Rock 'N Learn: Multiplication Rock

The title is very misleading. My children and my older grandchildren had schoolhouse rock. We lost it in Katrina. Since the only subject the youngest was having was multiplication I ordered it based on the title. I think it is a a misrepresentation as it is nothing like multiplication rock. The children watched it for a minute and said-"this sucks". The tape shows no imagination and the music is not worth mentioning. Sorry, but I had to agree with the kids. I reordered schoolhouse rock and they watch this for hours. I also enjoy being in the room while they watch it.

Rock 'N Learn: Multiplication Rock
I purchased this because i wanted to put some thing in the car as a review tool. Just once a day reinforces the multiplication facts.
It doesnt take long-such as a short trip to the grocery store for my child to listen to this video. It also (thank goodness) is pleasant to listen to while driving- no hard rock or screaming cartoons.

It is important to note that this DVD isn't really geared towards teaching younger children their multiplication tables, but is more a reinforcement tool for students who are learning tables in school, and need to build up their confidence.

Each set of tables, two through twelve, is sung to a basic rock beat, and then repeated with a slight pause before the answer is given. This allows the child a chance to say the answer out loud and "beat" the video to it. Each set of tables has a unique theme, such as space exploration, which makes it far more interesting to look at than just numbers on a sheet of paper.

Pros:
1. It's much easier to get a child to practice their multiplication tables via music video rather than repeated recitation.
2. The graphics are clear, colorful and easy to understand

Cons:
1. The songs aren't very catchy, and are delivered in a monotone.
2. There's not enough variety in the musical beats

Overall, recommended for students from around seven and up, who need a little help in memorizing the multiplication tables they're learning in school.



Amanda Richards, April 16, 2008

I was hoping this was a cool way for my son to learn his multiplication tables by singing along. I was a bit disappointed because the songs are not catchy enough to remember. The song starts off with a short rhyme and then proceeds into reciting multiplication tables, which we could do without spending money or listening to the really bad music. One of our big problems is that each song goes so fast, it's hard to keep up. My son plugs his ears with this CD.