Deuteronomy 6:6-7

And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. ~ Deuteronomy 6:6-7


Monday, May 14, 2012

CapJax Math Facts





Ahoy there mateys! I 've got a program to tell you about that will assist in getting your students to a mastery level in the four math operations.
And, it does this with very little teacher and/parent help. Are you ready to set sail? Alright then, off we go!

I'll start off by telling you that this is not a flashy program. It's actually quite simple in its graphics, but then again, flash isn't necessary to be effective is it?

After getting set up and signed in, you (or your student if she is able to do this part) will choose which operations she'll be focusing on for her lesson. I really like this aspect of the program, as so many others only allow one operation at a time. It's nice to have the option of mixing it up to challenge my girls.
After this, choose the number of math facts you want your student to complete. Another feature that appeals to me, because while my 8 year old likes to do a greater number of problems, my 6 year old becomes frustrated when it gets too long.

Now you'll set the time you want to allow for answering a problem. When we first started, I made the time a lot longer, because we were still working on our speed. As we've progressed, I've been able to slowly lower the length of time.

When you've done all of the above, you're ready to start. I mentioned before that there really is nothing too fancy about this program, and it's true. All you do now is answer the problems. That's essentially it. Alright, there's a little more. The program automatically adjusts to the speed with which your child answers, so that really helps keep the pressure and frustration down for my daughters. No buzzers or timers going off to announce time is running out, or to highlight a wrong answer. That was so great for my daughters, who really tend to get anxious if they have to beat the clock to finish a problem. When that occurs, there are tears every time!
On the contrary, the child takes as long as she needs. If however, a fact is answered within the set amount of time, it's marked as a "super" answer, and the computer keeps track of progress.

So speaking of progress, even without a lot of teacher help required, the program keeps a good record of your student's math scores. Progress reports and graphs are available whenever you want them.

What our family thought of CapJax Math Facts:

Upon the initial introduction, the girls were fairly positive about it all in general. It was a plus to have such a low pressure math program, where wrong answers were gently corrected and the time limit was so adjustable. It saved them (and mom) a lot of weeping and gnashing of teeth!)
Unfortunately, they simply became bored fairly quickly, and it just didn't keep their attention for very long.
I could get them to do it, but they wanted to end the sessions soon after for lack of motivation.

This would be and is, a great program for a math phobic child who needs a lot of encouragement and gentle correction. At any rate, it's worth checking out for yourself. You can read what my crewmates thought of the program by clicking on  TOS Homeschool Crew




CapJaxMathFacts
http://www.capjax.com/
Price: $29.95 - download
Ages: 1st grade and up



*Disclaimer: I received a free download of CapJax Math Facts in exchange for my honest review of it, with no additional compensation.

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