NatureGlo's eScience

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.

Our family loves learning about science and the world around with a natural, hands-on approach. That's why I was pleased to review NatureGlo's eScience, a site filled with nature-based online math and science unit studies.

Gloria Brooks has over 20 years of eclectic teaching with child-directed learning. She has helped students all over the globe to fall in love with the natural world while also covering other subjects. By leaving dry textbooks behind and heading into nature, her goal is to ignite passion and curiosity to produce lifelong learners. She created the NatureGlo's eScience MathArt and Science Course Bundle as a one-stop, nature-based eLearning center for ages 10-18.

NatureGlo's eScience (NeS) offers 31 courses divided in 5 categories:

• MathArt
• Marine Biology
• Herps (reptiles and amphibians)
• Botany
• Geology

The topics that are taught vary greatly and cover all sorts of interesting things: Galapagos tortoises, deep sea creatures, polygons and patterns in nature, giant redwood trees, gray wolves, rock hounding, Komodo dragons, chameleons, tide pools, queen conchs, Leonardo da Vinci, geometric snowflakes, and more. There's even a one-lesson class on bubbleology. 

The classes are easy to use. Once you begin a course, a list of the lessons is given, showing what is included. Many of the courses contain a PowerPoint slideshow, pre-lesson activity, main lesson videos, and activities.

The lessons may contain instructions, reading texts, downloads, videos, and additional links. The main lesson videos are pre-recorded live classes that Gloria has done with her students. They can be a bit awkward to watch as an outsider. There are pauses as you wait for a student to respond along with the feeling of being left out during discussions in which you can't partake. My kids enjoy when Gloria is teaching, but are somewhat aloof with the interaction of the students.

As you finish each lesson, there is a Mark Complete button to click. That will cross off the lesson from the list and highlight a checkmark next to it. There is also a bar to show progress along with the percentage that is completed for the entire course.

My middle child (10 years) is my biggest nature kid. He especially loves learning about animals and can rattle off multiple facts about all sorts of creatures. He's currently working through the Herps Zoology: Poison Dart Frog, Python, and Caiman course. He has completed a Venn diagram, colored realistic pages, watched people handle pythons, learned that there's more than one type of reticulated python and that poison dart frogs lay their eggs and then transfer the tadpoles to water, and is working on drawing a caiman.

My daughter (12 years) is my artistic child. Of course, she was drawn to the MathArt courses and The Geometric Beauty of Snowflakes. She learned that there are triangular flakes and ice needles and created snowflakes out of popsicle sticks.

The dashboard has all the record-keeping: courses, achievements, certificates, grades, and more. You can see the date a course was started, the percentage that's been completed, and the grade. If your child doesn't click that Mark Complete button at the bottom of the lessons, none of that information will be recorded. Ask me how I know, ha.

I allow my kids to choose which classes they want to complete, but if you're looking for a more formal schedule for study, Gloria has created a RoadMap of courses. Following this plan will take you on a learning journey through all of the mathart and science lessons in a systematic way.

My kids can work through the courses mostly by themselves. Some of lesson pages feel distracting because of the amount of information on each page. My son was confused by all the links on the DK Find Out! sections. Also, we had issues with various videos and links and would get error codes such as 404 Not Found, Sorry the file you have requested does not exist, Video unavailable, and File is in owner's trash. We have also had videos that have either not played at all or have taken an extremely long time to load.

Despite the issues, we have enjoyed the information in the classes. Whenever possible, we just look for a similar video or print coloring pages from a different source. I do wish there were more hands-on activities though. If you'd like a virtual tour the site and all it has to offer, there is a video that explains it in detail.

My son told me, "I really like the slideshows and videos that show the animals." If you, too, want to delve deeper into MathArt and Science classes in a self-paced, natural way, you should check out NatureGlo's eScience.

You can connect with NatureGlo's eScience on the following social media sites:
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram

Pinterest

YouTube

You can read more reviews of NatureGlo's eScience on the Homeschool Review Crew blog.

Math Shed & Spelling Shed

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 focus on literature and hands-on learning for our schooling, but we do incorporate some fun online learning supplements at times. My kids were happy to review Math Shed and Spelling Shed to sharpen their skills.

The two programs are part of the EdShed (Educational Shed) company, which is comprised of several educational products and brands. The company is run by teachers for teachers and instill these values in their products: quality, educational impact, affordability, and hassle-free. Their resources focus on the core of education by helping students have a strong foundation with reading and math skills.

Math Shed is an online game that makes drilling facts fun. The student can choose addition and subtraction, number bonds (filling in the missing number from an addition or subtraction equation, i.e. 7 + __ = 10), multiplication and division, powers of 10, and more. Each category has various subtopics in it, such as adding up to 4 digits, numbers bonds up to 100, many combinations for multiplication and division, and powers of 10 up to 1,000. From there, each exercise has the option of easy, medium, or hard.

The full results are listed at the end of the round.

Spelling Shed covers both spelling and vocabulary in a fun, game format. You can create your own custom lists or choose to allow the program to pull from their hub of over 4,000 words.

The lists are broken into groups: Stage 1 & 2, Stage 3, Stage 4 & 5, and more lists. Within those levels are easy, medium, hard, and extreme which change the game play. For instance, level easy shows the student the word and then lists only the necessary letters to put in order. The extreme level says the word aloud and gives a screen full of letter options for the student to choose.

Spelling Shed includes a few bonus games, Bee Keeper (hangman) and Missing Words (fill-in-the-blank.) There is also an additional game, Buzz Words, which is similar to Boggle and allows the student to make any word from any list as long as the letters are available. Again, the games offer different difficulty levels.

A full PDF spelling curriculum for K-5 is also included in a membership.

Like many online learning sites, the learner has the option to create an avatar. My kids always love this part! It's amazing how something so simple brings so much joy. As they play the games, they earn "honey pots" which they can use to purchase items for their character such as additional shirts, backgrounds, and accessories.

As they complete levels, they also accumulate other awards: stars (total score from the past week), medals (highest score), and trophies (highest score). Each award, including the honey pot earning balance is easily visible at the top of the student's game landing page.

The honey pot earnings accrue for both programs together, but the other awards are specific to each one.

A one-year subscription to each program comes with the following perks:

• Math or Spelling skills practice
• Up to 5 child licenses
• Full access to the online web game
• Scheduling and tracking assignments
• Data reporting

If you want access to both programs, you will save 15% off the price.

My kids (ages 8, 10, 12) have been using the games as supplemental learning. These simple exercises are good for light summer education activities.

Here's what my kids think of the programs:

"I like them. My favorite thing is the Buzz Words game. I always play on the hard level!"

"They're pretty cool. There were some words that I didn't know how

to spell before, like merriment. Now I do."

"I like earning the honey pots so I can change my character. I also like that

I get to pick what I practice."

Math Shed and Spelling Shed are easy-to-use programs for students to sharpen basic skills in a simple, fun way.


You can connect with Math Shed and Spelling Shed on the following social media sites:

Facebook

Twitter

Instagram

YouTube

You can read more reviews of these online learning programs on the Homeschool Review Crew blog.

Math Galaxy

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.

Math reviews are always met with mixed reactions from my kids. It's the favorite subject of some and for others, well, let's just say they wouldn't mind if they never had to see another math problem for the rest of their lives. Unfortunately for the second group, math is an essential aspect of life. It is applicable in the home, at a store, and for most jobs. It also builds concept upon concept. That's why it is vital to have a solid foundation of mathematics in the younger years.

Math Galaxy is dedicated to teaching kids math concepts sequentially and interactively. So even if a student does not necessarily love solving problems, he will understand the approach and be able to apply the lessons to everyday experiences.

Though Math Galaxy does start teaching beginning basics of addition and multiplication tables along with single-digit operations, their focus is where students have the most difficulties: multi-step problem solving and abstract thinking. Their teaching approach is to help students, not only comprehend math concepts, but understand when to apply them by connecting abstract concepts to concrete experiences. Their lessons provide a basic understanding of math, rather than requiring the memorization of rules. They believe that through consistency and active engagement, students will have a solid foundation for analytical thinking and higher-level math.

While Math Galaxy offers dozens of apps covering grade-specific levels to individual skills, we chose to use their eBooks. The 30 eBooks are divided into 4 categories:

• Whole Numbers
• Fractions
• Decimals, Proportions, Percents (pre-algebra)
• Algebra

Each topic has multiple workbooks within it, making it easy to find exactly where your student needs practice. The eBooks are similar in format and vary from 43-164 pages. Each one is filled with silly riddles for the kids to solve. The answers match with letters which are then filled in to the appropriate spaces, answering the riddle.

Why did the hen sit on the axe? So she could hatchet.
Why did the golfer wear two pairs of pants? In case he got a hole in one.
Why can't you tell pigs secrets? Because they squeal.
What did one magnet say to the other magnet? I find you attractive.

The riddles are silly and simple and perfect for kids. Some of the books have a few non-riddle worksheets squished into the middle, too.

Unlike many books with the answer keys at the end, these put the pages directly after the student worksheet.

I had had 3 of my children using these to supplement their math the last month or so. My daughter (who just turned 12 this week) has focused on the Decimal Operations in the Pre-Algebra section. The lessons start with single-decimal addition and progress to 3-digit divisors. She also has done some work in the Spelling Word Jumbles book from the Whole Numbers group, which isn't math but is a nice addition (no pun intended) to the set. Since my girl puts math at the very bottom of the list of things she likes and language arts at the very top, she prefers to complete those pages.

My sons (10 and just turned 8 this week) are the math-lovers of my kids. They have been working through Equivalent Fractions and Time and Money in Whole Numbers, respectively. My issue with the fractions book is that the answers show the entire fraction, instead of only the numerator. A student can find the matching denominator in the answer list and fill in the answer and letter without having to solve anything. There are some regular worksheet pages, as well, but all of the riddle ones are like that.

The time pages show clocks whose time is always and increment of 5. The money pages give simple coins to add.

The books are filled with color, as you can see that the top of each riddle page has a solid block. I cannot justify printing that much ink for each lesson, so I have my kids do their work looking at the computer and writing the answers in a notebook. This is not as easy, but it works for us. Also, since the answers pages are directly after the worksheets, the kids could technically scroll down and see the answers on their own. I have not seen them doing that, but it would be a possibility. My daughter, especially, is able to solve some using critical thinking, such as knowing that a single space in the riddle punchline is going to be either an A or an I and that the last answer obviously goes into the empty space. And though I'm proud of her for applying thinking skills like that, I would never tell her because I don't want her to rely on it. She is still taking the time to solve each problem, even though she'd rather not, ha. 

The books are self-correcting as there has to be an answer that matches theirs and the riddle answer has to make sense, too.

The Math Galaxy riddle eBooks have been a fun enhancement to our days. My kids are very witty and often tell jokes. They love incorporating that aspect into their math work.

With 30 different books and dozens of apps, there is something for each elementary-age child. Math Galaxy claims to work like a "personal tutor" and may be just what your student needs to gain a solid foundation of math concepts.

You can connect with Math Galaxy on their website and Pinterest.

You can read more reviews of these ebooks along with reviews iOS apps on the Homeschool Review Crew blog.

Online Times Alive

Memorizing multiplication facts is something every student needs to do, but that doesn't mean it has to be boring. We were able to review a six-month Online Times Alive subscription from City Creek Press, Inc. that teaches the "times tables the fun way."

City Creek Press, Inc. has been producing engaging teaching materials since 1992. Judy Liautaud, the creator of the company, was determined to help student learn math facts in a fun and meaningful way. Her unique method, which connects stories and songs to number facts, has been helping students ever since. Not only do they learn the facts faster, but they retain them, too. Now, the company offers 20 original products (including an iOS app that some of my crew mates also reviewed) that make learning fun and memorable for children. 

The Online Times Alive program is based on Judy's book, Times Tables the Fun Way Book for Kids. It teaches all the multiplication facts 0-9 through a combination of stories, movies, songs, and games.

Numbers are personified through the stories in order to make the facts easier to remember. For example, 3 x 8 = 24 is shown as a bat flying through a cave and finds the King of Snakes on a throne. Each multiplication sequence has its own story to trigger recollection.

The facts for 0, 1, 2, 5, and 9 are taught in groups as a whole for each number family, because there are simple tricks to learn them. The other numbers are taught individually since they can be trickier. Each lesson is broken into parts and are displayed on the lesson list with symbols for their types: movie, song, paint, quiz, test. This list will also show which lessons the student has viewed and which he has completed.

The Online Times Alive subscription is valid on one Mac or PC, but keeps track of an unlimited number of students. Progress, scores, times, and date of completion is recorded for each student by clicking the Progress Report button under the lesson list.

I'm not sure why, but the program did not record my kids' data. Even though we signed in with the exact same names each time, nothing was marked. It didn't affect how we used it as my kids could easily remember where they left off.

I had two of my children use the program as a refresher before school started again to combat any summer slide. My 11-year-old has always struggled with math and memorizing multiplication facts. This summer, I insisted she buckle down and learn these pesky tables once and for all. She worked through the lessons in a matter of days. Though she determined it seemed a little too juvenile for her, she never complained. She didn't feel confident that it made much difference, but when I quizzed her just now, she answered each one correctly and with only a slight hesitation. She did also practice flashcards over the summer months, but she said that there are facts that she knows specifically from the Times Alive stories.

My 9-year-old is the opposite of his sister. Math has always come easy to him. It was his favorite subject until just recently when he claimed he no longer liked it. These kids. They always keep us guessing, right? I had him work through program to freshen those facts. I do not notice a difference in his response time nor his remembrance of certain facts. Not every program works for everyone, and that's ok.

 
Online Times Alive makes learning multiplication facts fun by teaching them in a different way than simply drilling number sequences. The stories are kinda silly and random, and while I think it would make it confusing, it seems to help the facts stick in young minds. I'm interested to use the program with my boys who are too little to be learning multiplication in their typical math lessons to see how well it would work for them.

If  learning the times tables the fun way seems like a good fit for your family, you can use coupon code lovetolearn to waive the signup fee and getting started today.

You can connect with City Creek Press, Inc. on the following social media sites:
Facebook
YouTube
Instagram


You can read more reviews of this program also learn about their iOS app to see how it worked in other homeschool families on the Homeschool Review Crew blog.

Pattern Explorer

One of the reasons we homeschool is that we want our children to be able to think for themselves, to be able to problem-solve to find a solution. That's why we love when we get to review for The Critical Thinking Co. We want to develop those critical thinking skills in our children to prepare them for life, not simply teach them facts from a book and how to pass a test. We strive to give our kids the tools necessary to make clear, reasoned judgments by teaching them to identify and evaluate evidence to guide their decision making through life.        

The Critical Thinking Co. is "committed to developing students' critical thinking skills for better grades, higher test scores, and success in life." They offer many books and curricula to prepare students, not by teaching through drill and memorization, but instead by teaching in a way that empowers the mind. In the past, we've used a variety of their products from a critical thinking detective book to a phonics program to an analogies software. This time, I chose Pattern Explorer Beginning to focus on math proficiency.

My 9-year-old is a math whiz. When he was younger, he would amaze us by completing complicated math equations in his head and would often solve math problems just for fun. Whereas his two older siblings cringe at the thought of extra math work, he gets excited. I knew this book would be perfect for him.

Mathematics is full of patterns, so it's only natural to strengthen those pattern-finding abilities to hone math skills. If a student can train his mind to find patterns in numbers, shapes, sequences, images, and the like, he will be better prepared for complex math concepts and operations.  The Pattern Explorer Beginning book is designed to help students transition from concrete to abstract thinking by signaling the brain to recognize patterns. The book has 88 pages and 40 individual exercises. There are 5 different types of drills which, of course, follow a repeating pattern through the book:

• Pattern Predictor
• Equality Explorer
• Sequence Sleuth
• Number Ninja
• Function Finder

Each exercise is independent of the others and increases in difficulty as the book progresses. Though the same 5 types of drills are repeated 8 times, the variety of the activities keeps the book intriguing. There are equations, tables, shapes, numbers, and pattern pictures. The questions encourage math concepts that involve more than just patterns; they review liquid and space measurements, time, operations, and more. There are simple instructions on each page and space for figuring out the answers. 

My little guy has been completing an exercise 3-4 days a week, which means we're just about at the halfway point in the book. Because we received the digital version of the book, I printed out the pages and keep them with our other schoolwork. The Pattern Predictor drills fill two pages because of the extra space required to draw out the stages, but the other types fit on a single page each. My boy will work on the day's drill on his own and usually complete it without any help from me. At that point, I will check his work either by solving the patterns myself (because he can't have all the fun!) or by comparing it to the solutions in the back of the book. 

There is also a hints section in the back of the book. Though I haven't needed to reference it myself the few times he's needed a tiny bit of help in understanding the patterns, it would be very beneficial for parents or even students themselves who need guidance in solving the activities. The short hints give just enough information for the student to be steered in the right direction and figure the rest out himself. I appreciate that the hints are completely separated from the answer pages so that one does not accidentally see the solution while looking for a hint. 

This is what my 9-year-old told me about this book:

"I really like it! My favorite kind is the Pattern Predictor. I like 

drawing out the stages to see what comes next."

Pattern Explorer Beginning has been a huge hit with my third grader. He is doing so well at understanding the patterns and solving them. Some of the drills are a piece of cake to him, while others require him to think a little more. I love that he's being challenged and that he's having fun in the process. There are additional books in this series identical in format to this one but geared toward grades 5-7 and 7-9. I'm interested to see how well he would do with the next book after he finishes this one.

If you're interested in strengthening critical thinking skills in your children, I highly suggest taking advantage of coupon code TOSCREW19 which gives you free shipping plus 15% off any size order and expires 12/31/19.

To get an idea of all that they have to offer, you can sign up to receive free critical thinking puzzles delivered to your inbox by signing up on their site. My kids enjoy these weekly puzzles. Since you can choose which grade level(s) you receive, my kids each get a fun learning activity designed specifically for their age.

The Critical Thinking Co. provides not only engaging and thought-provoking materials, but ones that are interesting and enjoyable, as well.


You can connect with The Critical Thinking Co. on the following social media sites:

Facebook
Twitter 

Pinterest

YouTube
Instagram

The Critical Thinking Co. offers so much more than math products. Some of my Crewmates reviewed things such as a book filled with tips and techniques to improve writing skills, a detective book to evaluate evidence and strengthen vocabulary skills, a book to prepare students for vocabulary in the SAT, and more.

You can read those reviews on the Homeschool Review Crew blog.

IXL Learning

Our family benefited from IXL Learning years ago, so I was pleased to receive a full annual membership to all IXL subjects to review again. Our experience had been with the math and language arts materials, but the company has expanded. They have since added science, social studies, and Spanish courses, as well. 

IXL Learning is an online educational website. They strive to create the best educational resources possible and are passionate about using technology for teaching and learning alike. Their products are used by millions of students to practice skills and advance their education. Since its release in 2007, IXL has become the most popular subscription-based learning site for pre-k to high school. With over 7,000 skills, there is something for everyone.

I was able to set up accounts for my kids ages 10, 9, 6, and 4. The process and quick and easy. Each child got to pick an icon to add to their profile, which is always an exciting feature. From there, each student can take a diagnostic test to determine mastered skills or can immediately start practicing.

One aspect of this program that I appreciate is that a student is not locked into a specific grade level, but instead can access all of the content on the site. For instance, two of my boys are proficient at math. I have moved them up for that subject, but kept them at grade level for others. It's easy to adapt the lessons for each student.

Since we're using the site as a supplement to our other materials, I let the kids choose which areas they would like to work. My 10-year-old is already learning Latin, so I was surprised when she immediately was drawn to the Spanish section. She has had very little Spanish instruction and there are no teaching lessons included with this site, yet that hasn't discouraged her from working through this category. After a student answers a question, the site either congratulates him for answering it correctly or explains why it was incorrect. This is what she has been using for instruction. She has been working through a section, looking at the answers, and learning from that. I admit, it's not the most productive way to learn, but she has done all this on her own. I am all for independent learning and am pleased with her drive and excitement.

My 9-year-old loves math and science, so that is where his focus has been. I have him working in two different grades for the subjects, but the site keeps track of that for him. All he has to do is click on the subject and it pulls up where he left off. The skills can be completed in any order. Since learning about animals is his passion, he began in that section. A student can hover over a link to get a glimpse of the skills with preview questions which is helpful when he wants to pick and choose instead of working in order.

I am choosing the daily skills for my 6-year-old. He is very much like his older brother and interested in math and science. Science and social studies are available for grades 2-8, whereas math and language arts cover grades pre-k-high school, I decided to try him at the higher level for science (along with the math I have already explained) since there is no first grade option. After a few skills in language arts, I determined that he needed to move up in that, too. Currently, he is working a grade level higher in all subjects. I like that I can easily alter the questions to meet our needs.

My 4-year-old cannot navigate the site on his own. He does know to click on the blue speaker icon to hear the question read aloud and how to choose his answer. Sometimes though, the submit button is not visible on the screen and the page needs to be scrolled down a little. I have found it easiest and the least frustrating for him if someone sits and works with him, reading the questions, clicking on his answers, and submitting his choice. It's not ideal, but it works.

I can track my kids' progress on the site in my parent profile. The site shows me scores, trouble spots, minutes practiced, questions answered, skills reviewed, and more. In addition to this data, I also receive emails with various achievements, such as hours practiced, skills mastered, and questions answered. There is a link to a PDF that allows me to print a personalized certificate each time.

Those achievements along with many others also are listed in the child's profile. My kids love checking their awards as each time they earn one, they get to unlock a surprise. The awards vary within each subject and grade. They collect things like balloon animals, badges, books, key chains, stuffed animals, nesting dolls, and other virtual prizes.

IXL uses a SmartScore system to measure a students progress toward mastery, instead of focusing on percentage grades. In other words, if he gets an answer correct, he earns a number of points; if he gets one wrong, he loses points. This scoring method encourages a student to keep working until he reaches excellence, though he can end a lesson at any time.

My children are doing well with this learning site. They are challenged with the material and motivated by the awards. I love that they can use the site on their own and that I can customize it to fit individual needs of my kids.

If you're looking for a way to boost your child's academic potential, IXL Learning is a good choice.

You can connect with IXL Learning on the following social media sites:

Facebook

Twitter

Pinterest

YouTube

Be sure to head to the Homeschool Review Crew blog to read more reviews of this website from other homeschool families.

I Know It

My kids get excited every time I tell them we have an online program to review. Whenever they find out it's math-related though, they change to mixed reactions. A couple of my kids love math and a couple, well . . . don't.

We use math skills in every day life, so it's important to have a strong foundation in mathematics, whether or not you enjoy fractions, coordinates, exponents, angles, and conversions. Sometimes a student will need a little extra practice to fully grasp the concepts. That's where I Know It comes in. We received a family membership to help us hone our math skills and gain confidence.  

I Know It is a remedial math site created by the people of SuperTeacherWorksheets.com (which is filled with so many amazing worksheets for every topic). This online resource is both interactive and comprehension for grades kindergarten through 5th. Though there isn't teaching instruction for the lessons, there is the option to allow a quick hint, if the student needs a little help. The program is designed for practice and to complement any full math curriculum.

Setting up our account was super easy. I created profiles for three of my kids by simply adding their names and grades. Each child was able to choose an icon for the profile, as well. And that's it! Now, when a child logs in to his profile, all of the available lessons in his chosen grade is visible.

There are multiple lessons under each topic with more are being added all the time. A student can choose which lesson to practice or the parent/teacher can assign lessons. One feature that I like is that I can assign any lesson from any grade for any child. So while the child himself has access to only his grade, I can assign more difficult lessons (without changing his grade level) or give him additional practice from younger grades.

Since this is designed to be a practice site, I mostly allow my kids choose which lessons they want to work on each day. However, I wanted to test out the process of assigning individual lessons. The process, again, is really easy. My third grader is a math whiz. I wanted to test his skills, just for fun, so I assigned him the order of operations lesson from the Basic Algebra section in fifth grade. I also changed the default amount of 15 problems to 10 since it was so much more advanced than his normal grade level. Once I finalized the process, the assignment showed at the top of his page when he signed in. And that was that. (As for his score? He aced it! I walked him through the steps for the first couple and then he completed the rest with no problems.)   

The questions can be read aloud to struggling readers by clicking on the speaker icon next to the words (it is not shown in my pictures because they were taken in my account and not the kids'). You can choose either a male or female voice or you can choose to disable the feature altogether. In fact, the entire program is very customizable with all of its elements.

Animated characters encourage and reward students along the way. After each correct answer, a character preforms a silly action. A dinosaur might use his tail as a trumpet, an astronaut might run from an alien, or a robot might water a bouquet of flowers in his head. My kids' favorite by far is the robot. They can't wait to see what silly thing he's going to do and often laugh at his actions.

It's all extra practice, so I require my kids to do only one lesson a few times a week. It's not unusual for them to work through multiple lessons a day though. Here's what they had to say about I Know It:

I like the guys. They're funny! And it's fun.

I like the robot. I like all the character actually, but the robot is my favorite.

I like the robot! He's funny.

I Know It is an extremely user-friendly program. Even my first grader can log in and practice his math without assistance. The remedial lessons are short enough to keep interest, long enough to reinforce the concepts, and fun enough to keep the students entertained. I have not heard a single complaint about using the program--and that's a big deal!

If you think this online site would be a help to your child, you can sign up for a free 60-day trial and get started today.

You can connect with I Know It on the following social media sites:

Facebook

Twitter

Instagram

Pinterest

You can read more reviews of this site on the Homeschool Review Crew blog.