Educational Insights Math Whiz
by Educational Insights
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List Price: Our Price: $21.49 You Save: $8.50 (28%) Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Buy Used: from $11.00 (click here) Category: Toy See more product details |
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Toys and Games Reviews of Educational Insights Math Whiz
Customer Review: PERFECT!
Summary: 5 Stars
I went to an educational store to find this toy for my daughter who was having trouble learning her multiplication tables. It is exactly what I was searching for. Drills are leveled so the first one is for essentially step-counting by number, say, 4 or 6, etc -- up to 9. They learn the multiplication set this way and then proceed to the second level where that particular "times table" is randomized for practice.
PERFECT!
My daughter has suddenly started passing her multiplication tests. She is so happy: she said to me "this is the best present ever" with a big beaming smile. Giving a child the tool for succeeding is about as good as it gets!!
I agree the muting function is pretty priceless too! Though it can hinder one's speed a tad so I tolerate the noise sometimes.
I agree the smiley faces get in the way of completing each round of 10 questions quickly, but you can just compensate for that -- in terms of the time that the machine provides for each round (also a terrific feature), you can just adjust; try aiming for a personal best rather than an absolute one.
And then there are many more levels above these two "drill" levels -- things get progressively harder, and are a wonderful prealgebra tool too.
Plus the device is a calculator.
About as good a purchase as I've ever made! Thank you thank you thank you to this company for producing a tool that has really tangibly improved my child's life. You cannot imagine how anxious her inability to master this expectation had been -- and how much clearness this device has given in her life!
Customer Review: My 5-year old loves it
Summary: 5 Stars
My 5-year old just started Kindergarten, but LOVES math (which they will only really cover a little of sometime this year). I bought this for him after his first day of school (he's "earned" a toy, and the one he planned on wasn't available). He choose this instead. He loves it. Its easy to use, even for one not too accustomed to computers, etc. He has had trouble with other electronic toys that try to get him to answer in X seconds, but loves that this tells him how long it took him, but doesn't pressure him to get it done in a certain time. The progression from easier to harder on the levels is great. He was "way past" some early levels, but he could do some mid-levels and still be challenged. We even discovered he could divide while he used this toy, though we didn't really know that before (other than 4 divided by 2 or such). He loves this toy so much, he took it to show and tell at school.
I would highly recommend for either kids struggling to remember things like times tables, or kids who just love doing math problems and want to be continually challenged. I'm sure this toy will last my little one for a long time, as there is so much to learn with it. Oh... he also loves to use it as a calculator. Its amazing how many things he finds to "calculate" in everyday life!
Customer Review: Homeschool Math Helper
Summary: 4 Stars
I am using the Math Whiz as part of my homeschool math curriculum to help my son memorize his times tables. I like several things about the game. The directions are clear and simple. The game is easy to use. The variety of levels provides both practice and and a challenge. The Math Whiz has been durable thus far, it has been dropped to no ill effect.
There are a few minor issues with the Math Whiz. As others have mentioned, the display is not backlit, making play in a darkened car or room impractical. I have not, however, had issues reading it over my child's shoulder. The buttons can be "sticky", meaning a child may have to press a button hard or more than once. This has frustrated my son, who wants to be as fast as possible, on several occasions.
Despite the minor problems, my son looks forward to using the Math Whiz daily. Children who, like him, enjoy competing with themselves will play repeatedly to beat their previous time. This helps them develop automaticity with math facts, without the whining and complaining that usually come with drilling. I think this toy achieves its intended purpose- to make practicing math facts fun.
Customer Review: Review from 2nd grade mom
Summary: 5 Stars
In my daughter's second grade class she is timed on addition and subtraction. The idea is to get kids to know the answer to 9+8 (for example) without thinking about it. Her teacher said that while she knew 9+8 is 17, she needed to get it out quicker. The teacher recommended flash cards to increase speed. While flash cards are fine, they aren't all that exciting for kids. This is like electronic flashcards, and my child finds it enjoyable. There is a flashcard mode and a calculator mode. There are also different levels. So level 1 has simple, Kindergarten or 1st grade problems, and level 8 has problems I had to think about for second. I have my child use it 10 minutes each night and I don't hear any complaints. She brought it in to show her teacher and she was impressed - said it would make a great center activity in the classroom. I plan on buying the teacher one for class use. I can't comment on the durability because I haven't had it very long. This is a great product either for the child that needs some assistance improving their math skills, or for the child who excels and needs a challenge.Customer Review: For kids who hate math
Summary: 5 Stars
My son (10 Years Old - 5th Grade) had been having trouble with math in school. It was hard to convince him of the value of doing paper flash cards to help him increase his math strength. He got The Whiz for Christmas this year and so far he's used it everyday (even while on Holiday break!) and hasn't gotten tired of it. Knowing the answers to the questions has given him a lot more confidence and he said he couldn't wait for math class when he got back to school.
The best thing about this product is that my 6 year old kindergartner can use it too. There are skill levels you can set. While my older child is using all functions (addition, subtraction, multiplication and division) my younger child has a desire to learn math even though its not required in kindergarten so we set it to just addition for her and she loves learning from the electronic flash cards.
I highly recommend this product. The kids think its a toy, and when they use it they're learning. It builds confidence and math strength and its definately worth the price!