We received an email a couple of weeks ago from Knowledge Adventure, asking if we had tried their Math Blaster website and, if not, would we like to? Faith and I are always up for fun new activities for school, so we said yes.
Right now, she is almost finished with Saxon 5/4 at the end of third grade, so our plan is to start 6/5 in the fall. She has a good solid basis in her math facts and concepts, but she has a tendency to get bored with math easily. My hope was that this site might catch her eye and we could let it take the place of some of her other math drills.
What is Math Blaster?
Math Blaster is futuristic-themed online game, with an emphasis on math skills without being boring. The site was created by Knowledge Adventure (the same folks who produce the JumpStart games). New players become recruits at Blaster Academy. By playing games (and in the process, reviewing math concepts), recruits advance through the ranks to join the Intergalactic Space Patrol for even more adventures, and more math, of course!
Bolt Crusher game, got to save the little robots from being crushed!
Math Blaster Thoughts:
I love that the games are actually interesting to Faith! We've tried out so many learning games where the games themselves are actually boring, so the novelty doesn't last all that long. She is actually willing to play on her own, not only when I suggest her playing it. Her favorites are Alien Wrangler (think riding a mechanical bull, but it's an alien, and the more facts you solve, the longer you stay on), Bolt Crusher (a fraction game pairing fraction batteries with robots to solve the equations), and the Monster Morph Lab! Faith explained to me that the Monster Morph lab allows you to collect the DNA components of new monsters and morph them together in your lab to actually make these aliens. It's like being your very own mad scientist!
I also love the ability to select levels of math within the games. While the games are geared more towards Faith's age, the ability to select easier facts means that Ben can play some of the games too. It sometimes seems that her schoolwork holds more interesting activities, by virtue of the fact that she's almost 9 and can read & write well.
Ben spends a lot of time wanting to try her activities, so he was thrilled to be able to play some of the games too. Even the ones where he can't type quickly enough to answer, he can do the math while Faith or I do the typing for him. His current favorite is a racing gameAnd added Ben bonus is that he is also able to use Jumpstart.com with our account, so there are extra games at his level too. His current favorite game is Hyperblast, a racing game where different aliens stop you to ask math questions before you proceed.
Faith also loves the control panel, where you get to design your character, select the outfits, and even create an about me page. Users can also set up a BFF list of other friends who play Math Blaster, which Faith cannot wait to try out!
More information:
A basic membership is free at MathBlaster.com.
An upgraded membership is available for purchase on a monthly, yearly or lifetime basis, and includes access to Jumpstart.com and 4 downloadable Jumpstart games.
Even better, would you like to win a 3 month paid membership trial to try out MathBlaster for your kids? Leave me a comment below telling me why and I will select a winner via Random.org on 6/15/11. Please make sure I have a way to contact you if you are the winner.
Disclosure: I was provided with a membership good for Math Blaster and Knowledge Adventure at no cost by Knowledge Adventure in order to test the products’ abilities and give my own personal opinions on it. The opinions I have given are mine and may differ from others but were not influenced by the company or the free product provided.
Right now, she is almost finished with Saxon 5/4 at the end of third grade, so our plan is to start 6/5 in the fall. She has a good solid basis in her math facts and concepts, but she has a tendency to get bored with math easily. My hope was that this site might catch her eye and we could let it take the place of some of her other math drills.
What is Math Blaster?
Math Blaster is futuristic-themed online game, with an emphasis on math skills without being boring. The site was created by Knowledge Adventure (the same folks who produce the JumpStart games). New players become recruits at Blaster Academy. By playing games (and in the process, reviewing math concepts), recruits advance through the ranks to join the Intergalactic Space Patrol for even more adventures, and more math, of course!
Bolt Crusher game, got to save the little robots from being crushed!
Math Blaster Thoughts:
I love that the games are actually interesting to Faith! We've tried out so many learning games where the games themselves are actually boring, so the novelty doesn't last all that long. She is actually willing to play on her own, not only when I suggest her playing it. Her favorites are Alien Wrangler (think riding a mechanical bull, but it's an alien, and the more facts you solve, the longer you stay on), Bolt Crusher (a fraction game pairing fraction batteries with robots to solve the equations), and the Monster Morph Lab! Faith explained to me that the Monster Morph lab allows you to collect the DNA components of new monsters and morph them together in your lab to actually make these aliens. It's like being your very own mad scientist!
I also love the ability to select levels of math within the games. While the games are geared more towards Faith's age, the ability to select easier facts means that Ben can play some of the games too. It sometimes seems that her schoolwork holds more interesting activities, by virtue of the fact that she's almost 9 and can read & write well.
Ben spends a lot of time wanting to try her activities, so he was thrilled to be able to play some of the games too. Even the ones where he can't type quickly enough to answer, he can do the math while Faith or I do the typing for him. His current favorite is a racing gameAnd added Ben bonus is that he is also able to use Jumpstart.com with our account, so there are extra games at his level too. His current favorite game is Hyperblast, a racing game where different aliens stop you to ask math questions before you proceed.
Faith also loves the control panel, where you get to design your character, select the outfits, and even create an about me page. Users can also set up a BFF list of other friends who play Math Blaster, which Faith cannot wait to try out!
More information:
A basic membership is free at MathBlaster.com.
An upgraded membership is available for purchase on a monthly, yearly or lifetime basis, and includes access to Jumpstart.com and 4 downloadable Jumpstart games.
Even better, would you like to win a 3 month paid membership trial to try out MathBlaster for your kids? Leave me a comment below telling me why and I will select a winner via Random.org on 6/15/11. Please make sure I have a way to contact you if you are the winner.
Disclosure: I was provided with a membership good for Math Blaster and Knowledge Adventure at no cost by Knowledge Adventure in order to test the products’ abilities and give my own personal opinions on it. The opinions I have given are mine and may differ from others but were not influenced by the company or the free product provided.
I love to find math games for the kids, I am going to go check this out now
ReplyDeleteMy girls love games, and I think this would be right up their alley!
ReplyDeleteMy kids would love this program. I have been trying to find something that they would actually "LIKE" to play instead of pulling teeth to get them to do it! This would work out perfect for my son who LOVES all video games!! Hope We WIN!!!
ReplyDeleteoops forgot to give you my info!
ReplyDeletedoodlebugs.thash@gmail.com
my blog spot is: http://throughmylensetlh.blogspot.com/
anything that makes math fun for my third grader is a blessing! :-)
ReplyDeletemonicaandrew25@hotmail.com
My son would love this! He does not care for math, but loves video games. We have found that trying "non tradional" math drills works best for him. tigerfans@myway.com
ReplyDeleteI have been looking for a fun math computer game to suppliment our math lessons when they get a little too dry to hold their interest. We would love to try this out!
ReplyDeleteThanks!
Lindsey
prpledrama@yahoo.com
I just started looking for some fun math games for my kiddos. We are starting to homeschool full time and I'm excited to make learning as fun as possible for all of us! This Site looks like so much fun. :)
ReplyDeletesaelrod@hotmail.com