My family was given a 3-month subscription to Smartick Method to facilitate this post. I did not receive compensation and the opinions are 100% my own.
Personally, math has always been a struggle. I remember very clearly the moment that I received my very first B (gasp) in Middle School Math. So, in order to help my girls learn to appreciate math and enjoy math at a young age, I am willing to try anything… anything! Growing up I loved Math Blaster you know the game where you had to blast aliens and trash at a quick speed while practicing your times tables! I was looking for something similar when I learned about the Smartick Method.
“Mom, can I do my math now?”
The words from my sweet 5 year old daily... even on the weekends and sometimes twice a day!
There are many things that I absolutely love about Smartick as a mom and a teacher, but most of all I love that she looks forward to it, asks for it, and WANTS to do her math!
What is the Smartick Method?
Smartick is an online math program for ages 4-14. It is widely supported by the European Union and is used by more than 10,000 students in 63 different countries worldwide, although it is still fairly new in the U.S.
Smartick adjusts to your child’s unique needs using artificial intelligence technology. There are no set number of problems during each session and every session is unique. It doesn’t follow Common Core or other State Standards which allows your child to progress faster than in school.
The absolute best part of it all is that it only takes 15 minutes every day. 15 minutes… that’s it! Kids will work on logic and reasoning while also improving other areas such as reading comprehension.
15 minutes will help your child:
- maximize concentration
- avoid boredom or burnout
- create a habit/ routine
- make math fun
- keep kids wanting more
How it Works
Smartick Method for my Kindergartener involves a variety of math skills and concepts all merged into a game-like atmosphere. She really is doing math, but it feels like she is playing a game (and there are a ton of math games, but more on that later).
Kids receive ticks at the end of each day’s session, which they can use while exploring the virtual map and store. Miss B gets so excited to see how many ticks she can earn each day and loves saving up as many as possible to buy items in the virtual store.
Ticks are earned by:
- completing problems
- making corrections
- using Smartick for three days in a row
- using Smartick for a full week
- Birthdays and holidays often receive extra or bonus ticks as well
Once the day’s session has been completed, children are free to check out the virtual map. The map expands as certain levels are reached and unlocked. While exploring the virtual map, kids can opt to buy accessories, pets, furniture, clothes, costumes, and so much more for their avatar or send gifts to a friend.
Miss B loves to buy things for family members and store them in her room in the virtual map. So far she’s purchased a toy for our dog, a cat for her sister, a lovely house plant for me, and she is saving for some cool shades for Shrimp!
In addition to the virtual map, there are tons of extra games to help with perception, memory, reasoning, attention, and more. Miss B loves the Rush Hour game and most of the memory games right now!
Additional Info
The Smartick Method enables Miss B to use our iPad in a purposeful and educational manner. It gives her practice navigating through apps, learning to decipher clues/signs about how to proceed or go back, and has made her more comfortable using the device itself.
We attempted to use our laptop computer but found the touch screen iPad much more conducive to the types of activities that are used. As Smartick recommends, the bigger the screen the better!
Try Smartick Math for FREE
You can pop over to Smartick and sign up for a 15 day FREE Trial.
You can follow Smartick on Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube.
Until next time,
Leave a Reply