Having children on the autism spectrum can be difficult at times. Especially when it comes to teaching them different subjects. Many children on the spectrum are very literal thinkers. If anything is abstract it could be difficult for them to understand. Math is a very difficult subject for Joshua. Although math can be very literal in some ways, often it is very abstract and it is hard for him to grasp the concept. We have found some math programs that work but we are always looking for other math curriculum that we could use. When we found out that we were to review LearnBop for Families from LearnBop we were intrigued to see if it was something that would work for us. After an easy registration and login I was able to register Joshua. There was a neat area where Joshua could pick his own graphic to represent himself that was fun. For each child you can either choose a "Roadmap" by grade or one by subject. The roadmaps will guide the student through the grade or subject that they are learning and can be changed at any time. The lowest that you can go is third grade and, since Joshua is very deficit in math, that is what I chose to start him out with.
We began with a quick evaluation to see where a student stood in the beginning area. The first area was multiplication and division. Okay, here is where I have to totally confess and come clean! I could pretty much tell right away that this was over Joshua's head. He just was not ready for this. Now, mind you, it wasn't the program at all, I just realized that he was not quite ready for third grade math and, since that was the lowest he could go, there was nothing we could really do. Thankfully, for this product a parent was able to use the program and then right the review. So, with the view of possibly using this in the future with Joshua or Jacob, that's what I did. I went through some of the program with my "would this work for Joshua" thinking cap on. I found that I think it would, indeed, be wonderful for Joshua after we have had some review of second grade math this year.
After the quick evaluation I was taken to the video section. A lady with a very nice sounding voice explained the concept in three different ways in three different videos. I really liked the graphics and the way she explained the concept in different ways so that if a student didn't quite "get it" in one video he might in another. That would be excellent for Joshua. The videos were also short - less than five minutes long which would also help to keep Joshua's attention. More videos were available to watch if needed, but a student is only required to watch three.
After the videos comes the evaluation time. The goal for Joshua was set at 90%. A student has to complete at least five questions (bops) in each evaluation. I really enjoyed the way a student could ask for hints if they were unsure how to complete a problem. I also liked the fact that there were different methods of doing a problem. Some were word problems, some were picture problems, some you had to fill in the blanks, some you had to choose numbers from a drop down menu. That really kept it interesting which would be good for Joshua as well as make him think. I really like the encouragement that is given along the way as well.
After completing the steps in the first area and making at least a 90% score then the student has the option of going back to review or moving on to the next concept.
As I said above, I really think that LearnBop for Families by LearnBop is going to be really useful for us in the coming year after a review of second grade math with Joshua and also with Jacob. I am looking forward to using it. If you want to know more about this great program just click on any of the highlighted links above. To find out what other members of the Schoolhouse Review Crew thought of this math program just click on the banner below. Happy Homeschooling!
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