Wordless Wednesday

According to the groundhog Spring is just around the corner....

City Creek Press - Times Alive Review

If your kids are bored with learning their times tables through the traditional means Times Alive is the solution. I was recently given the opportunity to review this downloadable program by City Creek Press. The downloadable version is priced at $44.95. The program is also available on CD Rom for PC or Mac for $48.95.

Times Alive has songs and stories to teach your child the times table. The songs are very catchy and easy to remember. You can see (and hear) some of the songs and stories that are on the program here.

Paul knows most of his multiplication tables so we did not use the program exactly the same as someone who knows none of their multiplication facts. If multiplication is new to a child I would suggest going straight through the "lesson list" and having them learn them in the order shown there. Each fact or group of facts has a story or song for the child to listen to and learn that fact (or group of facts). The child is then quizzed on that fact. The facts are periodically reviewed as the child moves through the program. You can also print out the "worksheets" and have your child review them in a more traditional way. For Paul he would have been very bored if he had to go through all the tables so I had him complete the tests that they give periodically and then go back and watch any of the videos that he did not know the facts quickly. He struggles with his 3's and 4's time tables (I know most kids struggle with the higher numbers but he has no trouble with those just the 3's and 4's) So, this program has helped him move those facts in to his long term memory! He has loved it and will never forget that 4 x 4 = 16, because you "have to be 16 to drive a 4x4". I will admit that I am a bit sick of hearing the stories and songs, but I am thankful he finally has the hang of some of these more difficult (for him) multiplication tables. The program is great for visual as well as auditory learners. I also loved the way the program tests the students periodically and reviews the math facts already learned.

If your budget doesn't allow for the price of this software City Creek Press offers lots of other products that make learning multiplication facts easy and fun. They also have packages that help reduce the cost of each individual product. Also, if your child is not ready for their multiplication tables they have just recently developed "Addition the Fun Way" for younger students. There is no age range suggested on the website. I feel the Times Alive would be appropriate for any child that can understand the concept of multiplication and that multiplication is simply fast adding--probably about 2nd grade. On the other end I don't think there would be an age that would be too old for this product. If a student doesn't know their times tables no matter how old they can benefit from this program. An older teen might find it a bit childish but it would still be very effective to commit the facts to memory.

You can see what other Crew members have to say here.

Disclaimer: I received this product for free in exchange for my honest opinion of the product. There was no other compensation given for the review

Massanutten

Everyone at home is asking to see pics of our vacation. We didn't take any of skiing--sorry it was just too hard to ski with three kids and take pictures. We have some video so you can see how amazingly well all three kids did. Zach even skied a blue (moderately difficult) today with no trouble at all. Anyway, here are a few pics of the waterpark, tubing, and the crazy snow we got here on Wednesday. And not to forget, Paul won 1000 tickets at the arcade...

Zach in the snow, pretending to be a gorilla with his "Bubba teeth"

Sledding....

Eating the snow...

Snow Angels...

Zach loved his "Bubba teeth". Between that and his skiing "boo-boo" he is quite a sight!

Paul and the boys that are staying next door. They had a blast making forts in the snow.

Tubing... Molly LOVED it and went down alone several times as well as with Jamie or Daisy...

Daddy pulled her out of the way at the bottom, she had all the fun and none of the work...

Zach loved tubing as well. We are trying to convince him if he can tube and ski he can handle roller coasters. I think he is convinced and ready to "roll"

Paul enjoyed tubing as well. He and Jack went down together every time, just like the water slides the day before.

The waterpark. Molly loved the hot tub, which wasn't really hot and perfect for swimming.

Jack and Paul in the Lazy River. One of the few moments that they weren't on the big slides.

Zach came down the big slides with Jamie. He went down them a couple of times and then decided they were ok but he didn't need to do them again.

Zach...being Zach!!!

Zach and Jamie again. Him going down the slides was so amazing I had to post another one. Buddies will inspire you to do things you never thought you would do!

Steve on the "Flo-Rider"

Paul on the "Flo-Rider" He liked it but was a bit scared.

So, there you go, a sampling of our vacation pics. Sorry there are no skiing pics. I will try to post some videos when we get home. But for now I have to get things packed back up to head home in the morning.

TenMarks Review

In our home Math is the second subject of the day (second only to Bible time) and it is the one that takes the longest. It is also the most dreaded subject of the day. Until now! Our latest review, TenMarks, has changed all that. TenMarks is an online Math program that customizes it's self to meet the needs of the student. According to their website:

TenMarks is the only online math program that helps students refresh, learn, and master math concepts - in their own time, at their own pace. Each child receives a personalized curriculum to help them master the concepts quickly.

TenMarks is available for grades 3 through high school. It is very reasonably priced with the premium version costing only

$10/month

$49/6 months

$89/12 months
You can try the regular version for free which offers a limited amount of the worksheets available to the premium member.

It is also available free to educators to use in the classroom--this does not include homeschoolers.

For us TenMarks has been a wonderful experience. Paul really dislikes Math. He is good at it but has no confidence in his Math ability. TenMarks has changed all that. He looks forward to doing TenMarks daily and even asks for it. He will happily do his 2-3 worksheets daily without complaint.

How it Works: You choose the grade level your child is in and then it shows you the "tracks" that a child at that grade level will typically work through in a year. You can move them around or delete them altogether if you would like. You can also add tracks from different grade levels. You then choose how many worksheets you would like your child to do in one week and they are "assigned" to them under their own account. If your child finishes the worksheets in less than one week there is a "fast track" option. This option has been great for us since I had Paul start at the beginning of third grade and he is actually almost finished with his regular 3rd grade curriculum. Much of what he has completed so far has been review. As the child moves through the curriculum there are videos to watch at the beginning of each lesson. They can view the video again in the middle of a "worksheet" or use the "hints" to help them answer the question. At the end of each worksheet a score is given along with a "concept strength" score. The child can go back and try to answer the incorrect answers and a new score is given. The concept strength is judged on how many videos or hints the child needs to answer the questions correctly. If the concept strength is low a new worksheet is assigned. I really like this feature. Paul is really good at getting correct answers using the "hints" but not totally understanding the concepts. There are also timed tests assigned at the end of each track.

The best part of TenMarks for ME was that there was one less subject I had to plan for. I don't necessarily want all subjects planned out for me and him doing them online but it was really nice to not have to figure out what we were doing in Math. In my lesson plans I just wrote down how many worksheets he was going to do each day. The other feature that is wonderful is that I can log in to the teacher account and view how he is progressing. I can also set up rewards for him along the way.

And one more "perk" is that because it is online I can even have him work a worksheet or two while on vacation...

Now from Paul's perspective:

Ten marks was really fun. It was a good thing to learn math. Because it will teach you in an easy way. My favorite thing about it is that you choose how fast you go like if you try your hardest it will go fast and easy. if you don't even think about it and just choose an answer, well good luck.

You can see what other TOS Crew Members have to say here.

Disclaimer: I received this product for free in exchange for my honest opinion of the product. There was no other compensation given for the review

Wordless Wednesday