{TOS Crew Review} CapJaxMathFax

 

Learning math facts well is the key to learning math. But, as most kids will tell you, boring flashcard drills are well, boring! It's hard to remember the facts if you don't memorize them and it's hard to memorize them if you don't drill them over and over again.

Jack Fretwell heads up Starboard Training Systems - the makers of CapJaxMathFax (say that three times fast, I dare you!). Mr. Fretwell has a Masters degree in Educational Technology and has spent over 30 years working in education and technology.

The goal of CapJaxMathFax is to "Put some 'happy' in your math!" Learning math facts, as I mentioned earlier, can be hard for kids. CapJaxMathFax makes it easy on both the parent and the child. Parents (and teachers) no longer have to spend time drilling students and coming up with tests and drill sheets. Students have fun working their way through each level. As they progress the program challenges them more and more. Along the way, they even earn merit badges.

As a parent, I do not have a need to stand over and watch my children to see if they are making progress. I can assign them to work on various math operations (addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division) are available and tell my children which to practice and at what level. It is recommended that the student start at a lower level and work up to the harder ones in order to gain confidence. This is already something I do often with new programs. This also allows my boys to figure out how the program works and eliminates the frustration of figuring out a new program while being timed.

I can also sign in as the student and check on their progress via a graph or a summary. This shows me how many facts they have done, how well they are doing, and at what level they are currently. 

Math is not a favorite subject in my house so getting honest feedback from my boys is tough since they have that bias to begin with. My youngest son, age 8, thought this program was a lot of fun. He loved "play for rating" and tried to be sure to beat the time each time he worked. Added to that being able to play on the computer and he really liked this program. My two older boys said, "It was alright," but considering math isn't their favorite subject, this is a positive view of the program.

I appreciate how easy and simple it is. There are not a lot of fancy graphics involved. It's simple math drill with immediate feedback. I like that.

CapJaxMathFax can be purchased as a download for $29.95. If you prefer, you can purchase a CD in addition to the download (but not separately) for an additional $5.95. It comes in a MAC version as well as PC. If you aren't sure CapJaxMathFax would be a good fit for your student, you can download a free evaluation to see exactly how the program works. CapJaxMathFaxts is appropriate for ages 4-5 and up. If your child has begun learning basic addition, than they could use this program.

Be sure to head over to the TOS Homeschool Crew blog to see what other Crew members had to say about this product.

Disclaimer: I was not paid for this review.  All opinions shared are my own. TOS Crew Members are given the product free of charge in exchange for our unbiased opinion of the product.