Math Dog Math Review

Mad Dog Math

http://www.maddogmath.com/

Cost:  One year - $19.95  Second year - + $10. Perpetual license -  $39.95. 

Ages:  K - Early Middle School

We were offered Mad Dog Math computer-based program for review. While my boys are a little old for the subject matter (addition, subtraction, multiplication, division), I still opted to review this product because of the opportunity for practice, speed and repetition.

My youngest is eleven. He knows his facts, but he doesn’t like to move quickly. In testing situations, or even when doing advanced math, the ability to recall facts quickly and on demand is very important. That's how we used this program – as a tool to increase his speed.

Math Dog allows the student to choose what numbers to practice (1 through 12), what skill set to practice (+, -. *. /), and how much time to put on the timer (30 sec, 1 min, 2 min, unlimited). Additionally, once mastery is achieved, the student can choose the Challenge level to combine the skills being perfected.

My son liked the practice. They number of problems, twenty-four, was very manageable. It allowed him to really push himself without getting too stressed out with too many problems. He’s a big dog lover, so the Mad Dog theme really appealed to him.

What I really like about the program are the Club Stickers that students can earn for learning a set of facts.  My son has been practicing speeding up on his mulitiplication by earning his 2 minute, 1 minute and now 30 second stickers.  This little incentive lets me track where he's at and gives him a sense of accomplishment.

For us, I really like the concept and the program, the issue is that it is a bit pricey. There are several free internet based sites that provide the same timed tests for free. Since we are just using it to build up speed, the investment wouldn’t be worth the return. If my child were just starting to learn these concepts or if I had several children to use the program so that we’d use it for several years, I would consider the perpetual liscense a good investment.

To see other reviews by the TOS Homeschool Crew click here.

*** I was provided this program free of charge as part of the TOS Homeschool Crew for my honest review.