As a busy mom of 8 children, finding resources to aid in areas like drilling math facts can be a gift! We recently were able to review a math fact drilling system for the computer.

CapJaxMathFax was created by Jack Fretwell, who has a master’s degree in Educational Technology and has spent over thirty years in education and computers. He has taught varying ages and abilities from elementary math to computer and business skills for executives. Mr. Fretwell has a program that is effective and easy to implement.

CapJaxMathFax can be purchased as a download or by CD. Installations is simple and use of the program can begin immediately. The program covers all four basic math operations, tracking your child’s progress so you can easily see weak areas and mastery.

For the young or beginning student who might not be familiar with the keyboard/number pad, keyboard practice is available to get the child accustomed to using the program. Once they are ready they either go into “practice” mode or begin to “play for rating”.

CapJaxMathFax provides immediate feedback to the student as she drills through the facts. The program is preset for a “three second” response to have “mastered” a fact but the parent can easily reset the response time to allow for longer time dependent on the needs of the child. You could also set a quicker response time for a more advanced driller to get a bigger challenge.

The program really is “install and go”. The parent does not need to preset any quizzes. Each child begins at the same point and will progress at his own rate. Progress reports are provided for the parent and child to keep an eye on progress. Even reports on how many seconds each response took is available. What a great motivator for the child who needs to see his accomplishments.

For the child who might need a bit of an extra incentive or reinforcement, CapJax offers merit badges for $4. These are great to add to backpacks, shirts, hats, etc. There is a merit badge for each basic operation. What a fun reward when mastery is reached!

Why would you want to purchase CapJaxMathFax when there are so many “free resources” available?

• No ads. This is huge. While utilizing free resources on the internet can be beneficial, some of the ads on “kid friendly” sites are not kid friendly. Being able to let my 6 year old get on the computer to drill facts and not be online is a big plus!
• Progress is recorded and simple for me to access. Often to track progress on “free” resources, I have to register and then deal with possible spam. Not a problem with CapJax.
• Simple, no frills program. There are no distractions of working for 5 minutes on drills to earn 20 minutes on online games. Your child’s reward is the instant feedback from CapJax and not a frivolous game that doesn’t deal with math.
• Independent study. My child can just get on and the program picks up  at the level she stopped at previously. I can easily see what progress was made later in the day or week.

How did CapJaxMathFax work for us?

My six year old is the one who used the program the most. She had no problems using the program and enjoyed it. One great thing I love about this program is this: child hits “enter”, a problem appears, the child types the answer and hits “enter”. Then the program doesn’t offer another problem until the child hits “enter” again. Each individual problem is timed. For the child who might get flustered at problems coming quickly, this is perfect. The child can control the speed at which the problems come and still be timed on each individual answers. My 6 year old had time between problems to get her fingers ready and refocus. Love this!

CapJaxMathFax is a very simple, basic program in presentation and at times the screen can seem “busy” and it looks a bit outdated at times. However, it is a solid program for getting math facts drilled and mastery obtained. It is a great program and my daughter will continue to use it to master her facts!

There are two purchasing options for  CapJaxMathFax:

Download Version for Windows or Mac (home license):  $29.95

CD + Download License (home license): $29,95 + $5.95 shipping

A free evaluation is offered at CapJaxMathFaxso you can see the program in action and helpful notes to explain the program are included. Also swing by the TOS Homeschool Crew to see what other families thought of this program.

 **Disclaimer: As a member of TOS Review Crew, I received a download of this product for the purpose of review. No compensation was made. The opinions expressed in this post are my own.

Critical Thinking Press is a company that provides a variety of materials to aid in building thinking skills in all areas of learning. From math to science to writing, products are available to help students achieve deeper thinking and understanding . I have often wanted to utilize their products but have never followed through.  When a review for Critical Thinking Press became available, I just couldn’t pass it up!

Over the past several weeks, we have been using Crypto Mind Benders: Famous Quotations. In this book, students will build their mathematical reasoning and critical thinking skills. The use of Crypto Mind Benders is simple. There is no prep work needed! Make as many copies of the page as needed for your family. Grab a pencil and let the fun begin! Through a series of three clues, your child will deduce the value of each letter. Once each letter has been assigned a value, the secret code can be broken.

You can view and print a sample page here!

Crypto Mind Benders is a great activity that can be added to your regular studies so easily. We used Crypto Mind Benders as a “fun math” activity on our “fun school day”. At first, my children were not excited about trying this out. However, after the first day, they were loving them. I have four children who have been solving the quotations and it is a race to see who gets the answer first. I must admit, I enjoy solving the quotation as much as the children!

Crypto Mind Benders: Famous Quotations is designed for grades 3-12+ and can be purchased for $10.99.

A second book, Crypto Mind Benders: Classic Jokes is available as well. I think I might need to get this one for my son. Critical Thinking Press has many products for all ages.

Other members of TOS Review Crew have been using other products from Critical Thinking Press. Head on over and see what they are saying!

**Disclaimer: As a member of TOS Review Crew,  I received a complimentary copy of this product for the purpose of review. No compensation was made. All thoughts/opinions expressed in this post are my own.

K5 Learning was designed to be an online after-school study program for children in Kindergarten – 5th Grade. K5 Learning includes reading, spelling, math and math facts.  K5 Learning uses an assessment that focuses on 8 key skills and places your child at the appropriate level. Placement based on ability and not age and grade makes K5 an excellent enrichment program!

The lessons are engaging and fully independent.  Clear instructions were given and adequate time for response prevented frustration. K5 let’s the child set the pace by having the child select “go on” or “next”.  You can view sample lessons for each area of learning and grade at K5 to see first hand how the lessons are conducted.

K5 Learning is a safe environment for online learning. It does not provide chat, external links or advertising.  Your child can focus on the task and not be tempted to click elsewhere.

Another great feature about K5 Learning is no games, tokens or other rewards need to be “earned” .  It is refreshing to have the creators of an online learning program realize that all the “bells & whistles” are not needed to motivate learning. Learning itself is a great motivator as well as parental encouragement.

And K5 allows parents the ability to track and guide learning. Progress reports are easily accessed and clear in presentation of information.  Parents can also assign which lessons they would like the child to complete or personalize spelling words.

Our Thoughts:

I was pleasantly surprised with K5 Learning. It is a lovely compliment to our homeschool. I utilized the program for my 6yr old and 8 yr old daughters. During the time that I was working with my older students, my younger girls rotated computer time on K5.  They were having fun and learning at the same time; building basic learning skills. My 8yr old loved the math facts and the reading. My 6 yr old always went for the math lessons first.

As one who is cautious of online programs, I loved K5 Learning. I think  K5 does exactly what it promises. It has been enjoyed in our home.

K5 provides thorough information at K5Learning.com . I recommend browsing the site, reading the FAQ and watching the sample lessons. Then take advantage of the 2 week free trail!

Pricing:

Monthly Subscription:

First Child – $25

Additional Child $15

Annual Subscription:

First Child -  $199

Additional Child – $129

For our family, the pricing is out of our budget. While I think it would be more realistic for families to lower the price, I also understand the cost of running an online program. By not allowing advertising, the cost must fall on the consumer.

Please take time to swing by the Crew and see what others think of K5 Learning.

**Disclaimer: As a member of TOS Review Crew, I received a complimentary 2 month subscription to this product. No compensation was made. The opinions expressed in this post are my own.

ALEKS, Assessment and LEarning in Knowledge Spaces, is an online mathematics curriculum for grades 3-12. Using artificial intelligence programming, this learning system provides a customized math program for your student.

When you sign your child up for this program, you select the grade appropriate for her. The first step for your child is to complete an assessment. This assessment enables ALEKS to present the topics your child needs instruction for.  Once the assessment is finished, a pie chart shows areas that need to be completed. Your child can chose where she would like to begin.

ALEKS provides clear instruction for the student on how to answer and use the program.  While it may seem tedious for savvy computer users, it is very helpful for younger users. The pie chart also provides an excellent visual so progress can easily be seen and used as a motivator for the student.

As a mom/teacher, I loved the easy access on how my students were progressing. The reports allowed me to see how much time was spent and what was studied.  I also had the ability to control when and how long they could access the games.

One of the favorite features for my children was QuickTables. I often had to remind one child to actually do a lesson and not just QuickTables.

ALEKS can be a valuable resource for the homeschooling family. It provides a complete math curriculum that requires no textbook and can be accessed from any computer with internet ability. There are seasons in a homeschool family where a resource such as ALEKS could be a benefit.

Our Thoughts:

Overall, ALEKS was liked in our homeschool. Of the 3 students who used it, one really enjoyed it. However, she didn’t find it challenging. Due to our learning preferences, I would only use ALEKS as a supplemental curriculum. I think personal interaction is needed. However, compared to other online programs I have used, ALEKS is one I would not mind having in my home. It is a very straight forward program without distractions. Pricing is an issue as well.  I can’t justify such an expense for a math program; especially for lower grades.

The Price:

A subscription for an individual student is:

$19.95 per month or

$99.95 for 6 months or

$179.95 for 12 months

ALEKS also provides family discounts for those with more than one student. You can learn more here.

The best way to really understand ALEKS is to try it! Click below and try ALEKS free for 2 months!!!

Also take time to read through ALEKS.com.  So much information is available to help you understand how this system works .

Other Crew members shared about ALEKS as well. Check it out!

**Disclaimer: As a member of TOS Review Crew, I received a complimentary copy/use of this product. No compensation was made.

MathRider, math game for kids, has been a big point of interest in our home the past several weeks.  When we had the opportunity to review this math fact game for a second time, I wasn’t sure how well it would be received. I shouldn’t have worried! My children were thrilled to have access to MathRider once again. It isn’t often that you can put “math facts” and “exciting” in the same category.

Why does MathRider work so well at building proficiency in all four math applications?

*MathRider engages the child with a sense of adventure through the noble quest

*Maps provide a fun way for the child to track their progress and encourage her to continue

*Problems are given at your child’s level and increases in difficulty as your child progress; challenging without being frustrating

*Math Rider works in building math skills and it shows; even the child can tell a difference in their math abilities

As a mom/teacher, why do I like Math Rider?

*It is a program with a purpose that doesn’t waste my child’s time with pointless “games”.

*I can easily track all the children’s progress/weak areas. (With five children in various levels of math and ability, this is such an asset to Math Rider!)

*I like the option of “practice runs” before beginning a quest. For my younger children, this give them to time to become familiar with the set up of the game and they like doing well on the quests.

*I love how even a pre-Algebra student can realize she is weak in quick subtraction recall and work diligently to improve her time.

MathRider was designed by parents who wanted to help their own children overcome their struggles with math facts. I believe that a product made by someone who truly and fully understands the reason for the product adds to it validity. No matter the age or level your child is at, MathRider could be a helpful tool. MathRider provides a free trial to see if it is a good match for your child.

MathRider is purchased as an instant download, available for Windows, Mac, OSX and Linux, for $37.  This pricing will not last long! As of February 15, 2012, the pricing will increase to $47. If you are a large family, please note that you can have up to 8 players on a single license. This could be a great way to drill facts efficiently with several children.

Please visit MathRider.com for more information and check out the Crew as well!

**Disclaimer: As a member of TOS Review Crew, I received a complimentary copy of this product.  No compensation was made.  The thoughts/opinions expressed are my own.

Fractazmic is a card game that can be played by 2-4 children 1st – 8th grades. The wide age range makes it a card game the whole family can play together. Game play covers numbers, fractions and measurement.  The concept is simple; players work at gathering a set of cards that make one whole. There are three different colored cards: Sixteenth/red, twelfths/blue and tenths/green.

At first glance, I was doubtful that my youngest could effectively play. However, the Fractazmic cards have clear, colorful pictures that allow even the youngest player to “count” up to a whole.

Not only is Fractazmic a great, fun learning game, it has a great price! You can purchase Fractazmic for only $6.95. This provides you with a deck of 60 cards, clearly numbered with reinforcing graphics of the fraction represented.

You can also play an online version for Free and have the chance to win a deck of Fractazmic cards. What an easy way to add some fun to learning!

Other Crew members played Fractazmic as well; please stop by and see what others had to say!

**Disclaimer – As a member of TOS Review Crew, I received a complimentary copy of this product for review. No compensation was made.

I am very blessed in that I love the math curriculum that I use with 5 of my children. I know that making the decision on how to teach math can be an overwhelming one with so many options and then meeting the needs of the children and the mom! So when the chance to review Math Mammoth came up, I wasn’t confident that this would be a good review product for our family.

However, Math Mammoth provides more than just the standard, grade level options for math. Math Mammoth also provides worktext for specific concepts that your child may need to review, have some extra practice or wasn’t covered thoroughly in your math curriculum. After discussing the options with Maria Miller I was sent three different worktext to use for my older learners.

The concepts we used were:

All three of these texts are from the Math Mammoth Blue Series. The Blue Series offers explanations of concepts along with plenty of varied problems. Each book has a focus ranging from addition, money, place value, rations, percents and more.  Whether your child is in Grade 1 or Grade 7, there is probably a Blue Series that covers the concept your child may need extra focus on!  You can go *here* to see a complete list of what is offered in the Blue Series and find out more information about each one.

Another great feature about the Blue Series texts that we used it that you can pick and choose which sections your child needs. My daughter who needed some extra work on orders of operation used the book for just a couple of weeks hitting some of her weak areas and she was fine and showed improvement in remembering the orders of operation.

Another daughter used the Percent text. We are not using it on a strict schedule. Every now and then, I give her a couple of pages just to keep working with percents fresh in her mind.  It has been a flexible and easy to use program that has been an asset to our current math program.

I think it can also be helpful if you are transitioning a student from public/private school to home to make sure they are at the appropriate place for the math curriculum you have chosen. Or if you don’t homeschool, but you know of your child’s weak areas in math, you can easily take Math Mammoth and let it help your child catch up on school breaks and summer vacation.

Math Mammoth Blue Series is also affordable! As a download the prices range from $2 – $7 per book. An excellent price that allows me to print whenever I need it without printing the sections I don’t need. If you prefer a hard copy or printing your own is burdensome, hard copies are available as well.

Maybe you are looking for a full curriculum or the Blue Series doesn’t appear to meet the math needs you have. Please make sure you take a look around Math Mammoth. There are four series to choose from!

Blue Series - Worktexts by Topic

Light Blue Series – Full Curriculum for Grades 1-6

Golden Series – Worksheets by Grade

Green Series - Worksheets by Topic

They also have Make it Real Learning workbooks that cover real life math.

It might also be helpful to check out the FAQs, Free Stuff,  and Placement.

We are so glad we were able to utilize the Blue Series and get the extra focus we needed! Please make sure you swing over to the Crew. Crew members were given different products from Math Mammoth to review based on their individual needs. Check out what they are saying about other Math Mammoth products!

Disclaimer: As a member of TOS Review Crew, I received a complimentary copy of this product for review. No compensation was made. The thoughts/opinions expressed in this post are my own.

AIMS, a non-profit foundation dedicated to helping students, provided the opportunity to review one of their products. After much time wavering between my younger students and my older students,  I went with Solve It! 3rd – Problem Solving Strategies.

Solve It 3rd is a hands on activity book that helps promotes problem solving skills that can often be lacking in math programs. Designed for third grade, it can easily be used for a grade or two higher if you have a child who needs some fine tuning in this area. In this 240 page book, 29 activities provide opportunity to build your child’s problem solving skills. With these activities your child will: use manipulatives, draw out problems, use a number sentence, work backwards, use logical thinking, organize information and more.

The book provides plenty of information for the teacher/parent to guide the student through the activity; explaining the strategy and the goal of the exercise. A CD of printables is included for copying ease. A wonderful feature of this product is that you are allowed to make up to 200 copies of each activity. For a family with multiple students, you can truly see the value in this product!

One note about Solve It!, some activities are designed with the group classroom setting in mind. We could easily work around this by pulling in older children to assist or by re-working the activity a bit. Not a major issue but one to be prepared for so you can practice your own problem solving skills in finding a solution! Activities could be done as a “fun break” to the normal school day, an extra rainy day activity or a weekly math skill building session. Although we do not use the “workbox” model in our home, for those families who do, Solve It seems a perfect resource to fill up your child’s weekly math box.

Solve It! 3rd – Problem Solving Strategies can be purchased for $24.95.

Want to see samples? Just click here and AIMS provides a variety of samples from their products that you can try out. Please take a look around! Even if you are not in need of 3rd grade math supplements, they have much to offer for other grade levels and in science.

You can also request a free catalog or download one to your computer.

Other crew members reviewed a variety of AIMS products, so make sure you swing on by and see what other are saying about Solve It 3rd and more!!

*Disclaimer: As a member of TOS Review Crew, I received a complimentary copy of this product for review. No compensation was made. The thoughts/opinions expressed in this post are my own.

As a member of TOS Review Crew, we recently had the opportunity to utilize Time 4 Learning for a month in our homeschool. Time 4 Learning is an online home education resource that can be used as a complete curriculum, a supplement to round out or enhance what you currently use or as an after-school resource.

Time 4 Learning is for grades PreK to Middle School. Overviews for each level can be seen here. As the parent, you can select the grade level that best meets the need of your student(s). If your child is more advanced in one subject and a bit behind in another, that is not an issue with Time 4 Learning. When registering your child, you can specify which grade is needed for different areas of learning.

The lessons are interactive for the child and use various forms of media to teach the child.  Any learning style could benefit from Time 4 Learning and you have the added benefit of building computer skills.

One excellent feature of Time 4 Learning is the Parent’s Report. With a quick click of the button, I can see where my child worked, how much time he spent on an activity and how he did. Very thorough report that makes tracking multiple students a breeze.

As a “reward” for completed lessons, the child is allowed to go to the Playground and play various games. The parent is able to set limits on how long the child has access to the Playground. For example, I could set it so my child had to do 20 minutes of lessons to earn 15 minutes of Playground. After that 15 minutes, he would not be allowed in the Playground until more lessons were completed. I love have the ability to control the play time and set a personal standard based on individual needs for lesson time. While personally I don’t treat my children to a reward for completed required work, I know that for some children that extra motivation may be needed.

If you are interested in seeing Time 4 Learning in action, you can go here to view Lesson Demos.

How did Time 4 Learning work for our family? I will admit that I am not a big fan of online programs such as Time 4 Learning. For our family, we prefer that the bulk of learning come from the parents and not a computer screen. I wasn’t impressed with the presentation of the material; especially in the middle school grades. I felt that it was childish as times and pushed to far to be entertaining and not educational. It almost felt dumbed down to a point. What was presented to my daughter for 7th grade seemed to be more appropriate for my 4th grader.

I was a bit surprised at the thoughts of my children. 3 of the 4 were not really engaged with the program. They didn’t mind using Time 4 Learning but they weren’t really interested in it after the first week or so. My 7th grader considered Time 4 Learning “the great big bore”. Her wording. She felt the presentation of her material was boring, childish and not challenging at all. The only feature she found helpful was the writing portion of language arts.

As I have stated before we are not a “media intense” family. While my children love time on the computer, it isn’t where they want to spend a bulk of their learning and not how they prefer to learn.Please take time to view Time 4 Learning and the demos to see if it is a good fit for your family!

Time 4 Learning membership is $19.95 per month for the first child; $14.95 for each additional child. Time 4 Learning is completely online based so there are no cds or downloads needed.

Your membership includes:

Mastering basic math facts (addition, subtraction, multiplication and division) are crucial to success in higher math. If children have quick recall of these basic facts, higher level equations and formulas are easier to tackle.

Mad Dog Math is a math drill system that can help your child attain mastery in just 10 minutes a day. It can work successfully as a supplement to any math curriculum you use.

Mad Dog Math was created by Julie Kotoff, who has been and educator for 30 years. While working as a 3rd grade teacher she developed Mad Dog Math and now you can utilize this tool in your home.

Mad Dog Math takes the basic math facts and breaks them down into small sections based on “fact families”. A child starts with the easiest facts and progresses through the drills attaining mastery and confidence. Mad Dog Math is targeted for grades K-5th but can be used for a higher level student who hasn’t attained mastery of the facts.

How Does Mad Dog Math Work?

Using Mad Dog Math is simple! Your child signs in and “Ruff the dog” will keep track of his progress. You can choose which level for your child to begin; there are three levels. Each drill is 20 problems. If your child gets at least 18 correct in 2 minutes they can move on to another fact family. When he has passed all the drills for the fact family, he will receive a Student Club Award (sticker). If your child misses more than 2 problems, they can click “fetch” and get new problems for that fact family.

Once your child has completed the drills in 2 minutes, he can try to complete the drills in 1 minute. Accomplishing this gains him another Student Club Award. Then he can attempt to complete the drill in 30 seconds which will make him “Top Dog”. Of course once you are “Top Dog” you are ready for the challenge drill to show complete mastery of the drill!

At any time the parent/teacher can sign in with the child’s name and click on the “Progress” bone to see how the child is doing and what fact families they have mastered. Mad Dog Math is an independent drill program and gives immediate feedback to the child. Math Drills couldn’t get any easier!

What is the Cost of Mad Dog Math?

For my review, I utilized the Mad Dog Math Download version. There are three purchasing options for this program.

1 – A One Year License is  $19.99

2-  A Two Year License is $29.99

3- A Perpetual License is $39.99

All depending on the number of your students, any of the above could be an excellent option. If you are a large homeschooling family, the perpetual license might be right for you!

The download version is Windows based.

Our Thoughts on Mad Dog Math

Mad Dog Math is simple straight forward math drill program. No frills, bells and whistles to distract your child. It makes completing drills simple and effective. One of my daughters had a bit of difficulty due to having to look at the keyboard to find the number. Being familiar with the number key pad would have helped tremendously with the time delay it created for her.

I was surprised by the reaction of my 5th grader. As soon as we downloaded Mad Dog Math, she was on and completing the drills. However, she came up to me later and said she would prefer to just do the drills on paper. She thought it was easier to do that set up on paper than on the computer.

If you use a math curriculum that does not provide drills built into the program, I think Mad Dog Math is worth checking out. Especially if you have a few children needing to do drills, this makes it easy to get them accomplished and to track progress. Only 10 minutes a day! No copies. No checking. A valuable resource, indeed.

Please swing by the Crew and see what others are saying about Mad Dog Math!

**Disclaimer: As a member of TOS Crew, I received a complimentary copy of this product for review. No compensation was made. The thought/opinions/experience expressed in this post are my own.