Times Tables the Fun Way: A TOS Review Crew Review

   What comes to mind when you think of memorizing times tables? Dread? Intimidation? Mind-numbing boredom? If you are like me, this was what my traditional math education left me feeling. I'm happy to say it doesn't have to be that way anymore! My girls absolutely loved using Times Alive online lessons with animated songs and stories to learn times tables the fun way. Even the two who have already worked to memorize them found this to be fun and enjoyable!   Unlike the traditional method of rote memorization, Times Alive uses stories, songs, and memory tricks to help the process stick. All three of my daughters have completed it, but I will focus mostly on my youngest daughter, Grace's, experience. She is seven and had only been introduced to the idea of multiplication from hearing her sister's math lessons. She had no prior formal instruction in this area until beginning Times Alice.   

We reviewed the online version of  Times Alive and I was very impressed with it both because of my daughter's response and the teacher-friendly resources. Each of your children will have their own record, so make sure to remember the name with which you sign them in the first time. It is recommended to be used a lesson a day at least twice a week. This was not at all a problem. In fact, the only problem I had was getting her away from it! "Mommy, can I please work on my times tables?" Was asked multiple times during the day. In fact, she finished the entire program in a week because she was having so much fun! The best part is she has retained what she learned. It was such a fast and painless way to introduce and for the most part cement her times tables up through 9.                  The graphics are charming and do not distract from the most important part, the songs and stories. The numbers often become characters in the stories and are involved in funny little situations which leads to learning a math fact. All three of my girls have been singing the songs and giggling about the stories since we started the program. One of Grace's favorites was 6 x 6 = 36  because the story talked about thirsty sixes. She found this completely hilarious.      My other two  daughters have also enjoyed the fun of this program! Both girls are working on much more difficult multiplication with multi-digit numbers, but as they watched their younger sister having fun, they both asked to work through the program. They giggled along with her and love quizzing her on her multiplication facts as well! We discovered a couple of facts which Grace struggled to recall so I brought her back to those to review which was easy as could be.    Click here to see a sample of a Times Tables the Fun Way story!    

Record keeping is absolutely wonderful with this program! You do want to make sure you accurately type in the same name for each student so you can track their progress. You can see exactly how much of the program they have completed and how well they are doing at the checkpoint assessments. It is printable and user friendly, more so than other tracking reports I've seen from different online math programs. I quickly assessed that Grace was moving at an incredible pace, but she was also retaining what she was learning. If I felt she was not retaining as she progressed I would have had her complete the lessons again. I would like to be able to see which ones she missed specifically, but seeing the percentage is very helpful. All of the tests are printable so I think I would like to use that option as we review some of these again so I can see better where she is not retaining facts.
 

My oldest daughter has also greatly benefited from this program. While she is working with much higher levels of math, she sometimes has a hard time recollecting her math facts. She gets there eventually, but because it isn't immediate she is frequently frustrated. These stories, songs, and tricks have been incredibly helpful to her in this area.

Whether you are just starting out teaching multiplication or you are looking for a way for facts to stick, this is an excellent resource at an incredible value! Be sure to read reviews from my Crewmates!