fun math

Math Rider {Crew Review}

April 23, 2013 by Dana

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

A+ Tutorsoft, Inc {Crew Review}

February 27, 2013 by Dana

A+ TutorSoft, Inc. is a fully interactive, multi-sensory Mathematics program. This curriculum was created for use with children in grades 1-6. The goal of the program is to provide engaging, expert instruction in order to help the student reach their top educational potential per grade level. The program is available for homeschoolers, as well as public and private school use.

For purpose of this review, I was given access to A+ TutorSoft 2nd Grade Online Homeschool Edition. This edition gave me access to A+ TutorSoft’s full online program for the 2nd grade level. This includes worksheets, interactive online lessons, graded exams, progress reports, access to placement tests, 24/7 online access, answer keys and much, much more.

The lessons in the online program are animated and to-the-point. Interactive FlashCards are included for additional instruction. Parent’s have access to online grading and tools to help identify weaknesses and strengths in a child’s progress.

I tried this program out with both of my older children as I wanted a feel of the program for each of my very different learners. I found that one enjoyed the animated, interactive lessons online while the other enjoyed the lessons along with the extra worksheets to do off the computer. I liked the fact that I was able to make the program work for both of my children and was easily able to adapt the lessons to fit both of their needs. We often use the same program as they are both basically on the same grade level in many areas. A+ TutorSoft provided a great basis for math to use for them both.

The program allowed me to immediately create a copy of the lessons available and the basic skills taught through the 2nd year portion of this program. I was then able to take that sheet and break it into smaller lessons that worked for us. My next step was to view some of the lessons myself in order to prepare to teach them off the computer. I was also able to print worksheets to use along with these lessons with ease to give on the necessary days for offline learning. These lessons were easily adapted. I was able to prolong sections as needed and didn’t feel behind if we weren’t able to work on the lesson for that day. The kids were able to pick back up with no problems as we worked on the program too. This fit in very well with our laid back style and also with our busy days since we’ve been having several of those lately.

We did not use the exam portions of this program for this review as I do not do testing in our homeschool lessons.

A+ Tutorsoft, Inc is available online through their website. Both the CD program and the online program are available. The cost for their 2nd Grade Online Homeschool Edition is available for $19.95 a month, $49.99 quarterly, or $124.99 per year. Each subscription covers one parent and one child.

For more reviews of A+ TutorSoft, Inc., please visit the Schoolhouse Review Crew blog!

*Disclaimer – This product was provided free in exchange of my honest opinion shared in a review post on my blog by A+ TutorSoft and TOS Schoolhouse Review Crew. All opinions are my own and no money has been exchange in the process of this review. I am including this disclaimer in accordance with FTC guidelines.

Professor B Math {Crew Review}

July 16, 2012 by Dana

Any homeschooling Mom knows that Math can be one tough subject to teach but Professor B Math does it’s best to make Math easy to teach and easy to learn. Professor B Math is an interactive Math program, created to help educators create a strong foundation for students. It’s structured to provide a math education that teaches math as a flowing and connected story as a process.

Professor B Math provides truth in Math too, showing students a less complicated system of learning math facts and problem solving. This allows for a more thorough understanding of math and it’s concepts. It also helps to expand the students mental capacity while learning math.

Professor B Math is for students in grades Pre-K through 8th. It helps provide a thorough math education through simplifying mathematical methods and facts. You can purchase Professor B Math products online through the website by individual book, from addition all the way to Algebra.

You can also purchase a membership to their e-Learning program on the website in three levels: Level I – Pre-k through 2nd and remediation of older learners, Level II – 3rd through 5th and remediation of older learners, and Level III – 6th through 8th and remediation of older learners. Professor B provides a placement test so that you don’t waste money where it isn’t need and can place your child at the correct mathematical level in the e-Learning program. You can purchase one level of Math for $20 a month, add an additional level for another $15 a month and a third level for another additional $10 a month. Or you can purchase 3 years of use for this program for $100 by calling Professor B Math at 678-765-6655. There is also a free trial available by calling for those who would like to try out the program before purchasing.

Each level of e-Learning provides you with an Instant Master Teacher workbook and answer key, video’s to help teach the lessons with you as the narrator, as well as a completion certificate. Because you are the teacher, Professor B does not provide sound with the lesson videos. The workbook contains the student lessons and printable worksheets for student usage as they learn the lessons. The exercises are simple, yet fun. Student concepts are slowed down in comparison to other math curriculums, yet they do throw in a few exercises that challenge the student at the same time.

I found this program to be fairly good. It seemed a bit remedial and in workbook style educationally but was honestly a great edition to our homeschooling curriculum. I will most likely continue to use this program as a beginning math for my pre-k’er and also as extra practice for my older students as I found it helpful for all in some way or another.

You can read more reviews of this program on the SchoolHouse Review Crew blog!

*Disclaimer: A subscription for this product was provided to me free by Professor B Math and the TOS SchoolHouse Review Crew in exchange for my honest opinion in a review.