If you’ve been around the blog here for a while, you may know that math is my nemesis. Not only did I not like in school, but it’s been one of the most difficult programs for me to try to teach in our homeschooling. And the search for math programs that work for us has been a never ending one. Ashlyne and Rachel particularly like using a computer-based math, so I’ve been on the look out for one that works for them…and for me. And along came the opportunity to review A+ Interactive Math.
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I had heard good things about this online math program and was pretty excited to have the opportunity to take a look at it and see how it worked for the girls. We received a six month subscription to the Family Math Package (good for up to ten students). The program is a math curriculum for levels K-Algebra. I used it for Ashlyne and Rachel, and I signed both of them up for the 4th grade level math. You can change the grade level for your student any time. The program can be purchased monthly, quarterly, or yearly; and packages are available for one student to ten students, with prices adjusting to the number of students you select.
A+ Interactive Math is truly a complete math curriculum. There are multimedia lessons, worksheets that can be done online or printed, a PDF curriculum book for each grade level, exams that can be taken online or printed, answer keys for the worksheets and exams, awards for completion, and tracking software that keeps up with material completed and the child’s scores. I was pretty amazed because I felt like this was so complete. It isn’t just a supplement to another math program. And it has so much to offer that I didn’t feel as if I had to compensate or fill in gaps with something else. It also has a good balance of introducing new skills by building on previous skills and including review exams to be sure the student has opportunity for reviewing.
Right from the start I loved the flexibility. I assigned both of the girls to 4th grade. Ashlyne is older, but with the math struggles we’ve had, I wanted her to go back and cover some of the 4th grade topics. Within the grade level, the topics are listed in chapters. I was able to quickly see the material covered in that chapter, so I knew where to start the girls. And you can click on a chapter heading to see a video overview of what is covered. I started both girls in the same chapter- division- but the material was too difficult for Rachel, so it was easy to back her up to the previous chapter- multiplication.
We use the program daily for math. The girls work independently for the most part. There was one lesson that Rachel had before I moved her back that she didn’t understand from the video presentation, and I went over it with her. The curriculum book has the exact wording and visuals used in the video presentation so that you can easily cover material and know how it was presented in the lesson.
The login screen is the same for the parent and the student. Each member has a unique user name and password. When you first login, you can launch the program. Parents can also go to manage students. In that section you can change a student’s grade level. So if you needed to back up or go forward farther than just the grade level chapters, you can do that.
It is awesome that when you begin, there is a tutorial video to get you started and show you how everything in the program works. On the left hand side of the page are your chapter listings. Clicking on one will open up and show you the topics in the chapter.
The first thing I have the girls do each day is watch the multimedia lesson. The lesson is presented as a voice speaking while visuals are shown. The teacher speaks slowly and clearly. Her voice is easy to listen to and to understand. The lessons are short.
After they have watched the video, the girls click the Interactive Q&A button on the bottom right. This guides them through about five questions of guided practice covering the lesson they just watched. The questions are read aloud for them, and if they get one wrong, the teacher will show them how to work the problem correctly.
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Other Crew members reviewed this as well as another product from A+ Interactive, the Adaptive Placement Test and Individualized Lesson Plans. Click the banner to read the other reviews.
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