We had a chance to review Mathletics from 3P Learning. It is an online math program for grades K-12 that is designed to encourage students and reward results. It does have an app available as well.
We have been using Mathletics with our older children (ages 6 and 8) that are both at the 2nd Grade level for Math. The first day we used it, both of them were really excited that they could choose their avatar and background. In fact, it was so detailed you could choose eye color, hair style, shirt, etc. Although they hadn’t started the lessons yet, this was a great introduction that gave them a positive experience to set the tone for the program.
With Mathletics, everyone gets their own account including myself as a Parent. Because our children are young, they can’t log in themselves, but they do each have their own username and password we use to log them in. With the nice backgrounds, they definitely know they are logged in to their own account!
Student Accounts
Once students are logged in to their accounts, they have options on their home screen. The default option is the “Activities” section. The activities correspond with their current grade level and are broken down into categories. The categories 2nd Grade are: Operations and Algebraic Thinking, Addition and Subtraction, Place Value and Counting, Measurement and Data, and Geometry. The Activities section is where our kids have been doing a majority of their work. We have been doing work from Activities 4-5 days per week.
Each category is broken into subcategories for more focused lessons. Before beginning, there is actually an option to see if you are ready. The child can click on this “Are Your Ready?” button, which gives them questions for that subcategory. If they find it is either too difficult or too easy, there is an option at bottom right to choose “Something Easier” or “Something Harder.” I think this is great because flexibility is often key when it comes to homeschooling.
With the subcategories, we can choose to go in order or skip around. We, personally, like to do things in order. Our kids are very visual, and seeing a blank space bothers them, so we just go in order to avoid that! Once they go through a subcategory it will give them their score. The score is reflected both on the main subcategory page and if you click on it (where it says “Great Work,” “Perfect,” etc.) you can see the score in more detail.
I like that it shows each one as a bar that is full when they have gotten everything correct, almost full for a “Perfect,” etc. Having a visual of their work that is easily understood because this motivates them to want to fill the bar. There is always an option to go back and do the same lesson again. In the details, it will then show number of attempts, current score, last score, second last score, and recent average. It also includes the high score date.
At the end of each subcategory there is a Test. This is a great way to see if they are fully understanding the concepts of the subcategory. From what I have seen, though, there is a not a Test for the full set of activities – only within each subcategory. I, personally, don’t get hung up on tests, though, so this doesn’t bother me.
In addition to the main activities, children can also select Live Mathletics, Problem Solving, search for a specific concept using Concept Search, Rainforest Maths, and Times Tables Toons. We did not have a chance to explore all of these in detail.
Problem Solving has a variety of game-like activities. We did a few, and our kids thought they were a blast! In fact, if they needed some motivation for the day, these activities were fun and motivating. We don’t do them every day, though, like we do with the main activities because we homeschool through the summer (our school year is January – Thanksgiving), so we still have a full schedule and don’t always have time for “extras,” which is what I would consider these to be. Each activity is opened in a separate tab.
We also did Rainforest Maths twice. This takes you to a separate tab and offers a variety of activities. The activities are broken down by grade. Once we chose 2nd Grade, there were a variety of activities. The kids enjoyed the activities in Rainforest Maths. They particularly enjoyed all the animals, but did well with the activities as well.
We have not used Time Tables Toons, but I took a quick look and saw that they are fun videos teaching the times tables. When we get closer to learning the times tables, we will definitely be checking them out more!
On the kids’ dashboard they can also see their points this week, awards, and Gold Bars. This helps to keep them motivated to earn more! They can earn gold bars with every activity they do. It shows them in which activities they earned gold bars, and which activities they can do to earn more.
Parent Account
In the Parent Dashboard (called the Family Centre) I can see my children with which accounts they have and when they expire. I can click on each child to review their progress. I can view weekly reports, certificates, a check up, and I can even see the Student Center. There is also a Task Manager where I can see their number of attempts and Last Score. I can also choose to assign specific tasks.
In addition to viewing my children and their progress, I can also opt to download workbooks. This is great for us because although our children like to learn online, sometimes they just need to do things on paper. This allows for a lot of flexibility! It includes both the Student Books and Teacher Books. I, personally, print out the pages of the Student Books that they will be working on but leave the Teacher Book on my computer for reference.
Overall, we have been enjoying Mathletics. We had a couple of initial problems while we were learning how it works. For example, you can’t hit the “Back button” or it will take you completely out of the program. We had to learn how to navigate within the program to avoid this. Once we really got to know it, though, this was no longer a problem. We love that there are so many activities and flexibility both online and with workbooks.
Mathletics can be purchased for $59 per student for one-year access (price at the time of this posting), and you can also try it for free.
Many members of the crew had the chance to review Mathletics with a variety of students of all grade ranges. Find out what they thought by clicking the button below!
