Sterling and Eden, ages 7 and 9, have been working on the award winning online math program Mathletics from 3P Learning as part of a review for the Old Schoolhouse Magazine’s review crew. They worked on a nearly daily basis during the week online, playing math games and doing math problems, even competing with others around the world. (That was by far the coolest part – knowing their competition was in England was pretty cool!)
Mathletics was designed as a supplemental math program to help solidify math facts. Little teaching is done (at least in the elementary grades where my children worked) – but lots of repetition and a good chance to practice what they know is offered. Live Mathletics offers math problems in a timed setting, while others are doing the same problems – and whoever finishes the most problems in a minute wins first place. Sterling particularly struggles with the timer running during math, so this was great practice for him. My kids spent a good bit of time frustrated at the Algebraic section before I encouraged them to branch out, explore the program, and see what else it had. Just like that, attitudes changed from frustrations at what they didn’t know to having fun practicing what they do know. Better!
Mathletics is for Kindergarten through high school. It sends me an email each week regarding my student’s progress, what they did, how much time they spent, and the scores they achieved. I can set what they work on or set them loose with all areas in their grade level and let them discover what they like best.
We tried logging into Mathletics with the Kindle after being frustrated with only one computer in the house and too many kids needing it for assignments, but it wouldn’t work. Now, late in the review, I found a Kindle app that allows me to log into their Mathletics account and use the Kindle on or off line. That makes it easier! I’m excited to keep trying the app, but I don’t have that to review… but I’m glad to know it’s there, now! I wish I had noticed that before.
Mathletics had my kids frustrated often. They got frustrated with what they didn’t understand, hadn’t covered yet in their textbooks, and couldn’t answer well on the Mathletics program. I wish that it had more instruction alongside the practice, so that they didn’t need assistance every time they got stuck. I’m not a huge fan of computer school work, but the biggest benefit for me is that they don’t need me. Mathletics didn’t completely remove me from it when they got stuck, so that was a bit less helpful for us. It still provided great practice in many areas and allowed them to work on speed especially. Mathletics offers downloadable workbooks to print out for students to practice on paper as well. I set the grades for Sterling and Eden, so everything offered to them should be within grade level – but the Algebraic Operations in particular stumped them. They are quite good at math, but haven’t covered many of the operations and had a hard time figuring them out.
If they don’t do well on a section, they can repeat it – and I started paying attention, because I think they offer similar questions without being the same ones, so they cannot simply memorize the answers! Very cool. There are a variety of math related activities to keep them busy without getting bored. Even after many weeks, it seems they’ve barely skimmed the surface and keep finding more things. For the price, Mathletics offers a lot for the student who needs math practice. I would be particularly helpful for summer work when so much forgetting often happens, without regular math practice.
Mathletics is currently available for $59.00 per student for one year of access. There is also a free trial available. 3P Learning can be found on Twitter and Facebook.
Read more reviews on Mathletics from other members of the review crew here on the Review Crew Blog.
