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UberSmart Math Facts {Crew Review}

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For this review, we were gifted a full download with lifetime license code for UberSmart Math Facts from UberSmart Software.  This program was wonderful.  It’s a great way to teach or review Math Facts for any age.
UberSmart Math Facts can be used with people of any age but is specifically designed to be used with students in Kindergarten through 6th grade.  It’s a downloadable software program that can be used with eight or more students.  The software requirements are for Windows 7, Windows 8, XP or Vista only.  The cost for UberSmart Math Facts is only $24.95.  That’s a steal for such a wonderful program to teach your student Math Facts!
The kids liked UberSmart Math Facts a lot.  All three of my school-aged students were able to easily use this program.  They simply logged on and began to work through the Math Facts on their own.
If you aren’t sure what a Math Fact is, they are your simple addition, subtraction, multiplication and division problems that you probably learned in Early Elementary school.  1+1, 1-1, 1×1, and 1/1 are all Math Facts – place in any number you wish to create a Math Fact problem.  Math Facts are important to build a strong Mathematical foundation before heading into higher Math programs.
UberSmart makes teaching Math Facts easy through their many program options.  Your student can practice and learn Math Facts by selecting the Learn tab in the program.  They can then choose to learn with Dots (like those found on Dominoes game pieces) either with or without Numbers or learn with only numbers for the problems they are learning to complete.  The Dots show the amount for each number making it a bit easier for younger students.  This also gives the student visual reminders for the numbers amount, teaching one-to-one correspondence in Math.
After “learning” the Math Facts, students can then Practice their Math Facts by clicking on the second tab in the program which is labeled “Practice”.  Students are then given several Facts to answer in order to practice what they’ve learned.  Math Facts for addition and subtraction go up to the 9’s.  Math Facts for multiplication and division have the option of going to the 9’s or going to the 20’s.  The choice is yours and your students.
There is also a “test” for UberSmart Math Facts.  This can be found by clicking the third tab appropriately named “Test”.  This test is nice for the parents/teacher and student to see if the student is really learning their Math Facts and where they may need review.
The fourth tab for UberSmart Math Facts is a tab called “Compete”.  This allows the user to compete to test their skills against others.  This would be a great option for those who wish to test their child’s skills.  I don’t personally care for this option since we try to avoid competitions in our home but my Emma did enjoy testing her knowledge by using it – she is my competitive child when it comes to learning.
The fifth tab for the program is the Report tab.  This is where the teacher/parent or even the student can check in to see how they are doing with their learning.  It shows the tests, the passed levels of practice and basics of what the student has completed.  It’s a nice option to be able to see where your student may or may not need help.
The last tab is the Maintain tab.  This is where you set up your students and passwords.  You can also find program updates in this section and input your license for the program as necessary.  It’s basically the game settings area for the program.
That pretty much sums up UberSmart Math Facts.  We used this program on and off through the review period.  All three of my school-age children have accounts created and each was easily able to log onto the program.  They worked at Math for varied periods of time and enjoyed using it.  It was a lot like using flashcards, only interactively.  My son loved the program because it wasn’t overwhelming and it wasn’t too fast.  There also wasn’t a lot of reading involved for him to do.
UberSmart Math Facts would be great for public school students who need extra math practice, as well as Homeschool students who may need the same.  It would be a great program to use for early Math learning of Math Facts as well.  We certainly will be continuing to use this program in the future.
To read more reviews of UberSmart Software and how the rest of the Schoolhouse Review Crew used UberSmart Math Facts, please click on the banner below!

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Crew Disclaimer

Learning Wrap-Ups {Crew Review}

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The first time I saw a Learning Wrap-Ups product was several years ago when we began homeschooling.  Our local homeschool used-bookstore had a multiplication set for sale.  A few months later, I was offered a set of Learning Palette’s as well at a homeschool used-booksale. I admit, I turned both of these products down at the time due to lack of extra funds for them but I never forgot the products or how fun they appeared to be.
So when this review became available, I was thrilled.  I had regretted passing up those two products many years before and wished several times over the years that I had made the investments because I had heard such good things about the Learning Wrap-Ups company.  As you’ve probably guessed, because of that I jumped at reviewing Learning Wrap-Ups and we received the following products for this review:
I also have to say, that even though I knew this product was amazing, and even though I knew we’d be receiving a package full of fun things to do, I never expected to be gifted so much through this review.  This has truly been a blessing for our homeschooling and our home alike.  We’ve greatly enjoyed using Learning Wrap-Ups over the past few weeks and there has been something for everyone from this one box filled with goodies!
For the review, I was able to select which products I wanted.  I chose the items that I listed above because I felt they best fit our families’ needs.  Laycie is in Kindergarten right now and the Learning Palettes were a great way to introduce concepts for her age level without being overwhelming and still keeping it fun.  The Wrap-Ups were perfect for my older children as well, some for review and some for new learning activities during our day to day lessons.
The Kindergarten Math Learning Palette 1 Base Center Kit comes in it’s own plastic carrier so that all the products within stay contained easily in one place.  Inside the bag is a Learning Palette board with different colored plastic circle disks which are used for self-correction as you use the Learning Palette.  There are also five different boxes inside, each containing 12 cards with 12 challenges to complete for learning about various math skills.  The topics cover Matching and Early Numbers, Numbers, Coins and Fractions, Intro to Algebra, Intro to Geometry and Measurement, and Intro to Data.
There are a total of 60 curriculum cards with a total of 720 questions in all.  Each of these cards meet the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics Standards.  They are also Common Core and State Standard correlated.
As mentioned above, these tasks are self-correcting.  With help, children read through the card and make their answer by choosing a disk color that coincides to the correct answer.  Once all the disks are in place on the Learning Palette, the student turns the card over to see if they were right or not by checking if the colors match up.  This can be repeated again and again as needed.  As we answered questions, we would read through the wrong answers to see why they were not right and what the correct answer was.  It was a very easy process for us to work through.
The Kindergarten Reading 1 Base Center Kit is the same as the math but instead it covers Reading as a subject.  The same self-correcting method with colored disks is used.  The subjects covered with this Learning Palette are Alphabet, Beginning Consonants, Rhyming Words, Beginning Vocabulary, and Vowels.   There are also 60 cards with 720 questions covering Reading in this set of the Learning Palette.  Other grade levels are also available for these kits.
Laycie absolutely loved the Learning Palette kits and could not wait to use them every day.  Even today she asks to use them repeatedly and hasn’t tired of learning with them.  I allowed her to do a few a day, helping her as needed and showing her the corrections when she was done.  She is able to open her Palette cover, put in a card and answer the questions mostly on her own, then put it all away when finished.  Very little help is now needed by me for her to do this.  It’s been great to give her a bit of educational freedom as well.
Our Learning Wrap-Up kits are pretty awesome as well.  Both Laycie and her older siblings have enjoyed these.  Some have been great review, while others have been great learning for them.
The Learning Wrap-Up Math Intro Kit didn’t come with CD’s but we are totally ok with that because it was just as great without them.  It does come with a Wrap-Up for Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication, Division, and Fractions.  Each Wrap-Up is a different color and they are super easy to use.
Wrap-Ups are plastic and have numbers on the front with a start arrow to let you know where to begin.  They have a string attached and when you use them you start the string at that arrow.  Then you wrap the answers you are working with, wrapping the string around the Wrap-Up which you are working on.  These are also self-correcting so when you have the Wrap-Up done, you can check the back to see if you had the correct answers or not.  They can be used over and over and are great both for learning and review of math facts.
The Learning Wrap-Up Math Intro Kit was a favorite of Winston’s.  He loves Math and anything to do with Math.  He spent hours going over and over the Wrap-Ups simply reviewing facts and he really enjoyed doing that – he still does it today.
The Learning Wrap-Up Vocabulary Intro Kit works the same way as the Math kit.  The student places the string at start and wraps to the correct answers.  These are also self-correcting and can be reused multiple times.  The Vocabulary kit covers synonyms, homonyms, compound words, and antonyms used in vocabulary.
Emma absolutely loved these!  A bonus was that words she didn’t know, she quickly learned to read and spell by using these Wrap-Ups!  They were right up her learning alley!
Additionally to the Learning Palettes and the Learning Wrap-Ups kits, we received 10 Steps to Addition Mastery and 10 Days to Multiplication Mastery.  Each of these workbooks are 62 pages in length.  They contain many varied activities in relation to Math concepts.  They are black in white print with adorable designs throughout to keep Math interesting for the young users who are working through them.  They are not reproducible and each student should have their own workbook for completion.  I used them with all three students by having each student choose a page to complete separately.  Laycie did more of the additon pages, while Winston and Emmalee completed more of the Multiplication workbook.  They agreed the work was fun but still somewhat challenging for them.
We were also given the opportunity to use LearningPalette.com!  We were gifted with a year’s subscription for up to five users.  This site covers all levels of the Reading and Math Palettes.  It is simple and fun to use, just like the Learning Palettes themselves.  Simply follow the instructions to log in, click the Learning Palette you wish to learn with, and complete the answers right on the website.  This is also a self-correcting format, helping children to achieve success in learning.
I am so thankful for the chance to review this product and the joy it has brought into our home and our homeschooling.  The kids really don’t feel like they are doing school by using Learning Wrap-Ups but instead feel like they are simply playing while learning and nothing makes me happier than that!  Learning Wrap-Ups is a wonderful investment for all families, whether in Public school or Homeschooling like we are!

You can find Learning Wrap-Ups in the following places online:

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Crew Disclaimer

Math Mammoth {Crew Review}

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Math Mammoth was created by Maria Miller to help homeschooling Momma’s who were completely lost at teaching math be able to provide a better learning experience for their students.  Being an ex-math teacher, Maria was able to create an exceptional math program that is easy to use and understand by both teacher and student.  Math Mammoth provides a complete math education that makes math easy.

Last year, we used Math Mammoth’s Light Blue series for second grade.  You can read our review for that curriculum here: https://www.luvnlambertlife.com/2011/11/tos-review-math-mammoth.html.  This year, I chose to review Math Mammoth’s Light Blue series for first grade.

I chose this curriculum for two reasons: to review math fact basics with my daughter who struggles with them and to begin my youngest daughter’s education in addition and subtraction.  The first grade level of the Light Blue series worked great for both of their needs.  And since it’s easy to use, my older daughter needed little help from me to work through it.  She is able to read on her own and follow through with her work.  She was also able to help my younger daughter out along the way, when I was unable to.

I chose the Light Blue series because it’s a complete curriculum.  This allowed my daughter to completely relearn the concepts she struggles with instead of just working on reviewing facts that she didn’t completely understand the first time.  We basically started all over with Math, only this time the lessons were much easier for her to comprehend.  And though we’ve only been using the program a short time, she is definitely catching on fast.

Math Mammoth’s Light Blue Series for Grade 1 covers addition and subtraction concepts and strategies, whole number and place value relationships to 100, measurement of length, geometric basics, time and money.  Even though we are using this curriculum for a math review purpose, we have started from the beginning and worked through.  The program is not boring or overwhelming to my students, and as I’ve mentioned more than once, it’s extremely easy to use and comprehend.

Math Mammoth Light Blue series is available online for $34 for the full set of Grade 1 as a download or on CD for $39 plus shipping.  It is also purchasable as individual sectional downloads through the website.

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Math Rider {Crew Review}

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The Intelligent Math Facts Game
Have fun and build confidence!
We had so much fun with Math Rider last year that we decided to review it again this year!  Math Rider is a fun, interactive math facts game created for kids of all ages and stages learning important basic math skills.  Math Rider is a game that children will want to play again and again all the while learning in the process.
Math Rider teaches the basic skills of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division.  Children create a character who will be riding Shadow the Horse across the Land of Ray.  The Land of Ray is a beautifully designed matte-painted fantasy land that children will greatly enjoy.  
As children work through their quest they will find magical flowers, gems for elves and they even rescue a princess all while working on their math skills.  There are four quests from easy to master to complete.  Rewards change throughout the quests as children unlock and complete their missions.  

Math Rider allows for more than one child to use the system learning needed facts.  This worked well for us since we have three children learning at different levels currently.  My oldest daughter truly enjoys this program while she’s working on her math facts simply because there is a horse involved.  She is my animal lover.  My son loves the simplicity and ease of the program.  Because of it’s easy to use programming, I plan to start my 5 year old on it very soon.

Math Rider sells for $47 and includes free software updates for life.  A free 7 day full-version trial is available on the website for immediate use.  

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*Additional photos used were from my review of this product last year: https://www.luvnlambertlife.com/2012/02/tos-review-math-rider.html

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