
Okay back to explaining: You watch this short video where the cartoon host "Hannah", presents the stories. She tells you in the beginning not to "try and figure out the math- just learn the stories". You learn the characters, then the stories, then there is a flash card thing and a quiz- all fun and non-stress full, that you do with the video. When you are done with that, you print out your game cube paper- make the cubes- and play some games. Voila!
Times Tales only focus's on the 3,4,6,7,8, and 9 multiplication facts because these are the hardest to remember. 0, 1, 2, 5, and 10 are the super easy ones to commit to memory and so, are notincluded. The program also comes with bonus division problems which I thought was great as often kids do not understand that the two are related! There are also lot's of printables! 24 pages actually!! They include a dice game for each part, 4 written tests (2 with picture helps; 2 without), flashcards, and crossword puzzles. My kids liked all of them and didn't really view them as "work".
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| CH11g and A10b working on the cross word |
The downloaded videos are broken into two videos. On the first day, we watched Video 1, did the printable crossword puzzles, and took the first quiz. They suggest you wait 1 week inbetween watching the first video and the second. This way your memory can concrete the first set of stories and facts before moving forward.
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| My kids watching the first video. I hooked my computer to the TV using a HDMI cord. |
Throughout the week, we played "Times Tales". My kids made up different types of games (mostly making graphs to see who won/which number one) and would play against/with eachother. These made up games made the learning even more fun! In fact, it was VERY FUN!
In the beginning of playing the dice games (both times), everyone was saying all of the stories and by the end of our first day they were just saying the answer. Some of my more visual kids still would say something like... "OH, Oh.... Um, 6 is the 6th grade class , 4 chair is 24 hours- 24!. Kind of a story/not the story smash up. Each time, they got better and better! I required that they all play the dice games every other day for about 25 min. My kids played them wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy more than that thought because they enjoyed it so much. I will say that their made up games helped keep it new and fresh. Their favorite game was this:
Which number will win:
- write all the number answers along the bottom of the graph.
- take turns rolling the die and color in one box for which ever number answer you had.
- the number answer that reaches the top first is the winning number
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| A10b and I doing the dice combined into a graph game |
The second video was the same but covering more facts. We did the same thing with playing games and doing the print outs. It was a lot of fun and my kids looked forward to our daily math practice.
Who All Would Benefit from Times Tales ???? Like, Everyone!!!
- * Homeschoolers of course!
- After school with kids who attend school outside the home. I know I sure could have used it! Perfect for Spring/Summer/Winter Break too.
- Co-Op's. I know Times Tales has a group learning option. You would need to look into that but I could see how this would be a fun class and you could really build off of it!
- In an elementary school classroom. Seriously!
- For those with learning disabilities/frustrations. Because this program taps into the right side of the brain in order to engage the left, it's perfect for kids that "don't do black and white".
I would like to note though, that the program is for learning the memorization of the times tables and not to teach what multiplication is. Regardless of when you introduce times tales make sure you spend time on explaining and practicing what multiplication is! (ie: 4x7 is 4 groups of 7 things)
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| 3 of my boys working on flash cards together |
If your kids have been struggling then get this program!! If your kids are not there yet and you don't want them to struggle, get this program. If you struggled and you fee like you can't even do it, get this program. It really is the BEST PROGRAM I HAVE EVERY USED for memorizing the times tables. Thank you Times Tales !!!!!
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