Review: Times Tales by The Trigger Memory Co.
Super D has been working hard on his multiplication skills this year, and so I was excited to introduce him to the Times Tales by The Trigger Memory Co.! They kindly sent us a digital download pack that included two videos, two sets of printables, and an answer key. Times Tales is designed to help kids memorize their multiplication facts, focusing on the more challenging upper times tables. Super D has memorized his skip counting songs, and uses those to multiply. He has balked at memorizing the facts, and prefers to skip count. I was excited to review Times Tales and see if they could help him with memorization!
I love the premise behind Times Tales. They have created a series of very short stories to help the kids connect the math facts. The kids watch the story section of the movie all the way through. Then the cd has places where the mom pauses it, to give the kids time to tell the story. Even my 6 year old Sweetheart got into retelling the stories! Then, the kids are asked to find the answer quickly, by recalling the story.
Part 1 includes 8 facts, to introduce the kids to the system, and get them in the learning mode! Part 2 includes 16 more facts! Since Times Tales addresses the more challenging upper times tables, kids find that memorizing the easier ones (9×2, for example), is MUCH less intimidating.
The sections of the cd are broken down like this:
Part 1:
- Meet the characters and the numbers that they represent
- Learn the Stories
- Story Quiz
- You’re the Story Teller
- Practice the Flashcards
- Flashcards
Part 2:
- Learn the Stories
- Story Quiz
- You’re the Story Teller
- Practice the Flashcards
- Flashcards
- Final Test
The flashcards took a little practice for my Super D and so we turned to the use of the included printables to help him.
Here’s an example of one printable:
Isn’t it cute how they turned the characters into numbers?? Can you guess what the numbers are?
The first story would include the numbers 3, 7, and 21. The second would include 8, 3, and 24. Then, the next printable has just the multiplication facts, written as you would normally expect. The printables also include fun games like a Crossword puzzle, and a cube game!
There is a printable set for each part that naturally corresponds to the videos.
After the kids have learned the multiplication facts, this program goes on to introduce division. It’s such a simple way to introduce this new concept!
The Trigger Memory Co. offers a free download of the 9’s (9×6, 9×7, 9×8, 9×9) if you want to try it out!
The files for the entire program are large, around 2GB, so be aware of that if you have a slow internet connection. Plan a hangout time at a Starbucks and download your files! The Trigger Memory Co. does offer a physical version as well, so that’s a great option!
You can connect with The Trigger Memory Co. on social media via Facebook.
