TOS Review: Math Facts Now

Math Facts Now was developed by a homeschool dad who wanted a way to help his children memorize their math facts.

I think of Math Facts Now as on-line flashcards.  You begin by setting up a lesson for your child tailored to their needs.  You decide which function (addition, subtraction, multiplication, division), which numbers will be included (for example, you can set up the lesson to work on only the 7 times table), how many problems they must do to complete the lesson and how long they have to type in the answer to each problem.  For Precise Prince, I set up his first lesson to practice the 8 times tables, with 20 seconds to answer each problem and he had to do 25 problems to complete the lesson.  For Creative Princess, I set up her first lesson to practice addition with the numbers 6, 7 and 8 with 30 seconds to complete each problem and needing to do 25 problems to complete the lesson.  Your child then is given random math problems from your parameters.  If they type in an incorrect answer or take too long to answer the problem, they then have to type out the missed problem 2 times.  You can increase the number of times they have to type out missed problems.  Also, if they get a problem wrong, that problem will show up a bit more so they can practice it more.

I had the kids work on their lesson 3-4 times a week. As the days went by, I decreased the amount of time they had to answer the problems. (So instead of 30 seconds for Creative Princess, it went to 15 seconds.) To see if the program was truly helping, I would sometimes randomly ask math problems to the kids. Amazingly, they are doing better on the problems I've been having them work on.

You can also choose to add a reward for the end of the lesson.  You type in what that reward is and when the child finishes the lesson it will say "Your reward is xyz."  You, however, then have to provide the reward. :-)

The end of the lesson also gives a summary of how the child did-how many problems they got right and wrong, how many problems they took too long to answer and what their average time for answering was.  My son loved this and often reported how much faster he was completing the problems.

I really like that this is a no nonsense math program with the purpose of helping children simply memorize the basic math facts.  My son who loves math enjoyed this program and even set up some of his own lessons to work on.  My daughter does not care for math and honestly, she usually said "Do I have too?" when I made her work on her lessons.  But sometimes school work isn't fun.  You do what needs to be done to improve a skill and that is what this math program and is for and that is what it is doing for my kids. 

I absolutely recommend this program.  It is a great alternative to flash cards and worksheets.  In addition, the cost of $15.95 for an instant download is reasonable.  (It is $15.95 + $3.95 shipping/handling if you want a CD-ROM).  You can use this program for any child needing help with memorizing their math facts, setting up an account for each child.  Go here for a free trial.

Go here to see what my fellow crewmates had to say about Math Facts Now.

(I received Math Facts Now for free in return for my honest opinion.  No other compensation was received.)