Review: IXL

I grew up with math phobia. Math didn't come terribly easily for me, and as I got older, I became more and more intimidated by it. I believed, and many people do, that mathematical ability is something you're either born with, or you're not, (like green eyes, or left handedness.)

The truth is that while some people are naturally inclined toward math, even the rest of us can improve our skills through practice. (Sometimes lots of practice.)

One of my goals as a homeschooling parent is to make sure that the kids grow up with with a thorough understanding of basic math, and also the confidence to feel like they're able to learn.

I'm happy with the math curriculum we've chosen, but I've been feeling like maybe we could use a little more practice.

As part of the TOS Homeschool Crew, we received a membership to IXL, which is a math practice website for students in pre-k through high school. The program offers several subscription options, including a monthly rate of $9.95, and a yearly rate of $79. (There is an additional upcharge for additional students, but it's nominal.) To say the kids love it would be an understatement. (They've actually been arguing a little over whose turn it was to practice.)

The program is not a teaching program per se, but more of a review program. Students can practice specific skills, and receive immediate feedback. (A wrong answer results in an immediate correction, and an explanation.) There is a timer and a score displayed while the student practices, and although you can opt out of them, my kids really enjoyed the competitive aspect of beating the clock, and improving their score. Succesful completion of review lessons results in the student winning "medals," and "awards," which my kids also found highly motivating. 

I found a lot to love about this program too. Under the parent's profile, you'll find all sorts of useful reports to help assess how your student is doing, and what they've been working on. (I just checked L's reports, and found that he's practiced for a total of 8 hours and 4 minutes, and has mastered 41 skills so far.)

To find out what other homeschooling families thought of this program, check out the linky on the Homeschool Crew blog.

Disclosure: We were provided with a free subscription to this program in order to facilitate this review. No other compensation was provided, and all opinions are my own.