TOS Crew review -- Mathletics

Product: Mathletics
Details: An online subscription to a site featuring math competitions and teaching.
Price: Right now this is $59 per year per child. And, knowing the Human Calculator's favorite number is 9 should get you an additional discount.

While I didn't know that we really needed another math product floating around the house, I quickly learned that Mathletics was not just another math product.



This became a common site on our computer screens, as my kids raced against kids from around the world in real time. But, the real competition was against their previous scores. The rewards poured in as my kids' math abilities continued to thrive in this lightly competitive and highly rewarding environment.

In addition to the speed drill type races against other kids they also boosted their math skills. Mathletics offers nine levels of math teaching and practice, from kindergarten through eighth grade. Students learn about various topics and again receive recognition for increasing their math knowledge.

I was surprised to see my kids highly motivated by the characters they chose and getting to "buy" new hairstyles, backgrounds, etc. as they completed more problems correctly.


What we loved . . .

• Friendly competition. While the drills take place against other students, you really compete against your own best times. You receive rewards as you improve your personal score.
• International involvement. My kids loved seeing what countries popped up in the races. New Zealand, UK, Canada, Australia, Puerto Rico, UAE, etc.
• Many levels of material. Topics cover mathematical concepts from kindergarten through eighth grade. It is not just speed drill material. A couple times now, in our "regular" math time, my daughter has said, "Oh yeah, I learned that already on the computer." It is definitely more than just playing games, but the kids don't need to know that.
• Lots of recognition of achievement. Students receive points for topics mastered and improved skills, and printable certificates are available as well.
• Easy to change levels. If you feel your child is struggling or having too easy of a time, you can easily change their level to one more appropriate

Things to consider . . .

• Not a complete curriculum. While Mathletics offers a great supplement to math and definitely presents the material in an interesting and engaging format, it does not offer a thorough math teaching for each level. They seem to present it as a curriculum, but I do not feel it is as thorough as most texts we have used.
  
• A little pricey if you have multiple children. While in general the price is reasonable, it adds up quickly with many school aged children.
• Parents should check in on their student now and then. You will want to take some time now and then to see what they have worked on, how much time they spend on various topics and activities and check up on them. While the student can easily work independently, you will want to stay involved to make sure they make the most of the time online.

Mathletics is another great math resource. It definitely kept my kids' interest throughout the time that we had the subscription and they were sorry to see it end. It offers entertainment and motivation for a student to learn and practice their math skills even outside of the regular school day.


For more TOS Crew reviews on this product, check out the TOS Crew blog.

Disclaimer: This web membership was provided to me free of charge from Mathletics as part of my participation in The Old Schoolhouse Homeschool Crew. I received no additional compensation and the opinions expressed here come from my personal experiences and sincere thoughts.