Times Tales (Crew Review)
About Time Tales
The crazy thing about Times Tales is that they’re not really about numbers. Well, they are, but they aren’t. Really, they are a series of stories about characters that represent numbers, and as children learn the stories, they also learn multiplication facts. The video is divided into two parts (covering two different sets of facts), each leading students through a series of steps to mastering the more difficult upper times tables. (The videos teach 3×6, 3×7, 3×8, 3×9, 4×6, 4×7, 4×8, 4×9, 6×6, 6×7, 6×8, 6×9, 7×7, 7×8, 7×9, 8×8, 8×9, and 9×9.)
Here are the steps through which each video takes you:
Meet the Characters (Introduces the characters that represent different numbers–only in Part 1)
You’re the Story Teller (They show the picture for each story. The student pauses the video to test themselves and then checks their answer.)
In addition to the videos (which are available as downloads or in DVD format), there are PDF files included with the purchase of Times Tales. Each of the two parts has it own set of printables which include the following:
- crossword puzzle
- flashcards using the character-symbols
- flashcards using numerals
- practice test (using character-symbols)
- test (using numbers)
- division flashcards using character-symbols
- division flashcards using numerals
- pattern for a paper cube and instructions for a game to help practice facts
Our Experience
I think Times Tales are great for both visual and auditory learners, especially those who like to think “out of the box.” I liked the way they showed the words of the story, showed an animated version of the story, plus told the story out loud AND repeatedly emphasized the key elements of the stories both visually and verbally so that it could really get into the kids’ brains. I thought the printable materials were also really helpful for reinforcing what the kids had seen in the videos.
The only thing I felt was missing was a sort of “cheat sheet” for myself with all the stories written out. Whenever the boys ask me, say, “What’s 6X3?” I turn it around and say, “Well, what was the story about the 6th grade class and butterflies?” They usually remember immediately, “At 1 o’clock, they let 8 butterflies go. Eighteen!” Occasionally though, none of us quite remember the story, and I’d love to have a quick way to look it up.
Overall, Times Tales were a big hit in our house, and I know we’ll be reviewing them periodically as the kids move further into multiplication. This is a great supplement for any math curriculum, and there’s a 15-minute sample video available for FREE (teaching the upper 9’s) so if you have kids working on learning the times tables, be sure to check them out!
The Molly Green Naturally Clean Planner
When our Essentials materials arrived, my first thought was, “What on earth have I gotten myself into???” This thick, hardbound teacher edition reminded me of the heavy tomes I hauled around in college. And so many sets of cards! It’s a bit overwhelming to take in. Just organizing all the materials was a daunting feat. I tried to look over the Teacher’s Guide to get a handle on the program, but I didn’t feel any less overwhelmed. Finally I decided to just take the plunge. Thankfully, that seems to be the best way to figure it all out. (I later found the Logic of English 
We all loved the games for phonogram practice in the pre-lessons. They really helped the boys became familiar with the phonograms, and it just felt like game time rather than lessons.
Such a formal curriculum is not really our style, so I don’t know that I’ll continue at the same pace we’ve been taking the program for this review, but I definitely want to keep using at least the spelling portion. Nothing else has helped Ian grasp spelling the way Essentials has in the short time we’ve been working with it. I love the way it breaks down the spelling rules and walks the student through why words are spelled in certain ways.
Each lesson consists of a short instructional video, which can be viewed from the DVD or online as part of the Digital Pack, and a lesson in the Instruction Manual. These were more for me as a parent than for Arianna, and I often went through them the night before as preparation so our math time was more about just having fun together. I really liked the convenience of accessing the videos online through the Digital Pack, and usually chose to do that rather than putting on the DVD.
The eStudy Guide and Discussion Starter is a great tool for homeschool families. In addition to providing some background information about G.A. Henty and Alfred the Great, it breaks the recording into 4-10 minute chunks, then provides questions to help make sure young children understood what they heard. (These could also be used as written assignments for older children.)
I knew Kwik Stix were going to be a hit with my children, and I was right. All four of them ages 2-7 had a blast creating pictures. (While the caps are small enough that young children who put things in their mouths would need supervision, I loved how easy it was for my 2-year old to join the older kids’ fun.) At first I tried to do just two kids at a time, thinking of other art projects we’ve done, but because these didn’t require cups of water and messy paints, it really wasn’t a big deal when the others came and joined in. I was especially impressed with how quickly the paint dried. My kids ended up making paper airplanes out of their pictures, and nothing got on their hands even though they had just finished them.
The Old Testament Overview for Levels 1-4 is presented in four books, with Part 1 covering the major stories of Genesis from Creation to Jacob. Our family all worked at Level 1, with the boys (2nd grade and Kindergarten) using the regular student book and Arianna (age 3) using the traceable version (which was identical except for the addition of the gray line drawings). The 82-page student book has blank timeline pages with the names of each story for the students to fill in as the teacher guides them through the lessons. Level 1 is really just about introducing the major stories and characters, helping the children see how they are all related by creating them a physical timeline so they have a mental frame of reference to place each story in context. (Older students go deeper with memory verses and additional material for each lesson.)
I’ve got a little guy who is absolutely enthralled with numbers, so I jumped when 
