Interview with Sally Lomax - Author of Times Table Town

What better way to find out more about our latest addition to Hometrain's online products 'Times Table Town'! Here's an interview with Sally - so you can meet the author - any questions? Leave as comments below:

1) Where are you from?

I live in a small rural village in Norfolk, England quite close to the city of Norwich.

2) Tell us your latest news?

Today I put my youngest daughter (age 15) on a train to Paris, unaccompanied, for the first time. I'm feeling a little emotional! She's going to see her French penfriend and will be staying with them for a week

3) When and why did you begin writing Times Table Town?

The idea for writing the Times Table Town Stories was in response to one of my daughters having difficulty reciting her 7 Times Table . It was her homework and I was helping her. She understood how the 7 Times Table was worked out, but struggled when asked to recall them out loud. What she was missing was a 'clue' a 'trigger' to help her remember the answers.  Suddenly the idea of a story to assist recall came to me. So together we started to make one up about a man who looked like a number 7. We called him Angle Man. The story took him to see all his friends who also looked like a numbers. We had so much fun creating the story and when we had finished, she could recite the 7 Times Table with ease! This was because she had something to help her remember the answers. This was back in 2005. Having a story to help remember a Times Table was so successful with my daughter, I decided to write a complete set. To make the learning experience even better I had the stories illustrated which brought the characters to life and added a visual dimension to the learning process.

4) When did you first consider writing?

This is the first time I have written for children. I have written short articles for adults, however.

5) What inspired you to write Times Table Town?

I'm one of the many people who like to see something (a picture , an object) to fully understand what is being discussed. Once I realised how useful these stories could be, particularly if they were illustrated, I became passionate about getting them published. I knew they could help many many children learn their Times Tables, who were perhaps struggling with the traditional way of learning them

6) How did you come up with the title?

The stories are all based around a group of friends who live near to each other in the same town. Times Table Town seemed the perfect name.

7) What books have most influenced your life most?

These are probably the personal development books I have read over the years. They inspire me and rekindle my self belief and my desire to be the best 'me' I can be.

8) What book are you reading now?

The Guide by Dr William Holden. Its a personal development book which reveals why we don't achieve many of the things we would like to in life and the how to change your habits that stop us achieving them.

9) What are your current projects?

I am currently promoting the Times Table Series to schools and the media making sure that everyone knows about them.

10) Is there anything you found particularly challenging when you were
writing?

Yes! The biggest challenge was to make the stories interlink. For example the illustration and story for 7 x 5 is the same as 5 x 7 but, from the other characters point of view. This also had to happen for all the other multiplications so you can imagine this took some thinking about!

11) Who is your favorite children's author and what is it that really
strikes you about their work?

My favourite children's author is probably Michael Morpurgo. My daughters have read a lot of his books and they are always around the house. I like his style , it's easy to read and I find the subject/theme of his books to my taste.

12) Who designed the covers?

The cover to the Times Table Town books were designed by me. In fact I have been responsible for every aspect of what the books design and what they look like. The orginal illustrations were sketched and painted by Paola Cumiskey though.

13) Do you have any advice for other children's writers?

Gosh ! I'm not sure I'm the right one to ask, but as you've asked - I like pictures in books,  they help me visualise the text and aid understanding. I  always like to see illustrations or pictures in childrens books.

14) Do you have anything specific that you want to say to your readers?

Yes, make learning these Times Table fun! I would love to see the stories acted out by children in costumes or as numbers. If anyone does this I would love hear from you.

For more information about Times Table Town... available now at www.hometrain.ie with free P&P!

Free-activity-a-week! Number 4 - Back to School PECS and Timetable!

Well there's only a few weeks left before it's the school start - whether it's back to school or the 1st day, us mums are (starting) getting our heads into the right gear. Personally, I could do with another two weeks before the new term starts.

So this week's activity comes from our free resources agian, and there are two great printables for ayone whose little one is starting school or preschool.

 The first is a 'How we get to school?' sheet of PECS which are great to colour and select for use with the printable 'PECs timetable'.

If you use them at home for preparing your little one for school, it's a great idea to send them into the teacher. Especially if your child has a SNA (if they are lucky enough...) you can colour, laminate the individual PECS and make a timetable.

Here's the link:
http://www.hometrain.ie/resources/

If you like those, there is also a fantastic resource called 'Going to School' and 'Ag Dul Ar Scoil' to prepare your child for school here at Hometrain - available in Irish and English with lots of great printables, colouring and info. A great story about Helen and Tom's first day at School. Tom has a SNA and the story introduces what any child can expect on their first big day. Read the independant review from the IPPA here:
http://www.hometrain.ie/gts/

Free-activity-a-week! Number 3 - Make Dress-up Dolls!

It's an oldie but a goodie! Dress-up dolls are enjoyed by most kids, and once you have the basic girl or boy template, you can add the clothes and even make more. The link to print both the boy, girl and their clothes is:                                                                                         Dress-up Doll Templates                                        

Have Fun!



Free-activity-a-week! Number 2-Make Door Hangers

O.k. this week it's Door Hangers. Whether your children want to make a sign to let you know they want to relax, or 'keep out' - and then invite other's in to play has more than it's face value of uses.

Door hangers can be used for your child to communicate their needs - perhaps for some time to wind-down or just to be by themselves. Their room is their space and its a good idea to encourage them to create a relaxing corner to retreat to when needed.

So colouring pens at the ready, here's some Door Hangers that you can print off and make today:

Printable Door Hangers

You can aslo use the outline to really customise your own door hangers - maybe your child can add their own words.

Create a relaxation space:

For a relaxation space, you don't need too much space. Make a place in your child's bedroom for a beanbag or cushions, find some relaxation music and a blanket, or a small tent if you have room.

Practise relaxing, deep breathing and visualisations.

Have Fun!

Times Table Town - Book Review

Here's a review about the latest addition to the online store at Hometrain.
'Time Table Town' was written by Sally Lomax, after she developed the stories and characters to help her daughter learn times tables.

If you like Letter Land, then you'll love Times Table Town.

Each character represents a number, and their adventures take you through each book:
Titles:

Long Lucy’s 1 Times Table Story

Blue Bunny’s 2 Times Table Story

Grinning Granny’s 3 Times Table Story

Marvellous Mummy’s 4 Times Table Story

Delightful Ducks 5 Times Table Story

Big Bugs 6 Times Table Story

Angle Man’s 7 Times Table Story

Grumpy Grandad’s 8 Times Table Story

Happy Holly’s 9 Times Table Story

Gorgeous Georgie’s   10 Times Table Story

I read the books with my 7 year old Daughter, Laura. As we read through the books, she enjoyed the interaction and personalities of the characters, and could work out the maths. Each page of the story contains two characters - the times table character meets each number in turn, adding to the story and finding the answer to the multiplication.

An example of how the stories work is: Marvellous Mummy in the 4 times table book, meets Blue Bunny on page 2. Their story works out 2 x 4 and the characters are setting the table for 8 guests coming to a dinner party. They need '8 knives, forks spoons, glasses, plates and finally 8 napkins,...then 2 lots of 4 chairs..'  After discovering 2 x 4 - Marvellous Mummy then meets Grinning Granny (3 x 4) at 12 o'clock, and the storie continues in the same way. Each page finds the answer to the next multiplication.

The pages are nicley illustrated and include the answer, so, if your child learns better visually, they will remember their times tables easier.

I think children who find learning times tables to be boring will enjoy these books, and they could prove very useful at homework time.

We are delighted to have Times Table Town in our store - to find out more, go to:

Times Table Town 

The books are available with free P&P - a great idea for a maths boost during the summer hols.

Happy Learning!





Free-activity-a-week!

Here's the first of my free-activity-a-week blogs.
It can be pricey enough to keep the kids entertained, so I'm adding an activity each week that costs €0 (apart from paper and pens at a stretch!)
A nature treasure hunt is an activity the whole family will enjoy - and has countless benefits.
Not only do you get the fresh air, but I also love the enthusiasm kids of all ages have for nature hunts.
You also get a new purpose for going to the local woods or park (which are free).

All you need is kids with buckets, pockets or bags!

Nature Treasure Hunt

Go outdoors and collect the following:

1)              A feather

2)         A bark rubbing

3)         Some Clover

4)        A buttercup

5)         A daisy

6)         Something a rabbit would eat

7)          2 things a bird might make a nest with

8)         A weed 

9)         Something a squirrel might eat

10)      Something that has pollen

11)          Draw a bird

12)     Draw a tree

For great free printables and pecs, go to our website:

hometrain.ie

Using Interactive Computer Programmes to Teach Social Skills

O.k. - I know it might sound odd - sitting a child in front of a computer to learn social skills??

But think about it for a while...
Children who have difficulties with social skills often really love their technology. I found as a home tutor, that I was spending an hour or two each week trying to teach social skills - which are not the easiet thing to teach.
I can write social stories, play games and develop role-plays. I use puppets and make mini-books. I use their friends and siblings where I can to encourage social skill development.

Over the years of home tuition, I noticed basic elements of social intreaction were missing.
They were the inspiration behind the 'Hello' game:

1. Many children did not reply with their name when asked 'What's your name?' 
2. Many children did not reply with 'Hello' in response to greetings
3. Many children did not respond with their age when asked 'How old are you?'

When you bring your little on to the shops, or anywhere in the local community, one of the most common questions other's ask is: 'What's your name?' and 'How old are you?' 
The reasoning behind 'Hello' is based on my experience as a tutor. If we teach children their response to those questions, we will be giving them a key to social inclusion.
Children who do not understand these questions will not understand how to make their response, and so withdraw from this type of basic social interaction.
SO - if we can teach that a cup is a 'cup' and a chair is a 'chair' then we can teach that Paul is 'Paul' and Paul's age is '6' - and that Hello is a 'Hello' response.
In 'Hello' - the CD-ROM game, there are 8 characters - four girls and four boys. They each have a name, a social interaction with the player, and something they like to do. The thing they like to do teaches children the reinforcing value of friends - such as a birthday party or playing cars.

For me, spending a lot of hours trying to get kids who don't enjoy social skills teaching, to work through a lesson, to then allow them 20mins on their computer started to not make sense!
Why don't I use the reinforcing value of a computer game - that they will want to play, learning social skills at the same time?
So we did. There are video narrations about each social skill, interactive characters and great games, including the Birthday Party game you can try for free here: http://www.hometrain.ie/hello/

'Hello' and 'How Are You?' come with a a great range of printable teaching resources too. I suggest printing off a couple of pages for each teaching session, encourage your child to do the worksheet and then get to play the game. What could be better!! 

 There's a summer offer too - with 20% discount in our online shop with this voucher code: htusacan1
Happy Days!
Claire.