bnrmom Posted April 10, 2012 Share Posted April 10, 2012 I've been trying all year to find something one of the kids can work on while I am working with the other. Every single one is a failure. The free ones all have problems - unclear explanations, problems that are too hard mixed in with ones that are too easy, they crash, etc. The kids are always calling to me to help them, which then misses the point of me working uninterrupted with the other child. Even paid ones are problematic. TimezAttack leaves my 7yo in tears because the timing goes too fast for him to find the numbers on the keypad (this is the add/subtract version). We did a trial of Time4Learning and in addition to calling to me to ask questions, they hated it. We did a trial of a couple of others with the same problem. Either one topic would drag on forever, or it would jump and be too hard. They hate Spelling City, and to be honest, so do I. The only program that remotely works is BrainPop, but left on their own they just jump all over the place and skip all the quizzes and activities. They loved Reading Eggs but are beyond it at this point. I am so frustrated at this point. Any suggestions? In my dream world it would be something sequential but at this point I'll take anything somewhat entertaining and educational. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SorrelZG Posted April 10, 2012 Share Posted April 10, 2012 Are you willing to share your iPad with them? I have ideas if you are. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walking-Iris Posted April 10, 2012 Share Posted April 10, 2012 (edited) I don't like computer stuff so I'm not the best person to respond. But if you seriously want some computer instruction maybe look into Sequential Spelling cd-roms or the Oregon Trail game. Or a GeoSafari would be fun and educational. EDIT: or ask your older read while working with your younger. Edited April 10, 2012 by Walking-Iris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boscopup Posted April 10, 2012 Share Posted April 10, 2012 I feel your pain! I really liked Reading Eggs best, though the Eggspress is boring enough that I wouldn't pay for my 2nd grader to use it (he liked it, but mostly just to raise cat armies led by Commander Jellyfish). My 5.5 year old does really well with Reading Eggs and can mostly do it by himself, but he doesn't want to do it anymore (I think it's getting to "having to work" territory... plus the occasional speed exercises freak him out). My almost-3 year old does really well with Reading Eggs and wants to continue, but I can't see paying $50+/year for reading for a 3 year old. :tongue_smilie:I'd only done it with him earlier because we had done the free coupon code thing. He finished map 3 today, with flying colors. We've tried other things, and they've all been "meh". They like starfall.com, but don't really get anything out of it - it's just fun. I've just about given up on computer educational apps for the moment. And I was actually thinking about buying Reading Eggs for DS2, but if he doesn't want to do it... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lillehei Posted April 10, 2012 Share Posted April 10, 2012 seterra.net!!! Free geography lessons! It is fun to download it and keep scores and let them compete against each other. We start with countries, then capitals, then cities. When they are proficient we move to another country and down the line. KnowledgeQuest has a download called Globalmania (I think) and it uses seterra and other free geography sites and sets you up with a schedule. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deniseibase Posted April 10, 2012 Share Posted April 10, 2012 Have you looked at Dreambox? It might be too easy for your oldest, but your younger child should enjoy it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pfamilygal Posted April 10, 2012 Share Posted April 10, 2012 Reflex Math is amazing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanikit Posted April 10, 2012 Share Posted April 10, 2012 Reading Eggs did not work for my child though she has loved www.zoowhiz.com though I doubt it will last very long (we only recently started that one so its still too new to tell) I would probably get my children to do something else while I was busy with the other - they should be old enough to fix themselves a snack, play outside, read a book, build something with lego, finish a short worksheet of work you have just covered with them. My DD has also learnt plenty playing games like Where's my water and Cut the rope on our tablet - not exactly classical education but they keep her entertained for a while and require some logical thinking. I would probably use free apps simply because my DDs interest changes too rapidly to make buying any programme worthwhile especially if I am expecting her to use it independently. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MomatHWTK Posted April 10, 2012 Share Posted April 10, 2012 We use Jump Start. One payment covers all my "students" even the 2 y.o. There is more play than I would necessarily like, but I can tell the kids to do X number of lessons before they go off to play and then they learn more. ;) Have you visited the BBC educational websites? Are your kids to old for Starfall? What about Sheppard's Software (website)? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lcelmer Posted April 10, 2012 Share Posted April 10, 2012 (edited) Our alltime favorites for edutainment without having Mom to help, have been the reader rabbit by grade series. There is enough silly thrown in with the "educational" That the kidlets can play alone, and usually don't get too frustrated. We love times attack, but for older kids. http://www.amazon.com/Reader-Rabbit-Adventure-Jewel-VERSION/dp/B00005IB4S/ref=sr_1_12?ie=UTF8&qid=1334087166&sr=8-12 This one was a big hit with DS when he was around that age. Edited April 10, 2012 by lcelmer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bnbacademy Posted April 10, 2012 Share Posted April 10, 2012 A typing Instruction program for kids on CD-ROM works for us. Bought one for $10 at Staples. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thefragile7393 Posted April 10, 2012 Share Posted April 10, 2012 Jumpstart is good...Ooka Island could work for LA...homeschool buyers co-op has a co-op going right now. Might be K-2? Dreambox is K-2 is excellent.....I can't say enough good things about it. Ko's Journey is really good math for older ones...HSBC might have that one still too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhotoGal Posted April 10, 2012 Share Posted April 10, 2012 My kids have enjoyed Music Ace Deluxe. We borrowed it from the library. Dd was just telling me about pitch the other day, so she is definitely learning from it. :001_smile: Have you tried Zoombinis? It is a logic game. The kids are independed on that one. Also "World of Goo" and "Crazy Machines". I also sometimes let them watch BrainPop or The Happy Scientist. I don't mind if they watch unrelated topics. It is good for them to have more choice in what they are learning, so this is an easy way to let them explore what they are interested in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TGHEALTHYMOM Posted April 10, 2012 Share Posted April 10, 2012 I am frustrated with Windows 7 incompatability. Many software programs being sold new are not working on W7! Some do, some don't :confused: Reader Rabbit, Charlie Church Mouse, Mighty Math Heroes, and some others do work, and I ended up buying an older laptop for some. Oregon Trail, Brand new has never worked on any of our computers!:confused: Anyone try the Wii version? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
helena Posted April 10, 2012 Share Posted April 10, 2012 FossWeb for science is pretty easy to deal with: http://www.fossweb.com/ NGA for art can kill a lot of time and is well done: http://www.nga.gov/kids/ a few other art sites: http://artpad.art.com/artpad/painter/ http://bomomo.com/ http://www.jacksonpollock.org/ http://www.picassohead.com/create.html http://www.zefrank.com/scribbler/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Marple Posted April 10, 2012 Share Posted April 10, 2012 We enjoyed the Singapore cd-roms (Rainbow Rock esp.). It moved at the pace of the child. Also, Typing Instructor deluxe was a hit here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thefragile7393 Posted April 10, 2012 Share Posted April 10, 2012 I am frustrated with Windows 7 incompatability. Many software programs being sold new are not working on W7! Some do, some don't :confused: Reader Rabbit, Charlie Church Mouse, Mighty Math Heroes, and some others do work, and I ended up buying an older laptop for some. Oregon Trail, Brand new has never worked on any of our computers!:confused: Anyone try the Wii version? Oregon trail won't work brandnew on mine either....they need to update the game! So frustrating! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bnrmom Posted April 10, 2012 Author Share Posted April 10, 2012 Thanks for the suggestions. We had tried Dreambox awhile ago, but I think it was just the beta version? I signed my younger one up for a 2 week trial, and so far he likes it. Reflex math looks good for my older one, I'll look into that trial for him. Thanks for the ideas - I feel like I spend so much time trying to figure this out and it is so frustrating! I can tell my 2nd grader to read while I work with his brother, but he'll just read Captain Underpants. If I try to give him a selection of books to choose from, he complains the whole time, interrupting us. My older son I can have go read a selection and do a summary for me, but he doesn't feel like it's fair that his brother gets "computer lab" time but not him. We do use the ipad, but I find that if I let the kids get on there, I am constantly bombarded by requests to go play their other games, like DragonVale or Angry Birds. We've tried typing software. My older son will practice for 10-15 minutes at a time, but my younger son gets really frustrated and has declared that he hates typing. Readingwise, my younger son is a fluent reader, so any K-2 reading programs are too easy for him. However, I'd love to find language arts ones - spelling (other than just a random list), grammar, find the main topic, etc. Does anyone ever feel like by the time they get it all figured out the year is over? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heathermomster Posted April 10, 2012 Share Posted April 10, 2012 Even paid ones are problematic. TimezAttack leaves my 7yo in tears because the timing goes too fast for him to find the numbers on the keypad (this is the add/subtract version). E-mail the TimezAttack people. There is a way to adjust the timing...It's been awhile, but I did this for the multiplication version. BBC Dancemat typing is free and on-line. Typing Instructor Deluxe is good and cheap. For multiplication drills, DS used a program called Master the Facts Multiplication. DS didn't love it near as much as I did. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lizzie in Ma Posted April 10, 2012 Share Posted April 10, 2012 What about the Cluefinder's games? Math Missions? Jumpstart? We loved all those when the kids were younger. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnnaM Posted April 11, 2012 Share Posted April 11, 2012 http://clever-dragons.com/login We use the girl version which is Always Icecream and really like it. It is kind of expensive but its a lifelong membership. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catz Posted April 11, 2012 Share Posted April 11, 2012 I've been letting my 7 year old go free range on brain pop all year and she's learned a TON without ever touching a quiz or activy. She spouts off facts from brain pop all the time. I do require my 11 year old to do the quiz and write a few sentences summary when he does brain pop (he might be mostly beyond it, but he still thinks it's ok). My 7 year old LOVES dream box. On the iPad, we've liked stack the states, stack the countries, rocket math, presidents vs. aliens, and the iPad brain pop app. :bigear: for other things Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mytwomonkeys Posted April 11, 2012 Share Posted April 11, 2012 well i've gotten some great ideas!:D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnMomof7 Posted April 11, 2012 Share Posted April 11, 2012 I generally like apps more than software programs (cheaper too most times) - and I can make a bazillion recommendations on those too :). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stripe Posted April 11, 2012 Share Posted April 11, 2012 We enjoyed the Singapore cd-roms (Rainbow Rock esp.). It moved at the pace of the child. Also, Typing Instructor deluxe was a hit here. The Singapore cds don't work with newer windows. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foxbridgeacademy Posted April 11, 2012 Share Posted April 11, 2012 (edited) Try Iknowthat.com my kids like it pretty well and they love the "gizmos" part. Reasonably priced too. Edited April 11, 2012 by foxbridgeacademy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
babysparkler Posted April 11, 2012 Share Posted April 11, 2012 Have you tried anything from criticalthinking.com? We love almost everything from there :) If you use this referral link, it will get you free shipping. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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