TOS Review: Big IQ Kids

Big IQ Kids is a supplemental online program geared to help children in math, spelling, vocabulary and state geography.  

The goal is to have your child do one lesson in each section per day.  You can customize each section to a point.  In spelling, you can use your own spelling list or just stick with the one provided by the Big IQ program.  The math section is geared towards basic math facts-addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. You may choose the number of problems your child has to do each time he does a lesson and choose which type of problems to focus on.  For example, you can have your child work on only multiplication problems.  The default is 50 problems per lesson but you can change that as well.  I set my kids to 25 and 30 problems.  If you have the premium program the program is set up to advance your child to do more difficult problems as they become proficient in what they are working on.  Vocabulary is the other area in which you can use your own words or use what the program has. 


After each lesson your child earns a coin.  The coin can be used in the games section for your child to play games.  Most of the games are one coin to play-some are two. There is a wide variety of games-from simple and quick games that require minimal thinking to games that require a bit more time and thought. 

You can use the program for free or upgrade to the premium program.  The main things you get when you pay for an upgrade are email alerts on how your child is doing, programs that automatically move your child up based on their proficiency, a game buddy and access to all the games, and pop quizzes.  Go here to see an explanation of their premium program.  You can click on the different sections at the bottom and see more specifics on what you get for a premium membership.



Our experience:

I had the kids work on Big IQ Kids at least four days per week.  Precise Prince loved the states program and achieved mastery in one of the sections within a week or two.  It was definitely his favorite section to work on.  He also liked the timed math quizzes, but I wondered why when the reports I was receiving were showing he was getting low percentages on them.  After I watched him, I figured out the problem.  He was trying to do too many problems in too short of a time and wasn't able to finish all the problems.  He was getting the problems he answered correct most of the time.  I told him to add an extra minute or two to his time.  He needed the extra time for the typing as it takes him longer to type the answers than it does for him to write them.  (For a child that would be too stressed out over timed quizzes, just skip them.  The regular math program has a time clock while working that you can turn off.  No need to even deal with the timed issue if you don't want to.)


Creative Princess did the minimum I required of her--one lesson each and sometimes she tried to get away without doing the math portion.  It wasn't at all too hard for her.  I think she just isn't as excited about doing school on a computer and overall prefers to write out her school work most of the time. 


Pros:

• No paper was needed for the math section.  There was a section where the kids could "write" on the computer using the mouse.  In addition, when the kids were working on borrowing and carrying, there was a place where they could put the numbers they would borrow or carry.
• The program is intuitive and advances your child as they reach mastery if you have the premium account.
• Math, vocabulary and spelling are customizable.  You can use your own spelling and vocabulary lists and in math, you can choose the problems your child needs to practice the most. 

Cons:

• The voices are computerized.  Due to this, there were times my kids had trouble understanding what was being said. (Actually, we laughed at the voices the first time we all sat down to use this program.  They are a bit funny.)
• Even with the paid premium account, some of the pages had ads on them.  Although the ads weren't objectionable, I feel that with a paid account, I shouldn't see any ads.
• Each child is given one log in.  There is no parent log in.  That means that if I want to change anything on their programs, I log in with their information.  The problem I see is that a child who is savvy and mischievous can make changes to the program themselves (for example, they can change the number of math problems to 5.)

Can be a pro or con, depending on your family:

Your child earns coins that allow them to play games after each lesson is complete. You do have the option to set it up so that coins are only able to be used on weekends or to set it up so that the games are never offered.  For us, the coins were more a pro than a con.  My daughter didn't care much about the coins and games after playing a few.  She isn't really a big computer game player.  My son found a few games he really enjoys and occasionally will play them after his lessons.  He actually has over 70 coins saved as of now so I'm not concerned that he is spending too much time on the games. Both kids were good about doing their lessons before spending their saved coins. 

The final verdict:

When we first started using this program, I wasn't sure we would continue with it after the review period.  As we continued using it, I found that I liked it.  The lessons are short and I am finding they are helping my kids.  My son really enjoys it-even some of the math sections.  He occasionally tells me what he is learning in the states section.  This isn't my daughter's favorite program but I can see that it is helping her with her math, at the least.  I plan to continue using Big IQ Kids for awhile.  I know it will be a good supplement for next year when we have a newborn and I won't have as much hands on school time with the older kids.

I recommend you try it out for a bit.  It's free to try the basic program.  A one month premium subscription is $19.99 for all four programs.  Purchasing a one year subscription for $99.99 will bring the cost down to $8.88 per month.  These prices are per child.  Other subscriptions available are subscriptions for only one section (math, spelling, vocabulary or state) and classroom subscriptions.  There is also an option to upgrade the free account to access all the games. Go here to see their extensive pricing list.

Go here to see what my fellow crewmates have to say about Big IQ Kids. 

(I was given a one year free premium account in exchange for my honest opinion.  No other compensation was received.)

TOS review: KB Teachers

KBTeachers is an online worksheet and activity resource.  Here is some information from their website on what you get when you purchase a membership:

* One click worksheet generators and alphabet factory
* Create an unlimited number of engaging printable activities - For all ages and grade levels
* No watermarks and unlimited access
* Exclusive graphics and clipart - Decorate your websites, Blogs, activity sheets etc...
* Diverse educational resources - From simple ABC worksheets, to 20 pages exams
* Intuitive activities online or off - At home, at school or in study hall
* Free 24/7 Support - If we don't have it, we'll create it - or help you find it
* Answer Keys - Proofed and checked quality materials you can trust
* Updated regularly - New features and member created content added every week
* Nothing to download, instant access - From any internet connection

How we used KB Teachers:

Looking over the website, I decided to start with the math section first.  I do not have a specific math curriculum for either of my children.  For Creative Princess, I either write out my own math problems for her to work on or I search for worksheets on the computer to print out for her.  KB Teachers has been a great resource for this-no searching needed.  I used the telling time worksheets first. Each time I went into the time telling section, a new worksheet was generated so I was able to print out plenty of problems for her to practice with.  I did the same for addition and subtraction worksheets (so she could practice borrowing and carrying.)

I used some of the division and multiplication worksheets for Precise Prince.  While working on geometry I discovered he needed some extra work in long division so I generated a worksheet on KB Teachers and gave him that extra practice. At this time, the division worksheets do not have problems with remainders.  However, it is important to note that they are adding to the website and I would expect to see that in the future.

In the "For This Season" section, we used a couple of the links to look up information for Veteran's Day. 

I tried out the clip art and wasn't able to open anything so I sent them an email. I got a very quick reply with what to do to be able to open their clip art. It was an easy fix and I really appreciate the quick customer service.  (And I did not tell them that I was a reviewer when I sent them the email.)

I looked over the Grammar-Writing section and plan to use some of it after Thanksgiving when we get back into a regular schedule. Although most of that section states it is geared towards grades 6 and up, some of them will be useful for both my 3rd and 5th grader-especially the punctuation worksheets.

Good information to know about KB Teachers:

In addition to the sections I wrote about above, there are lessons for science (such as astronomy and geology), Biology (such as human anatomy and nutrition), social studies, and more including a dino workbook to print for younger kids and an arts and crafts section.

When you print out the math worksheets, an answer sheet prints out as well (except for the very easy worksheets, such as the counting worksheets for younger children.)
 
KB Teachers also has a "For This Season" section with worksheets and activities geared towards the current season. This section changes at least monthly so you never know what you'll find but for November there is clip art for Thanksgiving and Veteran's Day, Thanksgiving mazes, Thanksgiving coloring pages, copywork for Veteran's Day and more. The Thanksgiving section includes invitations and posters that you can type your own text into and print out.

The "For This Season" section also includes webquests for most days of the week.  These are worksheets usually with web links based on something that happened on that day in history.  For example, did you know that November 3rd is National Sandwich Day?  There is a printable on the November 3rd webquest page with information about Sandwiches and links to websites with more information.  The webquests are posted monthly so once the month is over, you don't have access to previous webquests. 


I think it's important to note to my readers that this is a secular website.  The dino workbook sheets include references to the Late Cretaceous Period, Pleistocene Epoch and other terms you would find in any secular resource on dinosaurs.  The geology section contains information concerning evolution and millions of years.  I didn't see a lot of pages like this and it would be easy to just not use those pages.  I use many secular websites and resources in my schooling and it's no problem to just skip anything that suggests the earth is billions of years old. 

KB Teachers does not have a search button on their website because they believe that a website should be well organized enough that a search button isn't necessary.  (I agree and I didn't have any trouble finding what I was looking for, but I still wouldn't mind a search button. :)

KB Teachers is always adding to the website.  If there is something you need, send them an email.

The bottom line:

This website is worksheet based and oriented more towards traditional schooling though there is something for everyone.  It is a good resource for when your child needs a little extra help or you want to supplement your current curriculum.  We will continue to use KB Teachers as a resource for our homeschooling.

There are a few free pages on the website you can access.  Everything else, you can still look at before buying however you won't be able to print out the pages.  A free 30 trial is available as well.

Current price:  $29 per year or $49 for two years. 

To see what my fellow crewmates had to say about KB Teachers go here.
(As part of the TOS crew, I received a free subscription to KB Teachers in exchange for my honest review.  No other compensation was received.)