TOS Crew Review: Times Alive! by City Creek Press

TOS Crew Review: Times Alive! by City Creek Press
30Jan2011 Posted by Michelle Labels: All Product Reviews, Homeschool, Math Reviews, TOS Homeschool Crew




Learning the multiplication table can be tiresome for some kids. I remember when I was the one endlessly memorizing numbers, it can be such a heavy load on the brain. I knew that for my kids, memorizing the multiplication table would not be so easy as well. Not only that, recalling all the facts that they memorized can also be a challenge. I am pretty sure that many children still struggle with their multiplication tables.

Now, thanks to City Creek Press, who produced the Times Alive! software, children can now learn their times tables the fun and easy way. Times Alive! is based on the award-winning book Times Tables the Fun Way! by Judy Liautaud and Dave Rodriguez. My review will focus on the instant download software of Times Alive!

First of all, it was very easy to download and install the software to my PC. It did take a day or two for the download link to be sent to my email after I ordered, but I did not encounter any problems in downloading and installation.

The software opens with a warning that only kids who want to have fun should use it. That immediately draws in the user to find out how learning the times tables can be fun. It has 18 lessons in all where all the most difficult multiplication facts are taught. Each lesson has a short story that they can listen to as well as read along. Following the story is a song that will further cement the fact in the child’s memory. Then there are interesting games and quizzes for the child.

Above is a sample of the song that makes learning their multiplication facts really interesting. For more samples, please visit their youtube page here.

MY THOUGHTS

I had both Guitar Babe and Artsy Princess work on Times Alive! 15 year old Guitar Babe found the activities to be geared towards the younger ages BUT she did say that the way it was taught was all so annoyingly clever. Being a lover of music, she also admired how the songs included a hook, which will literally “hook” the listener to remember the songs. She said all this with a note of admiration in her voice.

Artsy Princess worked on the Times Alive! longer than Guitar Babe. She has been doing it by herself. I told her to listen to the whole lesson two times before moving on to the next lesson. At this point, she’s done until Lesson 8 and has now memorized all the facts that she went through. She said that she feels that it’s too young for her BUT that she learned a lot. She finds the games and quizzes most interesting of all. When I checked her quizzes, I did see that with every lesson, her grades have gone up continuously.

As for me, I am SOLD on the Times Alive! software. It should be a part of everyone’s homeschool and classroom because it makes learning about the multiplication tables fun and easy.

For other reviews, check out what other TOS Crewmates said about Times Alive! here.

Note: I received this software for free in exchange for a review as part of the TOS Homeschool Crew. I am not required to write a positive review