A TOS REVIEW OF MATH GALAXY (Galaxy of Education Co.)

Jumping Jupiter!  Math Galaxy is a really fun learning experience that makes children want to practice their Math skills. They have three different program styles of supplementary curriculae available:  a computer-based video game, a worksheet generator and riddle books. We chose the Whole Numbers Riddle Book (264 pages and normally sells for $14.95) and the Fractions Riddle Book (434 pages and normally costs $14.95). Since my sons have dyslexia and can become frustrated with competitive educational video games, the ebooks were an excellent choice, I might add.

 As part of the TOS Crew, I received them (as with all other TOS Review Products) for free, in exchange for posting an honest opinion of them. I receive no other compensation but the products sent to me for review.

I thought these two products were very cute and fun. I only wished to have a color printer to show the bright, primary colors in print. My sons still liked them despite the fact that I printed them in black and white ink. They found the layout of the pages motivating. The books contain one page of problem-solving where students take the codes they find from solving the problems and plug them to the squares at the top of the page to solve a riddle. The next page is the answer key. I allowed my oldest son to grade his own papers. He liked that idea. The pages alternate throughout the books in this same fashion. The biggest difference between both books was the topical content.

Below is an example of the various topic areas for Fractions Fun. This was a different version of the program than what I downloaded but it gives you the general idea (mine was an ebook).

The Whole Number Riddles book was pretty extensive, too, in the problem-types it offered for practice. It began very simply with one digit problems and expanded to three and four digits of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division as well as expanded notation, rounding and estimation.

We enjoyed the products we tried and thought that all of their products sold at comparable market prices for supplemental curriculum. The ebooks we reviewed were intended for elementary-aged students but the company offered middle school Math, Pre-algebra and Algebra as well. 

I really like their teaching philosphy for Math, too. I hadn't really thought about it this way before and I think if I had been taught this way, I might have enjoyed Math more when I was growing up.The way they set the problems up, makes it more appealing for a person who is language rich but not math skilled.  Many Math programs leave out instruction for visual learners who think literally and so students may have a more challenging time applying what they learned from rote memory of math facts.  Galaxy of Education's teaching philosophy, on the other hand is helpful in developing the abstract thinking that is necessary for learning to apply Math in real life. Read about it here.  Click on the "About Us" tab.

Their stated mission is this: "Our goal is to provide students a foundation for analytical thinking in the modern world and for higher-level math and science."  I think though, that they should also have stated that their curriculum was FUN and made students forget for a few moments that they were learning MATH!

For more information on the company and their products, Click here. To read what other reviewers thought, click on the TOS Homeschool Crew Banner on the upper and lower right hand sides of Leaders in Learning blog.

Come back soon for more reviews and my unique perspective on Christian Therapeutic Parenting, Everyday Parenting, Homeschooling, Devotional material and many other miscellaneous topics that I think might tickle my readers' (or my) fancy.

Thanks again for reading my blog!

BeckyJoie