Originally published in Learning Tangent Homeschool Magazine, Winter 2016
Memorizing times tables sometimes presents problems for kids, especially the more difficult 3s, 4s, 6s and a couple of others. Times Tales addresses these with video, songs and games.
I remember the struggle we had in teaching the twins some of the times tables. The 5s, 10s and others were a piece of cake but 6s and 9s were a nightmare. Just when we thought they were memorized, another part would slip through their fingers temporarily. It was frustrating to say the least. A resource like this would have been a blessing.
For their part, while they felt Times Tales was designed for younger children (they’re nearly 12), the twins were impressed with it and said they wish that I had bought Times Tales when they were still struggling with remembering them.
“I wish we had this when we were learning our times tables.”
–Daniel
Times Tales is a two part program, each addressing a different set of multiplication tables. Each of the stories on the DVD has a multiplication problem embedded in it, so as long as they remember the story in the right sequence, the problem itself is also memorized. After the stories are short quizzes to test your memory.
The DVD set also comes with a disc of printables. You can print a multiplication dice game, flash cards and crossword puzzles. All the activities are helpful, and we loved the simplicity of it. There isn’t a lot of “fluff” and it gets the job done very effectively in a fun way.
Overall, I thought that Times Tales did a fabulous job of telling stories to help kids learn these more difficult parts of the times tables. This is a resource that can help all kids struggling with those more difficult times tables, and I especially like how affordable it is, and sincerely hope they someday add to them. You can find Times Tales at http://www.1shoppingcart.com/app/?af=1664964 for $24.95 on DVD or $19.95 for a digital download.
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