years old, he explained.
I was hugely proud of his reasoning and maths skills. He hasn't learned them exclusively at school. His maths learning has happened, in part, on a tablet running educational maths apps that we've found for him. He's learned addition and subtraction, and as he gets older he'll be learning even more complex maths this way, too.
The most impressive maths education app I've seen has to be DragonBox Algebra 5+. What impresses me is that its clever design can teach all sorts of complex algebra concepts without making children feel as if they are learning mathematics.
In YodelOh Math Mountain, the player must answer questions against a clock.
The app is like a game, and it starts at an abstract level:
The player has to match small cartoon icons with their matching "dark"
alternatives, eventually arranging the pieces on the playing board so
that only the magical "box" of the game's title is left on the board. As
the child plays through the levels, the abstract cartoon icons are
eventually replaced with numbers and proper mathematical symbols, but
with the same gameplay and sound effects.
Perhaps the main drawback to this app is its complicated menus. If you're going to use it with 5-year-olds, it's probably best to keep them company so they don't get frustrated by instructions they cannot read. It is also surprisingly expensive, at $6.49, but you get over 200 puzzles for your money. The app is on iOS and Android.
Mathboard users choose the answer to an equation from a list of possible solutions, and can use a chalkboard to work it out.
The adorable YodelOh Math Mountain
app also stays within the learning-through-games genre, but for a more
introductory level of maths. This app involves a cartoon yodeller who
ascends a graphical mountain over time - if he gets to the top, he
yodels his way to his doom over the edge. To keep the yodeller from
climbing the peak, the player has to answer maths questions against the
clock.
For example, the question may be "10 x 15 = ?" and the five options are "0, 1, 50, 150, 200". Tapping the right answer saves the yodeller, whereas taking too long or tapping the wrong answer makes him take a step up the mountain or get butted uphill by a cartoon ram. The idea is that by keeping the entire app lighthearted and full of amusing sounds and images, children do not notice that they're being tested on their arithmetic skills.
The app offers a less extensive learning experience than DragonBox, but it still has the ability to hone specific maths skills because you can choose whether to test just basic subtraction, addition and so on. It's $2.99 on iOS.
For an alternative app, try Madagascar Math Ops - a game filled with characters from the "Madagascar" cartoon movie franchise. Like Math Mountain, the app has a multiple-choice mental maths quiz, but Math Ops has more animation. Winning moves are rewarded with a short in-app game - flying penguin fun that will remind you of Angry Birds. There is a free edition with limited levels on both iOS and Android; the full version costs $2.99
For a slightly more traditional route, try MathBoard. It has gamelike elements, but it's based on a simulated old-fashioned school chalkboard. The app's screen is split into a quiz area and a work area. In the quiz area, a maths puzzle is posed using traditional notation, perhaps something like 47 - 5 = ? Players choose the answer from a list of numbers to solve the puzzle, and they can use the faux chalkboard on the other side of the screen to work out the solution. If they get stuck, a "problem solver" window that shows each stage required to correctly work out the answer can be brought up. It's like help from a private maths tutor.
There are other game options available in this app, like choosing which number is greater than another. Because you can adjust the difficulty of the puzzles, and the problem-solver teaches the player about maths, this app is a great way for children to practice their maths skills. My chief complaints are that MathBoard could be more fun without distracting from the learning aspects, and that it has a $5.49 price tag on iOS.
I was hugely proud of his reasoning and maths skills. He hasn't learned them exclusively at school. His maths learning has happened, in part, on a tablet running educational maths apps that we've found for him. He's learned addition and subtraction, and as he gets older he'll be learning even more complex maths this way, too.
The most impressive maths education app I've seen has to be DragonBox Algebra 5+. What impresses me is that its clever design can teach all sorts of complex algebra concepts without making children feel as if they are learning mathematics.
In YodelOh Math Mountain, the player must answer questions against a clock.
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It's fun, and the graphics and sound effects are attractive
enough to keep children playing. And while they're playing, they are
unknowingly learning some of the same maths principles that you need
when you're doing algebra - addition, subtraction, balancing an
equation, even concepts like parentheses. Play it yourself and you'll
see how much fun it is.Perhaps the main drawback to this app is its complicated menus. If you're going to use it with 5-year-olds, it's probably best to keep them company so they don't get frustrated by instructions they cannot read. It is also surprisingly expensive, at $6.49, but you get over 200 puzzles for your money. The app is on iOS and Android.
Mathboard users choose the answer to an equation from a list of possible solutions, and can use a chalkboard to work it out. For example, the question may be "10 x 15 = ?" and the five options are "0, 1, 50, 150, 200". Tapping the right answer saves the yodeller, whereas taking too long or tapping the wrong answer makes him take a step up the mountain or get butted uphill by a cartoon ram. The idea is that by keeping the entire app lighthearted and full of amusing sounds and images, children do not notice that they're being tested on their arithmetic skills.
The app offers a less extensive learning experience than DragonBox, but it still has the ability to hone specific maths skills because you can choose whether to test just basic subtraction, addition and so on. It's $2.99 on iOS.
For an alternative app, try Madagascar Math Ops - a game filled with characters from the "Madagascar" cartoon movie franchise. Like Math Mountain, the app has a multiple-choice mental maths quiz, but Math Ops has more animation. Winning moves are rewarded with a short in-app game - flying penguin fun that will remind you of Angry Birds. There is a free edition with limited levels on both iOS and Android; the full version costs $2.99
For a slightly more traditional route, try MathBoard. It has gamelike elements, but it's based on a simulated old-fashioned school chalkboard. The app's screen is split into a quiz area and a work area. In the quiz area, a maths puzzle is posed using traditional notation, perhaps something like 47 - 5 = ? Players choose the answer from a list of numbers to solve the puzzle, and they can use the faux chalkboard on the other side of the screen to work out the solution. If they get stuck, a "problem solver" window that shows each stage required to correctly work out the answer can be brought up. It's like help from a private maths tutor.
There are other game options available in this app, like choosing which number is greater than another. Because you can adjust the difficulty of the puzzles, and the problem-solver teaches the player about maths, this app is a great way for children to practice their maths skills. My chief complaints are that MathBoard could be more fun without distracting from the learning aspects, and that it has a $5.49 price tag on iOS.
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