Showing posts with label math help. Show all posts
Showing posts with label math help. Show all posts

Monday, October 9, 2017

CTCMath Review

CTCMath

Good morning families who are trying to teach math. I know math is a hard subject for some families to teach. I know it is not my best subject. This is just one of the reasons why my girls have been using  CTCMath for the last 3 years. The second reason we use CTCMath is because my girls love it. I have done reviews on CTC before and we are using it again this year. We have the CTCMath Family Membership so we can use it with more than one student. I wanted to remind everyone that with your subscription your child will have access to all the grade levels. So if your 3rd grader does 4th grade addition but 2nd grade multiplication they can do that at no extra cost.  The best part is Homeschoolers can get 60% off + 6 bonus months.

This year we are using the 5th grade and the 3rd grade. I have reviewed about the 3rd grade before and I don't think it has changed much since my oldest used it.  The 5th grade level is new for us. They have also added some new features to make things that my 3rd grader likes. 


Each grade level covers a lot of information, I feel that it is well rounded and we are comfortable using it as a complete curriculum.  The 3rd and 5th grade levels have about 114 lessons and approximately 19 diagnostic test or assessments. It covers patterns and algebra, addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, numbers II, decimals,fractions, problem solving, time, speed, units of measure, area and volume, plane shapes and solids, angles, lines, position, chance and graphs. It basically covers everything a 5th grader needs to know. The 3rd grade level covers similar topics just as a grade appropriate level in other words they are quite a bit simpler than the 5th grade lessons are. CTC uses a mastery approach to teaching so once your student masters a lesson and gets a passing grade they can move on to the next section. 


Each lesson includes an instructional video. Most of these videos are under 4-8 minutes in length. The girls like the way the videos are done. They get right to the point of how to do the problem and have zero fluff. Everything is broke down in simple steps and the girls usually pick up how to do the lesson the first time watching the video. Your child can go back and watch the video as many times as necessary. This is great for review and I often have them go back and watch the lesson videos just to be sure they don't forget to how to do something. 


After each video lesson and when they are ready, your child will click the question's tab at the top of the lesson. This tab will take them to the practice questions. The number of questions vary from lesson to lesson we seem to average about 15 or so questions for the 5th grade level a few less for the 3rd grade level. The questions are graded right away so as soon as they hit submit they find out if they did it correctly. If they get the question wrong it shows them what the correct answer is. They can click on the questions tab over and over so your child can practice as much as they need to. Each time you click to start the questions again it will give them different questions. Their is a large variety of practice problems and we have yet to get the same question twice. 


CTCMath offers some different testing options the standard and the comprehensive test. The standard test is different in the since that it does not have as many questions, its some where in the ball park of 20 questions. The comprehensive test has some where in the ball park of 40 questions. The comprehensive covers a broader range of content. We usually use the comprehensive test at the end of each unit. We do use the standard test as a practice test as it seems to give them an idea of what they might need to work on a little more. 


Now for some of the fun teacher stuff. You can set a required score that your child must achieve before the lesson is marked completed or passed. I have set ours at 80% because we aim high in our house and I know my girls are capable of achieving this score if they do their work and keep their paws off the toys during math time. You can print out a chart that shows what lessons they have taken and what scored they have received on each one. CTCMath has added some great new features this time around. We now have the ability to set specific task for each student. So at the beginning of the school year I assigned each lesson on a specific day for each of the girls. The girls then log in at the start of the day and click the task tab at the top of their student account. This will tell them what they should be doing for the day. I admit it is a bit time consuming do set this up all at once. But if you have a child like my 3rd grader that likes to skip around this feature is a huge help. Now for my 5th grader who is becoming more independent we have some printable charts. You can find the charts under the tools section of your parent account. You simply download and print what ever grade level you need. These charts allow your child to keep track of his or her own scores on each of their lessons it also has a line for them to mark down the date that they completed the lesson.  Their is also a sheet where they can mark the date and score that they get on an assessment test. We have only been testing this feature out for a few weeks but so far it has been a great visual reminder to her on how well she is doing and what she has left to complete for the year. If she has to repeat a lesson because she didn't do so hot it shows her how she is improving each time she tries again. For her that is very encouraging to be able to see her hard work paying off.


I really can't say enough great things about CTCmath and I wanted to share these great offers so that you can try it out for your self.



CTCMath

Free trial

60% off + 6 bonus months

CTCMath Online Math Tutoring {Reviews}

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Tuesday, June 21, 2016

LearnBop for Families Review

LearnBop for Families Review

LearnBop for Families ReviewIts Math time everyone LearnBop is the name of the game. We have been testing out a 12 month subscription to LearnBop for Families  family plan for 2-4 students, as part of our summer learning program. They also have a plan available for a single student. 

LearnBop is a self-paced online math program. It is designed for grades 3-12. It gives you child a one on one learning experience that provides immediate math help. It can be used on a PC or a tablet. We tried it out on an Ipad as well as a PC. Both worked equally well. 

You start out by choosing a road map for your child. You can choose between grade levels or just. Once you have set up the roadmap your child then does a warm-up for each unit to identify any gaps in knowledge that they might need to work on. LearnBop then personalized the roadmap to fit your child's needs. As they work through the roadmap they learn from thousands of videos and step- by step instructions. There is a great progress tracker for the child so they can see how well they are doing along the way. There is also a parent section that shows you just what your child is learning and how they are doing on each section.

My soon to be 4th grader was the one to use this program. Math is her least favorite subject. She started off frustrated, right out of the gate she felt overwhelmed by the questions that were offered on the warm-up. The first one was a word problem and she feels overwhelmed with those. I told her to just do her best and move on. She got through the warm-up and was placed at the beginning of 3rd grade which discouraged her. Multiplication and division are not her strong points in math. She just needs more practice so I encouraged her to start at the beginning and give the program a chance. As she moves through the bops. It gives her a math problem if she can't answer it she can click Hint and it will give her a hint on how to solve it she can also click next hint if she still needs more help. If you do a problem wrong it gives you a chance to try again. If you get it right it tell's you GREAT JOB! and you move on to the next questions. She loves seeing it tell her great job. There are video lessons available. We like video lessons both of my girls find video lessons helpful. After working through several videos I ask her what she though of them. She said the videos explained the lesson well and she could usually understand what she needed to do. They were a step by step kind of video lesson which I find works well for my kids. She doesn't seem to mind watching them which is a plus. I think the combination of videos and hints when she is working on a problem is slowly helping to build her confidence. It is good to see her work through each bop at her own pace. 

She is slowly working her way though the road map its taking time we probably are not as far as some of the other review families, but she needs that time to improve those skills she struggles with. I am seeing subtle improvements in things she was struggling with before. She is working out problems faster and she is less fearful of the word problems that intimidated her before.We will be continuing to use LearnBop as our summer math program to continue building on those areas that are still hard for her. 


Each Crew member used LearnBop in a different way or on a different level. Be sure to click the banner to read what they have to say. I would love for you to share this post on your facebook accounts.


LearnBop for Families Review

Social Media Links:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LearnBop
Twitter: https://twitter.com/LearnBop @LearnBop




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Thursday, November 19, 2015

Times Tales Review



Like me, my oldest struggles with multiplication tables. She has been working on them for months now and cant seem to get past her 3's. I discovered Times Tales on accident I was surfing the internet looking for something that might help her. I came across it in a google search and though that's a new idea and started checking it out. I emailed and ask about doing a review and they said sure. I received the digital download version of Times Tales you can go here to the exact product http://www.timestales.com/TTDOWNLoadPage.html.  It is currently $19.95 and you can download it right away. I love downloads because well I'm just not good at waiting for things.


Times Tales uses simple fun stories to give your child a "memory peg" that allows them to quickly recall abstract facts. It comes in 5 parts. There are 2 Video files, and 3 PDF files that you download. The PDF files have test, crossword puzzles, flash cards and cube game. The video files are the lessons that your kids watch to help them learn their times tables. We see them more as stories than lessons. In this program times tables are taught in story format instead of the standard hear they are memorize them. They have given the numbers fun names and characters. Then they teach a little story to help you remember each times table. The program covers 3x6, 3x7, 3x8, 3x9, 4x6, 4x7, 4x8, 4x9, 6x6 6x7, 6x8, 6x9, 7x7, 7x8, 7x9, 8x8, 9x9. Basically all the really hard ones that I never got memorized when I was in school.

I had hotrod girl start with video 1 she really enjoyed the video I didn't hear one single complaint about having to watch it. When she was done she came in telling me all these silly stories. I ask her show me and explain each story. I have found that having her explain things back to me really helps her. She took me in and showed me the number characters and explained the story that went with each one. I gave her the practice test that came in the PDF file. I had her do each problem and tell me the story as she was doing it. She was able to point to the problems on the practice test and tell me the story that went with the problems. I was blown away after watching it just one time she was already starting to remember some of them. She got hung up on a couple but I am sure a another time or two watching the lesson and a little more practice with the games and flash cards and she will have them down.

I love the combination of visual and audio learning. The stories make them easy to remember. I couldn't believe that she is already remembering the stories after watching it one time. I keep thinking why didn't anyone think of this when I was a kid. It covers all the upper multiplication tables which are the hardest ones to learn. It has some flash cards to practice with and a practice test and then a Test. It also has a dice game that you get to put together your self and a set of instructions on how to play. Its fun and it really does help with remembering them. They recommend you take a week between part 1 and 2 of the video lessons. During this time you should use the flash cards and games to practice. The dice game was her favorite by far. I would like you to check out the sample video below that gives you a great idea of what the lesson are like.


Over all we love the program its fun and it really does help. We are still watching the lessons and practicing but its helped Hotrod girl a bunch she is now doing way better with those upper times tables.  I think its well worth the reasonable price tag and I hope you will give it a try too.