MATH FACTS NOW
Math Facts NOW!
2882 Shenandoah Shores Road
Front Royal, VA 22630
Math Facts Now is available for WINDOWS OS in these two formats:
Download $15.95
CD $15.95 + $3.95 s/h
Free trial available at the site
For Grades K-6
Math is important to just about every aspect of our lives and without a solid foundation in math life is extremely difficult and we are at the mercy of other people. Think about how important it is to be able to figure out sale prices or checking to be sure we haven't been over or undercharged. Likewise, to be strong in higher level math one must be proficient, accurate and have some degree of speed in relation to basic facts of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. Math Facts Now is a resource which can help develop that proficiency, accuracy and speed.
Math Facts Now was developed by a homeschooling father who was looking for a method of math drill that was solidly educational without the cutsy, cartoonish approach. He also wanted a method of memorization that did not involve long time periods of parental involvement and give him control over what was being drilled.
Math Facts Now is an online/computer based alternative to flashcards. Like many traditional flashcards it is simple and uncluttered with nothing to distract the user, but Math Facts Now also allows the student to use it by themselves. There is no need for someone else to show the student the cards and tell them whether they answered correctly or not.
Math Facts Now is almost totally customizable by the teacher. The teacher chooses: what facts to focus the lesson on, how many questions are asked, how long the student is given to answer the questions, and how many times they must type out incorrectly answered problems. The original version of the program only had a 50 problem minimum, but in response to feedback from other reviewers on the Crew the developer has decreased the minimum. There is also an option to enter a reward for perfect completion of a lesson. Creating lessons is extremely simple and very fast. Once a lesson is created it is saved and can be reused repeatedly. It also keeps records of the students activity and progress.
Not only does it present a series of facts to the student it also identifies those facts which the student has difficulty with and provides extra practice for those facts. Math Facts Now also reminds the student to be careful when the encounter a problem which they had missed earlier in the lesson.
Just as the program is visually uncluttered and easy to use, the website is also visually appealing in its design and very easy to navigate.
How I Used Math Facts Now
Both my 6 and 9 year olds used the program, concentrating on addition and multiplication. My 6 year old showed improvement in knowledge of his addition facts. He was able to give the answer to the fact so much faster after several opportunities of using the program than when he began using Math Facts Now. What slowed him down was typing the whole problem out when he missed an answer. But I believe that typing the whole problem helped to cement the problem and answer together in his brain. This was especially true when he made a typing error when originally answering the questions. He also used a multiplication drill of lower facts and did very well.
He loves just about anything he can do on the computer and liked Math Facts now especially after the minimum was reduced. I really like Math Facts Now for him as it gives him an educational experience on the computer free of distracting ads and other links.
In contrast, my 9 year old really did not care for the program. It was more of a struggle to encourage her to use the program. She took longer to answer the questions and that effected her results. As she didn't answer in the allowed time, she had to repeat more of the facts and type more of them. She soon became frustrated with this. While she did not necessarily enjoy the program I did see improvement in her fact knowledge and speed. I will have her continue to use this program to continue the positive progress she has made so far.
While I really like Math Facts Now for the drill and that it can be used without my involvement I am not quite ready to get rid of my flashcards. We can take the flashcards with us in the car to fit in some practice, but my computer isn't portable. Math Facts Now has definitely replaced most paper and pencil timed drills in our house much to the delight of my children. Neither of my children like Fact Drills, but they much prefer Math Facts Now to flashcards or paper and pencil.
I also appreciate the budget friendly price of Math Facts Now. It covers all 4 basic operations up through the 12's and allows for multiple users at no additional cost. If used with any frequency it has a cost per use basis of pennies, but priceless value in what it delivers.
Read what other crew members had to say here.
Disclaimer: I was given a free download copy of Math Facts Now to use with my family in order to right this review. I have not been compensated in any other way. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely and solely my own.
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