Wednesday, March 25, 2020

Math Galaxy Review

Disclaimer: I received a FREE copy of this product through the HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way.

We are have been using a new math product by Math Galaxy you can find the website here http://www.mathgalaxy.com/.  They offer Math App's in different grade levels for Apple devices. Math Galaxy offers a wide selection of grade levels.

3rd Grade Math
4th Grade Math
5th Grade Math
6th Grade Math
7th Grade Math
8th Grade Math
Pre-Algebra Fundamentals
Algebra Fundamentals
Fraction & Decimal Riddles
Whole Number Riddles
Times Tables Balloon Pop
Whole Numbers Balloon Pop
Word Problems Fun
Zombie Numbers


Math Galaxy teaches students concepts sequentially and interactively. It works on concepts that run through basic math to provide students with a basic understanding instead of memorized rules. Math Galaxy's goal is to give students a foundation for analytical thinking. They also offer several different ebooks that I will tell you about below.

We tried out the 5th grade app as well as the 7th grade app both are currently $4.99 on the app store. As far as pricing go its fair enough.

The 7th grade app was used by my oldest. This app covers a lot of topics for 7th grade math all of which are common core standards. Some of the items covered are rational and signed numbers, linear equations, ratios & proportions, area, surface area, statistical thinking, ratios and proportions, Converting units, percents, fractions, negative number word problems etc. This app gives students information in small manageable chunks then it gives them an unlimited amount of practice problems. We have yet to get the same practice problem twice which means the kids are actually learning how to do the problem and not just memorizing the answers. The app also uses illustrations to help your child visualize the problem they are working on. When your child does problems they earn robots which they can then use in a game called Labyrinth.

The other Math Galaxy app we tried out was the 5th grade app $4.99 in the app store. This app covers a huge amount of common core math standards. Like the 7th grade app it presents concepts in small easy to manage chunks with lots and lots of practice problems. Some of the common core math standards that this app meets are:
Place value, regrouping, comparing decimals, multiplying and dividing whole numbers, addition and subtractions, adding subtracting and multiplying fractions, measurement etc. There are several games on this app to help them practice: Riddles that helps with length, area, volume and time. Labyrinth where you use a robot to search mazes for treasure. Bridge the Swamp covers adding subtracting, dividing fraction and multiplication.

Both girls were felt like the activities were ok and they seemed to pick up a few things that they were having trouble with on there regular math program. How ever they were frustrated with the games that both apps provided. They felt like Labyrinth was to complicated and I'm not sure they ever figured out how to really play it. The money trail game on the 5th grade app was boring for her, she reported that they did not need to actually count the money to be able to win they could just count the number of dots and then alternate turns with the computer to be sure they made the last move. We used these apps on an iPhone 6S and the girls felt like the buttons were to small on that size of screen. So I would recommend using the app on something bigger like and Ipad.

We also received a couple of downloadable ebooks. We tried the Pre-Algebra Fun ebook and the Math Galaxy Whole number bundle. We chose these two because they fit some of the things the girls are currently working on. Both workbooks are printable books and they have color. Our printer is black and white only so our pages are a tad boring.

The Pre-Algebra Fun ebook is a tutorial for middle school students. It gives students explanations and plenty of practice. Current pricing is $9.95 which is fair for the number of pages that you get.

The second ebook we tried out was the Math Galaxy Whole Numbers Fun ebook. It covers hole number operations, time, money, area, length, volume, pictographs, bar graphs, probability. Its fits grades 1-4.  Current pricing is $9.95. This book is also done in color.

The girls were on the fence about the workbooks. They said the pages where they already knew how to do the problems were good but the pages that had problems they had never done before didn't have enough "how to". The sections of the workbooks that we have done gave us a puzzle book feel which one child enjoyed and the other thought was boring. Over all I feel as though the workbooks offer great supplemental practice and cover a wide variety of topics for each grade level. But I don't believe these would be a good stand alone because of the lack of explanation and I don't see there being enough content in them to to last an entire school year.




3rd Grade -Algebra Fundametals Math Apps {Math Galaxy Reviews}

Wednesday, March 18, 2020

David C Cook The Action Bible Anytime Devotions Review


Disclaimer: I received a FREE copy of this product through the HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW in
exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way.

I was given the chance to try out The Action Bible Anytime Devotions by David C Cook. The book can be purchased at https://www.amazon.com/Action-Bible-Anytime-Devotions-Anywhere/dp/0830778985/ref=sr_1_2?. You can also visit the David C Cook's website here https://davidccook.org/. This is a devotional designed just for kids. Its filled with 90 different devotions that cover topics that kids may encounter in daily life. Topics such as honesty, anger, listening, fear and many more. The simple prayers are easy for kids to understand and remember so when they face challenging choices in life they can fall back on lessons learned in this devotional.

The girls started reading this devotional a few days a week before bed. We like how the table of contents is written. The table of contents is broken down by chapter and verse but it also gives your child a suggestion for when they might need the verse. Some examples are "Like Whenever you fear (trust)- Jeremiah 17:7-8",  "When There's a Bully (Hope)- 1 Samuel 86:5-7", When You need a Plan( Trust)- Jeremiah 29:11-13, When you feel like hiding (Courage)-Genesis 3:8-9, When you are lonely(Love)-Genesis 1:27. By having the table of contents broken down this way it allows the girls to zero in on a topic they might be having trouble with.

I really let the girls just explore this book and choose the chapters that they felt drawn to.The girls went straight to the - When There's a Bully chapter. I thought they chose this chapter because Little Bit has had some trouble with a boy in her martial arts class. This chapter is based on Samuel 86:5-7. The other chapter they seemed most drawn to is the Whenever you fear(trust)- Jeremiah 17:7-8. The chapters are only a couple of pages long so the girls have time to fit these devotionals in between activities or before bed. Each chapter gives the child a story to relate to then has some examples of Bible stories with a similar problem. It then helps children to apply it to their situation. Giving them some suggestions or advice on ways to handle it. They are also given a guided prayer to practice. Which the girls found helpful when they were unable to find the words. Lastly each chapter gives them a Take it Farther suggestion. This tells them where they can find other stories in The Action Bible that might relate to the same or similar theme that encourage readers and praise God.

We describe the illustrations in this book as comic book style which seems to be poplar with kids in this age range. The girls are very much into art and drawing at the moment felt like they were very detailed illustrations and were pleased to see that they were not outdated pictures. We took a look at who the illustrator was and discovered he has illustrated some of the girls favorite Marvel Comics and DC Comics. The girls like to discuss what they think is happening in the illustrations before beginning the lesson. Then as they progress through the lesson they will discuss what the illustration is actually depicting.

Over all this is a great affordable anytime devotional. I love that its easy for them to relate to and that they can read and understand it on there own. The illustrations are top notch and we look forward to finishing up this great little devotional.




The Action Bible Anytime Devotions {David C Cook Reviews}
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Friday, March 13, 2020

Monday, March 9, 2020

When the children are away for the weekend Momma gets the last of the Apple Crisp!