Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness; come before Him with joyful songs...For the Lord is good and His love endures forever; His faithfulness continues through all generations. Psalm 100:1-2, 5

Friday, February 25, 2011

Math Rider

I was given the opportunity to review Math Rider, from a company based in Australia.

MathRider Math Game Package

It is currently on sale for $37 with a normal price of $49.95, it is an instant download software.
Click here for system requirements.

Here is the company’s own words about it’s product…

{ Latest Generation Math Game, using Artificial Intelligence

Ride your horse on noble quests through the magical MathLands. MathRider combines fun game play with a highly sophisticated question engine that adapts to your child. The game propels your child to mastery of all four math operations using numbers 0 to 12.

MathRider was developed from personal need, because we wanted to help our own children who were struggling with fundamental math. }

I had my 3rd grade son start off using the Math Rider program. He has had a lot of fun using it.
This is what he had to say about it…
“I like that the stories are illustrated by kids.”
“I like the noble quests in the magical Mathlands, it’s rewarding to see how far my rider has traveled on the map.”
“I like the graphics.”
“I like the challenge it gives me.”

He had one thing that he didn’t like and that was only due to the fact that he missed some “jumps” because he didn’t know the answer fast enough…he felt like it didn’t give him enough time. The rider adjusts its speed as you answer the problems. I think he froze and was not thinking about the problem but instead was looking at the horse reaching the jump.

I think this is a terrific program for any child who needs to work on math facts. It hits all the learning styles, especially the visual and hands-on learner. It keeps any child challenged enough and with the noble quests it keeps it fun.

It is broken up into each math operation and then further divided into easy (#’s 0-5), medium (6-10) and then advanced (11-12). There is a statistics section so that the parent and child can see their progress. It gives top challenge problems and you can click on any of the numbers and it will show and say the problem. I would definitely recommend this to any family who needs help mastering the math facts. I don’t know yet, as my son hasn’t completed it, whether it has any review options. I think it would be grand if when you complete a full quest that it gives you an option of another quest, a review of sorts, intermixing all the problems of the different levels within a math operation.

A statement…I have one son who struggles dearly with remembering his math facts, so I have been reluctant to have him try it. I feel as if tears would ensue if the horse was not slow enough…I know it adjusts, but how much?…I need to try it out with him. I have had him working on another TOS review program as I don’t like to overload him, but I will see how he likes it and how well he does with it. He is a slow learner, needs tons of repetition and is such a hard worker. I will update this review as needed.


A sample of Math Rider

If you want to read more TOS crew reviews on this product, click here.

Disclaimer---I received this product for free in exchange for my honest review.

Friday, February 11, 2011

The Curiosity Files

I was given the opportunity to choose one of the Curiosity Files from The Old Schoolhouse Magazine. We chose Zombie Fire Ants. They are priced at a reasonable $6.95. However, some of the Curiosity Files are on sale right now for $1.00…WOW…I bought 4 of them. The Curiosity Files are studies on interesting animals or phenomenon. These studies are intended for kids 8-13 years of age…but of course they can be geared for younger and older by making adjustments.

E-Book: The Curiosity Files™- Zombie Fire Ants

Here are all the Curiosity Files available…


  • Blue Diamond



  • Dung Beetle



  • MRSA



  • Puffer Fish



  • Red Tide



  • Zombie Fire Ants



  • Blue-footed Booby



  • Cicada Killing Wasp



  • Quicksand  



  • {Zombie Fire Ants will keep your kids occupied and answering questions like these:
    • What is God’s plan for controlling the number of fire ants?
    • When out of control, how can scientists restore balance to the natural world?
    • What’s so special about phorid flies, and how do they fit into the ant equation?
    • Okay, so how does a fire ant morph from a hard-working colony participant into a zombie-like creature?
    • If regular fire ants cause havoc, why create a zombie version?
    • Does history tell us anything important?
    • What can we grasp from the Bible?
    • And a whole lot more!}


  • The Study includes…
    • Bible study, discussion ideas, and memory verses
    • Math, history, and geography investigations
    • Literature and suggested book list
    • Writing, spelling, and vocabulary activities
    • Beautiful copywork pages (manuscript and cursive)
    • Science observations, projects, and experiments
    • Discussion questions
    • Art, crafts, and drawing and coloring pages
    • Lapbook/notebook pages and helpful lapbooking links
    • Special needs, hands-on discoveries
    • Internet resource and video links
    • Complete answer key 

      Click HERE to view a sample.

      I read through all the information about the Zombie Fire Ants to the kids and we did most of the worksheets that come with the study together. I really liked that they included a Hands-On section specifically for special needs children. We don’t have any ants right now to make an ant farm, but as the weather warms up, I think we will make the one that is shown in the study. After reading about the fire ants and phorid flies, my youngest, who is 3 1/2, got out our plastic ant and fly toys and played with them…how cute is that!

      We found Zombie Fire Ants to be FASCINATING and you will too! We are certainly looking forward to doing the other Curiosity Files I purchased. I would highly recommend them!

      If you want to read more TOS crew reviews on this product or the other Curiosity Files the other crew members chose click here.

      Disclaimer---I was given this product for free in exchange for my honest review.