Timez Attack

Lately, Little Man and I have been butting heads where math is concerned. We are trying to learn the times tables, and it is just NOT WORKING! We have tried worksheets, flash cards, working facts on my white board, and even playing a few math games online. But he just cannot retain what he's learned.

Actually, I think he does know most of them. But My Little Man is a kinesthetic learner, which means he learns best by doing. Some kids are worksheet kids, and some are hands-on doing kids. Little Man just cannot sit still in front of a piece of white paper with a pencil in his hand. He looks at the page and simply blanks out. Literally, he will sit there for an hour and a half looking at his page and never answering the first problem. He is able to get most of the answers correct when we do flash cards, but that is SO BORING after a few days of the same cards! VERY FRUSTRATING!!!! Back to the drawing board.

We are what you would call eclectic homeschoolers. That means, I take from lots of methods what I can use, and I disregard a lot of things. One of the methods we use is Charlotte Mason. Check out the link to find out all about this amazing woman. She lived many years ago, and taught many children using her method. Her approach is to use "living" books in place of the standard textbook. This is how most all of our school is taught. So why, if this method works so well in everything else, would I expect a textbook to work for math? Hmmm...

I have to stop here to add a side note. There are times in homeschooling, as with many things in life, when I tend to get away from my original plan. I find something that works, but then, for whatever reason, I start going a different direction. Sometimes it's because I think something else may work better, and sometimes it's because I start comparing what we are doing with other homeschoolers or even public schools. Then, after lots of frustrating lessons, I think to myself, "Why is this not working?" WELL, it's because I got away from what worked. I then have to stop what I'm doing, reevaluate the direction in which we are going, and go back to square one. When I stick to the method that I originally chose, it always works out better. All that said, don't let people or things get in the way of your plan. If you truly find something else that works, do it. Otherwise, stick with the plan!

So today, I got online and started looking for some way to teach a "living" math! I could not figure out how in the world I was going to teach multiplication facts to this kid in a "living" way. But yeah hooray, Google saved the day! I LOVE Google!! You can find anything online!! So what did I find? Only the COOLEST video game EVER!!

Timez Attack is an unbelievable, new multiplication tables game. You have to see it to believe it!! It's as high-tech and entertaining as a top video game, yet as rigorous and effective as one-on-one training with a skilled teacher. Trust me--you've never seen an educational game like THIS before.

I downloaded the FREE base version, which teaches all the facts 2-12. This is a GREAT game. It looks as good as any Wii or XBox game I have seen. The graphics are wonderful.

Little Man LOVES video games, so this was PERFECT for him. When he saw me downloading it, he almost couldn't wait! And as soon as it was ready, he was chompin' at the bit to play. Too bad for him, I told him he had to play with his little sister first. HA! Thought I'd make him want it a little more!! (Aren't I terrible?!) 

I chose to try the free version first, because I wanted to be sure it was something he would really enjoy and play. It teaches everything, but you only go through the dungeon. In the upgraded versions, you can play through the dungeon, a machine, lava, and ruins. If Little Man plays it and likes it, I will go back and upgrade to get the rest of the features. 

If your kids are having a hard time in math, or any subject for that matter, go check out some "living math" lessons! They are WAY FUN, and very effective. When you teach in a "living" way, your child not only has fun, but they retain the knowledge so much better than if the information is just read once from a textbook. 

And if your kids like video games like my son, go check out the COOLEST VIDEO GAME EVER!! You'll be glad you did!