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Talk to me about dreambox math


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I use it with my upcoming 2nd grader as more of a supplement to Math Mammoth. I like that she enjoys playing it so much and has made math more fun. I also like that it approches the same problem many different ways. Truthfully, I don't sit with her most of the time while she is doing it so I don't know if it could be used as a stand alone or not.

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I use it as a supplement to RightStart Math and love it as such. I don't know if I would feel comfortable using it as my kids main math either. That could be just me though and we are only in the k-1st grade sections. Maybe someone who has used it in higher grades will be more help.

 

So bump! :001_smile:

 

Brenda

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You couldn't use it as a stand alone. It doesn't cover measurement, time, money. However, it is great for building up mental math. I love how it has helped my DD understand things and in conjunction with SM and RS has increased her rapidity in mental math. She enjoys it. We had an IXL subscription but she never wanted to play it because it was too much like worksheets and not enough like a game. Dreambox is very much gamelike. I like that it parallels the way RS and SM explain how to do math, but also adds it's own little flavor (like unpacking and packing boxes for place value and understanding how 14 tens and 3 ones is the same thing as 1 hundred, 4 tens and 3 ones, or the same as 12 tens and 23 ones). I would love to extend our subscription through HSBC but I believe the special is only for a new subscription:(

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My son has finished k-2 and half of grade 3 on Dreambox. I am pretty picky and I consider it excellent. I sit with him most of the time, so I can see what he's doing. K-1 have a lot of abacus games, so it's a lot like RightStart math at the beginning. They really emphasize place value.

 

They also start teaching first (or maybe second) graders about negative numbers through games where the frogs jump in a river. The river is like a number line and the starting line represents zero.

 

He started Dreambox about two years ago and it is a great supplement to Singapore Math or another program.

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I should add that we got the subscription through HSBC in March. We had to create a new account and he had to start over. But since it lets you test out of areas, starting over really only set him back a week or two (instead of 1 1/2 years). It was worth it to pay $40 per year instead of $13 per month.

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I should add that we got the subscription through HSBC in March. We had to create a new account and he had to start over. But since it lets you test out of areas, starting over really only set him back a week or two (instead of 1 1/2 years). It was worth it to pay $40 per year instead of $13 per month.

 

I've been debating doing that! I didn't want to set DD back as she has almost finished all of the grade 2 stuff.

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I don't see it as stand-alone. My DS9 and DS6 used it for about 8 months this past school year. I didn't sit next to them the whole time, but walked through the room several times, was in the next room, etc...

 

It was alot of abacus type counting, place value activities, etc....I never did see concrete math problems being worked on, ie 8+2=

 

It definately helps with alot of abstract type stuff, but I really think one would need to put pencil to paper and do some concrete math work as well.

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It was alot of abacus type counting, place value activities, etc....I never did see concrete math problems being worked on, ie 8+2=

 

The basic beginner adding and substracting is in the carnival, in the clown dunk game, which opens either near the end of K or sometime in first grade. You can check the parent dashboard to see what grade work they are in.

 

Grades 2 and 3 have lots of adding, subtracting, and multiplying. They even teach mental math strategies like turning 97+34 into 100+31.

 

I check the parent dashboard to see his progress most days. If he goes several days without increasing the percentage done for a specific topic, then I know he's either goofing off or not understanding something.

 

Over the last two years, I've sat next to him for at least half of the 150 or more hours he's played. I wouldn't use it as a stand alone program, but it's a great supplement.

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Both of my daughters loved it but I only used the trial membership. I couldn't ever commit to it.

 

I didn't like it at all at first but then by the end of the week, or two, I had changed my mind. But not enough to buy it and definitely not enough to use as a stand alone.

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Both of my daughters loved it but I only used the trial membership. I couldn't ever commit to it.

 

I didn't like it at all at first but then by the end of the week, or two, I had changed my mind. But not enough to buy it and definitely not enough to use as a stand alone.

 

I wouldn't pay full price, but the HSBC price is pretty good. Hmmm. Def seems to be a supplement from what everyone is saying.

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My kids used it on and off for at least a couple years. I definitely wouldn't use it as a stand alone, and in fact I am not sure how they benefited from it at all-- its just impossible to tell what would have happened if they never did it. But I don't think any computer program can stand in for a full curriculum.

 

If your kid really likes it over the long term, and you have the time to spare and its not competing with another kind of math program for attention, then I think its got to be a great benefit.

 

How great? Who knows?

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DS has loved it - he's almost finished grade 4 and has done about half of the new grade 5 stuff. I think it's done wonders for his mental math, and he is always enthusiastic about it (he asks to do it in his spare time). I don't think it's stand alone, but for a "mathy" kid you could use it as a "getting maths done" option for a time quite successfully. That's what we've done while I've been crazy busy painting a house and other stuff.

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It is not a stand alone program.

I find it slow moving for my kids as one needs it to be that slow moving. The other two who are on a higher level don't seem to be complaining too much about it being slow moving. They are just not doing it as much as when we first started it. I wish I can say I am able to sit and watch my kids use the computer program but I can't with the amount of kids I have. I do walk by and take notice. They play on it while I am working one to one doing direct intervention with another child. In a way it could be busy work for them but a lot of the activities is just a review of what one is learning on the abacus and using c-rods manipulatives.

 

My older kids like it much better than Ko's Journey. Ko's journey is too hard for them right now they say.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Do you have to buy more than one subscription if you have more than one child? That's what it seemed to be when I looked on the HSBC site. Also, what grades/age range does it cover?

 

Just trying to decide if it's worth getting for my 3rd and 1st graders.

 

Thanks!

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Do you have to buy more than one subscription if you have more than one child? That's what it seemed to be when I looked on the HSBC site. Also, what grades/age range does it cover?

 

Just trying to decide if it's worth getting for my 3rd and 1st graders.

 

Thanks!

 

 

Is there a current offer at HSBC for Dreambox?

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I purchased this through HSBC a few days ago and my daughter is currently working on it at this moment (and has been the past few days) and loving it. I plan to use Dreambox as a fun supplement.

 

I have my desktop setup and have shared my daughter's screen so I can keep an eye on what she's doing on my own computer desktop screen.

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Around here ds7 and ds5 both really like DreamBox - the little guy, especially. He was sad when he moved up to the intermediate level, as he had liked the storylines about hamsters and bunnies. But now he is hot in pursuit of "exemplary" units and has taken that as consolation.

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I should add that we got the subscription through HSBC in March. We had to create a new account and he had to start over. But since it lets you test out of areas, starting over really only set him back a week or two (instead of 1 1/2 years). It was worth it to pay $40 per year instead of $13 per month.

 

The person who set up my HSBC account on dreambox did it so we did not lose any progress. It is possible. He saw how far along they were and took pity on us.

 

I really like it. My non-math oriented girls have grown a lot with it and my kids who math comes to easily have become much faster and more accurate. My just turned 5yr old can do all kinds of addition and subtraction in her head and dreambox is the only math she did last year. I think it could be a stand alone program for preK and K but you'd want to supplement with something else for higher grades.

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I'm a fan of Dreambox. We use RightStart (and Math in Focus) as our main math but I think we've progressed through Dreambox. One child has really mastered multiplication when we hadn't yet really covered it in RightStart. I actually used what he was doing in Dreambox to help him make the connection to what RightStart was covering. I think it's helped the other child develop solidify his place value and mental math strategies. Both enjoy it which is a big plus. I like that it's conceptual, solid math and coming at those concepts with different terms and techniques seems to have helped here.

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So, do you have to buy more than one subscription if you have more than one child? That's what it seemed to be when I looked on the HSBC site. Also, what grades/age range does it cover?

 

Yes, there is no family plan w/ HSBC. They do put all of your children under one parent account. They claim to go through 5th grade but it isn't true. They go through 4th grade and have some 5th grade topics. I'd call it more of a 4th grade extension than a true 5th grade. When I complained, I was told it goes through "remedial 5th grade" which is really just that they expect 5th graders who are behind to go through the 4th grade material. They say they'll add more 5th grade but it has been slow and not much. It's a shame, because the 4th grade was really well done. It starts w/kindergarten but a motivated preschooler could do it.

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Yes, there is no family plan w/ HSBC. They do put all of your children under one parent account. They claim to go through 5th grade but it isn't true. They go through 4th grade and have some 5th grade topics. I'd call it more of a 4th grade extension than a true 5th grade. When I complained, I was told it goes through "remedial 5th grade" which is really just that they expect 5th graders who are behind to go through the 4th grade material. They say they'll add more 5th grade but it has been slow and not much. It's a shame, because the 4th grade was really well done. It starts w/kindergarten but a motivated preschooler could do it.

 

Thank you for that! So, all 3 of my kids couldn't use it? Is it online? Are only one of them allowed to use it? Just trying to understand since I've never used HSBC or dreambox before:)

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No, you would need 3 separate accounts. The program "learns" and "adapts" to each child's needs and level. If they struggle with something, they practice it more. If they master it, they move on. That wouldn't work with more than one child playing.

 

Just what I was looking for! Thanks for explaining that!:)

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I signed my daughter up for the free trial, but I am not impressed with what I see. Is the free trial a fair representation of what I would be getting with a subscription from HSBC? From what I see there are some games, but there is no actual instruction. I was under the impression that there was some sort of teaching involved (which is why they call themselves a curriculum). Even as a supplement, it is pretty poor. There is no help if the child doesn't understand a concept, they just get it incorrect and don't earn any coins.

 

:confused: What am I missing??

 

 

I was going to purchase the subscription through HSBC (which runs out tonight), but I am not paying $50 for the math equivalent of reading eggs - without the instruction.

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