This is a sponsored post. All opinions are 100% mine.
I am convinced there are two types of people in this world: Those who “get” math and those who just don’t. I happen to fall in the latter category–math was never my best subject despite the hours of time I spent studying.
On a deeper level, I am convinced that some of our brains are wired to quickly remember numbers, equations, and mathematical concepts and others have to hijack such numbers and equations and try to relate them in some way to existing information or a type of relationship. We have both types living under this roof- my oldest son and my husband can easily remember numbers and equations while I need something relational to latch onto in order to understand or remember.
My oldest son is in second grade and loves math. Although his second grade curriculum is setting the stage for multiplication on a conceptual basis, he will not have to memorize multiplication facts until next year. He is an eager beaver, however, and is super pumped to start learning them!
I was so thrilled when I received an e-mail from the creators of Times Tales asking us to review their DVD system for helping children to memorize multiplication facts.
I have never seen anything quite like this system. The Times Tales DVD starts off introducing characters that are shaped like a specific number. Then there are stories that go along with each character. The stories do not make much sense from a mathematical standpoint at first, but children are asked to pay close attention to the stories nonetheless. It isn’t until about 15 to 20 minutes later that the stories make sense in the context of multiplication.
The “Treehouse” and the “Chair” are two of the characters in the TimesTales stories.
The stories themselves do not explain the concept of multiplication, rather they rely on imagery and mnemonic to help children memorize the facts through a narrative recall. This makes it an excellent supplemental resource!
Once children remember the stories that go with each of the numbers, they can easily solve the equations! It is truly amazing!
We have watched this DVD a few separate times. It took us two times through the narrative for my boys (ages 8 and 6) to remember the stories completely. Once they memorized the stories, they could both easily recall the answer to the multiplication and even the division equations! Yes, even my kindergartener (although we really need to work on mastering addition first). :)
We received the DVD version but you can also purchase an instant download. In addition to the videos, you will also receive access to printable worksheets, flashcards, and even fun printable dice to play with!
Overall, Times Tales is an excellent tool for helping children to memorize and quickly recall multiplication facts…especially children who might be struggling with more traditional methods. The DVD version of Times Tales is just $24.95 and the digital download is $19.95…which I think is an awesome price for such a helpful resource!
Want to give Times Tales a try? Check out this free download!
This looks awesome. I’m passing this along to my sister who home schools!
My older daughter really struggled with learning her times tables. She still hesitates when she should know them instantaneously. Will check this out. Thanks for the recommendation.
This looks like a great learning tool. My son has just asked about learning to multiply. He will love this!
What a brilliant way to teach kids how to multiply!! Excited to check it out.
This looks like such a great idea for kids who need a different approach to learning multiplication facts!
We are a homeschool family of 2 boys and my oldest son has been struggling with remembering multiplication and been counting on his fingers to come n up with the answers. I purchased this today in the downloadable version and went through the first video with my oldest son and 2nd grader. Oh my, I can’t express just how excited and relieved I am to have run across something like this. Both my boys picked up this technique in just the one lesson!!! They made a 100 percent on the test given after watching the video!!! I can’t wait to continue on with activities and watch the other video!! It really seems to be working :)