3P Learning Mathletics (Review)

We received a free 45 day trial membership to Mathletics to review. Olivia enjoyed getting to pick and change the appearance of her Avatar. The graphics are fun and colorful and the problems increase in difficulty as the child answers questions correctly.

I like the fact that on the 1st grade addition and subtraction pages there is a number line. After the child enters their answer and hits submit, the program then moves the correct number of places to help the child to visualize the answer. For example if the question is 7-2=? You'll following the bouncing ball as it hops back 2 spaces to land on the 5. As you complete each section you earn points and certificates. Once you earn enough points you can buy new items for your Avatar to make it more unique.

One thing I didn't like is the money counting portion of the 1st grade level. The child is to count the amount of money based on the coins shown in the piggy bank, which is ok (obviously). However, instead of having quarters, nickels, dimes and pennies the coins are varying sizes with a number on them (still ok) except for the 20 cent coin that TOTALLY bewildered Olivia because she already knows all the coins and how to count money and couldn't figure out why they had a 20 cent coin. Dollars are done in coins as well, in odd denominations on each...you may have a $1 coin, a $2 coin and a $3 coin to add together for the correct answer of $6.

There is also the option of playing Live Mathletics, allowing the program to pick an opponent from around the world for you, or you can play against the computer if you prefer. There is also an option to get a report on your child to see how well they score, their improvement level and their time.

Olivia is thouroughly enjoying this product. The vivid colors and graphics are very engaging. The little sound effects are cute as well.

A subscription to Mathletics is $59 (accessible 7 days a week, 24 hours a day for 12 months) per student. Mentioning the Human Calculator’s favorite number (9) when you sign up gets you $10 off. There’s a 10-day money-back guarantee as well.

Computer requirements for Mathletics is Windows XP/Vista or Mac OS 10.4 and above.

To read more reviews from Crew members, click here.

Disclosure: This product was provided to our family for free as members of the 2009-2010 Old Schoolhouse Magazine Homeschool Crew. Reviews and opinions expressed in this blog are our own.