A belated welcome to the new year! If you are like most people you have some resolutions for the year. If your resolution is to clean your house more, or even to get better at math (or if you’re teaching your kid the same things!) check out Trigger Memory Systems. This stuff is neat! I got a few different products to review, and I’ll talk about the more resolution-like one first.
Clean N Flips! This books are simple, step by step guides to cleaning various areas. Okay, so they are intended for kids (and GREAT for them!) but to be honest I know they helped me too! Sure I’m beautiful, eloquent and amazing, but I could definitely be a better tidier! I thought the quick approach they target for kids is also good for busy, or A.D.D (or just absent minded) parents!
They make one for bedroom cleaning, and one for laundry, but let me tell you about the zone cleaning! It features three sections, living room, kitchen, and bathroom. Not only can you mark who does each room, but give a time zone of when, AND write in special jobs for certain days. For a time zone you can be detailed, “At 10 A.M” or a little more lenient, “After breakfast!” Some special jobs would be things like bringing in wood for the fireplace on Monday only, or take out the trash on Wednesday. Each zone also has existing jobs for one day a week, such as vacuuming the living room (actually done twice a week) mopping the kitchen floor, or scrubbing the toilet. Really versatile for families of all sizes. It is also dry erase to highlight steps completed. Which while it serves as a reminder and checklist for kids (and for mom to check behind them) can also serve a good purpose to a new housewife who is adjusting, especially with a baby.
Another product they have, that I truly think is just amazing (where was this when I was a kid?!?) is the Times Tales. It’s a mnemonic-based way to learn the times tables. Each number3,4,6,7,8, and 9, has a pictured image, for example 8 is Mrs. Snowman. Then you simply read very quick stories to the kids, without even explaining it is math. After the kids know the stories, tell them the points of it. Suddenly the story isn’t just that “Mrs. Snowman stood on her Chair to reach her 3 buttons and 2 mittens.” It’s “Oh 8×4=32!” I think that the stories are cute, quick to remember, and very helpful! Very thick pages, and high quality.
One complaint, and it’s a stupid one, the coiled bindings, like many coiled bindings, tend to uncoil slowly right out of the book. I had less trouble with the coil on the Times Tales then I did on the smaller cleaning books. Not such an issue, but worth mentioning.
These products are a great addition to your shelf, and I highly recommend them! The Zone cleaning is $18, and the smaller two cleaning are $8. The Times Tales is $30 and reusable for multiple children! Trigger Memory Systems has other products to for home education, be sure to check them out!
