Online math for 5yo

[Tracy]

I am not sure if I should be posting here or on the K-8 board. I have been trying to figure out math for ds5 for next year, and you folks convinced me to consider online math. I really didn't want to spend the money, but then I realized that I have spent a ton of money on dd8's interests. So in for a penny, in for a pound, eh?

 

Someone recommended Dreambox, which I have looked at. I would like to see what else is out there, though.

 

I would like something that will not pigeonhole him into K materials (or even one particular level, regardless of what that is). He has a particular interest in multiplication now, but I think he needs work on subtraction skills. However, I want something that will allow him to work on multiplication even if he has not mastered addition or subtraction.

 

What are your recommendations?

[lizbusby]

There's always Khan Academy . . . and it's free. :D

[Tracy]

There's always Khan Academy . . . and it's free. :D

 

Isn't Khan lectures, though? Or is there an interactive aspect to it?

[lizbusby]

There are lectures, but there's also a practice problems component, complete with a hint button; scoring for how fast you are and how many hints you use; and badges for "achievements". My 4 year old is obsessed with it. Doesn't really understand that you have to get 10 problems right in a row to "pass off" a section--he enjoys just messing around with the hints, sometimes answering wrong on purpose, etc.

 

But the nice thing is that there's no gatekeeping to the content-- ie you can watch the calculus videos even if you are still stumbling in addition. It has a nice map of all the math topics and how they are related to give you an idea of what you need to master to understand each concept. And it keeps track of which topics you have "passed off" or are struggling with. It's not bad for a kid who just wants to mess around with math concepts. And the videos are pretty entertaining from the giggling I hear during "math time" (what my 4yo does while 2yo and pregnant mommy take a nap :D).

 

Downside? It's not super cutesy or kid attractive, if your kids need that to keep them interested. But to my 4yo, it's plenty of fun just to see the entirity of math laid out in a map and be able to earn lots and lots of points.

[lizbusby]

You should try it out. It's ridiculously easy to get a feel for how it works. It took me a while to figure out how to set up a child account, but there's a help video for that.

 

https://www.khanacademy.org/

[Stef03]

These are the ones we've tried:

 

Math IXL - allows you to work on any chosen subject but doesn't teach. I find it great for drills.

Khan Academy - teaches but it can be a bit dry for younger kids & there aren't sufficient early elementary maths videos. I use them for introductions to new topics (if a video on the subject is available).

Dreambox - you won't be able to pick and choose what to work on, there's a lot of repetition (can be frustrating to some kids), it's "cute" and appealing to young kids. They do a free 14 day trial so you could always give it a try. My 5yr old loves it.

EPGY - again you can't choose what you want to work on, there's very little repetition so it's great for kids who understand concepts quickly, teaches and it's very straight to the point (not cutesy), moves fast.

[Tanikit]

I would probably suggest Dreambox. I use www.sumdog.com for my child but it is really just to practice math facts (to be honest though most of K and 1st math is just practicing those math facts) - for one its free and my DD likes it (and if she stops liking it then we haven't wasted money) and it does go to basic algebra but keeps them at the level they need practice at based on what they get right and wrong and how long they take. Obviously this is not used to teach math to my child - just as fun practice.

[Dmmetler]

My DD likes Mathletics a lot, but didn't start it until she was about 7 and moving into middle school content. There's a really cute instructional component for Elementary math called "Rainforest Maths" that didn't have anything for DD by the time she started it, but I think she would have loved It younger. It does work by level, but there are also "easier" and "harder" gold bars, which lets a DC work on what's needed, and you can customize a path for a child. On a home subscription, you can change grade level 6x a year after your initial set-up (and I suspect if you had a DC who did grades 1-6 in a couple of months, they'd be willing to give you more resets to let the child move forward-but with such a kid, you'd be better off looking at the printables, which you can see all of, and simply jumping to an appropriate grade level). At each level, there are at least 3 grade levels worth of problems-the grade level itself, "easier" and "harder"-and what I've found is that my DD is often marked as complete on a good 1/4 of the next grade level because she tends to complete the "harder". You can choose to just skip some sections entirely (I really, really DON'T like a lot of their measurement stuff, especially the "choose the correct unit of measure"-because for my DD, it leads to arguments over "They say a fishbowl is quarts, but at PetSmart, they're in gallons-so THEY'RE WRONG!" or "I say it's a snake, and snakes are measured in feet,not inches!!!"), and anything involving setting time on a clock is a bear unless your DC has just amazing mouse skills (DD hasn't run into those in the gold bars, but has in the American Math Challenge, where they give a subset of gold bars covering K-6th grade-she had a harder time on that one 1st grade skill than any of the older kid stuff).

 

For contest-loving kids, especially those who hate to memorize normally, but will do so for a challenge, I think it's a good fit. For someone who wants something that's more instructional, it probably isn't the best fit. And unfortunately, the only way I know of to get a free trial as a homeschooler is to wait until the American Math Challenge (or whatever regional challenge you live in-they span the globe in the Fall) warm-up starts and register for the contest. There is a trial offer listed on the website, but it's specifically for schools, not individuals.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There are a lot of printables, too.

 

I do feel Mathletics is weak on instruction-for the most part, instruction is limited to "watch us do a practice problem". It does seem fairly sequential as far as demonstrating concepts visually and asking kids to do problems with visual assistance first, but there's little or no discussion on "why" as opposed to "What".

 

The Live rounds are DD's favorite part now, but I think at age 5 it would have caused a meltdown, because they're timed, speed dependent, head-to-head competition, either vs other actual kids online at the same time, or with computer players, and the levels group everyone together, not just people of your same age/grade level (the levels approximately correspond to memory math for that age/grade level, 1-10, so level 1 is all basic 1 digit stuff, but level 10 is asking students to do logs).

[Uff Da!]

nm

[dbmamaz]

i started homeschooling when my youngest was in 1st, and math was his thing. We used singapore 2A at first, which was fine, but he was fighting me on everything. We did Time4Learning for a while, and he loved it. T4L is an all-in-one, but light, so I always supplemented some. But your child has access to 3 grades of material in every subject, and you choose which three (well, they have to be contiguous tho). If you want to change the levels, you just tell them on line and they update it within a few days.

 

My son used that for about a year and a half, and finally liked the other math we were doing even better (which was murderous maths and Primary Challenge math).

 

Also, check out TimezAttacks - they have video-game-like programs to learn math facts. last i looked, there were free versions - and the only difference is the graphics. the free version (last i checked) was the same monster and halls every level, the paid version changed each level

[junepep]

Math Seeds (from the people that created Reading Eggs) I haven't tried it yet. Also, I believe that it might not go past 3rd grade math - I keep meaning to check it out because I received a free trial in the mail, but *shrugs* my oldest it fairly beyond it and my youngest doesn't like to play on the computer.

 

My oldest likes to play : http://www.fun4thebrain.com/ - but they're just for fun, not for learning.

 

PS - Timezattack (which is free) is awesome too, but can be frustrating if your child isn't fast using a keyboard (or uses a non-standard laptop keyboard without a number pad)

[stefaniegray]

Math Seeds is very, very basic. My son (4, doing 2nd grade math) wanted to try it and he tested right out of it. He could still play with it (they just gave him access to all levels) but he didn't learn anything new. My best guess would be it covers K at the moment. I think they may be planning more levels - at least they told my son to"check back in" because they didn't have "anything to teach you right now." There is a 3 week free trial if you want to check it out.

[2smartones]

I prefer IXL. Why?

 

(1) It doesn't limit what level you're able to use (you can practice multiplication in 3rd and subtraction in 1st... the computer doesn't flag you or anything).

 

(2) It gives kids cute little rewards for various achievements (I don't care, but my kids seem to love this).

 

(3) It gives you parent reports to let you know what your kids are working on without you having to watch them to see what they're doing.

 

(4) A lot of people complain that it's not a teaching too, but a drilling one ... however ... I like this, because rather than using a teach first, drill second method, it just starts drilling. If you're right, you can fly right through it and move on. If you're wrong, it'll pause between problems to explain why you're wrong. It helps kids self-teach and self-correct, which is a skill that most math programs severely lack. IXL isn’t meant to be a full curriculum, but it’s wonderful for working on skills that either need more attention or that were not included in a particular publisher’s scope & sequence. We don’t use IXL a whole lot, but it’s something we do during breaks or when we’re working through something and hit a wall.

[morgan]

Mathseeds, while cute, is very easy. My dd6 tested out of it, but had a free trial so she finished the entire program in a couple hours.

 

I am thinking about Mathbuddies http://www.mconline.us/LEAD/login/welcome.html which is a Singapore math computer component, but I haven't been able to find many reviews. I think I'll just go ahead and purchase it in the fall.