7 Reviews/ 7 Giveaways- Day 7

As a member of the TOS Homeschool Crew, I have been given the wonderful opportunity to review many homeschool products over the next several months. I feel truly blessed to be participating in this review group and I'm looking forward to trying out the products and giving you my honest opinion. This week I will post one review and host a giveaway each day. Please read this review and make sure to leave a comment to be entered into the giveaway.

I'm writing today to tell you about two wonderful sets of products from Trigger Memory Systems. I'll be honest, I'll be a little surprised if you've never heard of them before, because I've had my eyes on them for quite some time now. They've elicited some pretty rave testimonials and though I always enjoy a good twist in the plot, you're not going to find one here. These are products that I totally recommend.

Most of you know that I have six kids ages 8 and under, and I am here to tell you that many kids make MANY messes. That is why our children start helping with chores from the time that they learn how to walk. (I'm not kidding...my one year old stands next to me while I'm changing the baby's dirty diaper and happily takes it to the garbage. He can also deposit sippy cups in the sink and wipe down walls with wet dish cloths.) However, like all kids my little ones still need lots and LOTS of guidance and this has been a source of frustration for me.

That is why I am so happy to tell you that Bedroom Cleaning For Kids and Zone Cleaning for Kids from the Clean N' Flip Series have brought me more relief than any chore chart, schedule, or reward system we have ever implemented. These sturdy, little flipcharts teach children to clean the rooms of their house by breaking it down into very...simple...steps. Once a step is completed, the child simply flips the page to see the next step. The detailed illustrations with each step make these flipcharts usable even for your non-readers.

Our kids use Bedroom Cleaning for cleaning both their bedrooms and the playroom, (Can I hear an 'Amen'?!) since the steps deal with picking up toys, books, and videos which are all mostly located in the playroom in our house. Zone Cleaning has steps for cleaning the Living Room, Kitchen, and Bathrooms including one special job in each zone each day (Monday through Friday) that does not need to be done daily. There is also space for you to write in additional chores with a dry erase marker. I simply hand the flipcharts to the kids and they can actually complete the chores without me!

Bedroom Cleaning for Kids is only $7.95 and Zone Cleaning for Kids is $17.95, but I especially recommend buying the set of two for $22.95. Besides the value, I really think you are going to want both.

When I began lesson planning for this year's school year, I asked G8, my second grader what he wanted to learn about. To my surprise, he said he wanted to learn cursive writing and how to do multiplication. Well, the math curriculum we use doesn't introduce multiplication in 2nd grade, but I figured if he wanted to learn it, then why should I say no? So when I received Times Tales Deluxe from Trigger Memory to review, I knew he was going to be excited.

Times Tales is a memory aide to help make memorizing the most difficult times tables easy. Below is an example:

First, the student learns to recognize that each number has a special symbol in Times Tales (for example: the number 9 is symbolized by a tree house). The numbers are clearly visible in the symbols and it took my 4, 5, 6, and 8 year old only a couple of minutes to easily remember these symbols.

Next you introduce the story pages one at a time (like the one above). You read the simple story two or three times and then ask the student to repeat it back to you. You can turn the page to show a page that has only the illustration without the words, so the student can repeat it to you several times by memory. You don't even explain the multiplication table at this point...the goal is just for them to memorize the story. Once they have memorized all of the stories (this took us less than a half hour), show your student the included flashcards. For the example above, the flashcard will show the Treehouse symbol times the Treehouse sybol. You would ask them what 9x9 is and they will immediately remember the story and be able to tell you that it is 81.

Note: Times Tales is a memory aid to help with fast recall of the most difficult times tables, not all of them. It also does not teach how to multiply. Nonetheless, even my four year old could easily memorize the stories and both my 6 and 8 year old were immediately able to do the flashcards. (None of them had prior introduction to multiplication.) Times Tales Deluxe includes a 2 Part Story Flipchart, Trigger Memory & Regular Flashcards (multiplication & division), Roll 'Em Cube Game, Easy Instruction Manual, Memory Story Discussion Guide, and Various Tests & Challenges. You can purchase it for $29.95 from the Schoolhouse Store.

Okay, it's Giveaway time again...

Today, I am giving away a copy of the Original Times Tales.

This book teaches the upper 6, 7, 8, & 9 times tables and includes :

Story Flipchart

Trigger Memory & Regular Flashcards

Mix & Match Game

Easy Instruction Guide

Memory Story Discussion Guide

2 Practice Test

2 Test Challenges

Entering the giveaway is easy. Just leave a comment with your email or blog address in this post and you are entered! If you'd like 2 extra entries into ALL 7 of this week's giveaways, just grab the 7 Reviews/ 7 Giveaways button from my sidebar and paste it on your blog. You have until Wed., Dec. 17th at 8pm (EST) to enter. Good luck!

For more reviews of Trigger Memory, visit the TOS blog.

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