Monday, May 14, 2012

TOS Review: CapJaxMathFax

CapJaxMathFax is a pretty cool name, huh? Well, it's a pretty cool Math facts program too! We were given an opportunity to review it for the TOS crew and both Sugar Maple (4th grade) and Balsam Fir (1st grade) have been trying it out. 

CapJaxMathFax ($29.95) is (from their website):

  1. Uses a computer to provide drill and practice so that practice time is not limited by teacher availability.
  2. Automatically generates exercises. Teachers don't prepare quizzes. They merely provide the parameters for them.
  3. Builds exercises for any of the four math tables (addition, subtraction, multiplication, division) or any combination of tables.
  4. Guarantees student success by taking small steps through levels of 
    difficulty.
  5. Can focus practice at a single level of difficulty or may review earlier levels.
  6. Randomly generates problems without repetition.
  7. Allows variable numbers of problems in an exercise.
  8. Reduces learner stress by timing facts individually.
  9. Provides immediate positive feedback for correct answers.
  10. Provides extra reinforcement for fast, correct answers.
  11. Displays an overall performance report at the conclusion of each exercise.
  12. Prints reports for teacher review and for use as certificates of achievement.
  13. Displays and prints item diagnostic details.
  14. Uses a rating system that allows students to keep personal scores and 
    set goals.
  15. Charts student rating progress graphically.
  16. Maintains a database of student activity over time.

Yeah, it does it all! And you can use it with many different Math programs. In our homeschool we use Saxon and MCP Math, and it worked with both easily!

Another awesome plus is that you can play in "practice" or "play for rating" modes! Balsam Fir gets frustrated when he plays for points (like in a video game) or has time limits. He always wants to get the TOP POINTS and that doesn't usually happen and being timed takes the fun out of it. For him, just practicing his facts makes for a much more positive experience. But Sugar Maple needs that point challenge to push herself to learn her facts quicker. She's encouraged to learn more to increase that score. It's GREAT to have different options of play to meet the needs of each of the kiddos!

Now, the Saplings dislike math fact drills, but they didn't seem to mind it as much with CapJaxMathFax. It adds a "game" feel to learning those facts and isn't as "dry" as pen-and-paper. And in just the course of a few weeks reviewing this program, their abilities to compute math facts has gotten more accurate and quicker! So, if your kiddo needs a fun way to learn addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division facts, check out CapJaxMathFax!


Disclaimer: As a member of The Old Schoolhouse Homeschool Crew, Our Side of the Mountain was provided this product free in exchange for our honest review. All thoughts and opinions are our own.  

2 comments:

  1. Stefanie just reviewed this too! It seems like a bigger hit at your house than hers. Looks cool!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Sounds like a great program. I like that you can either do it for points or not, because that can make all the difference depending on the kid. :)

    ReplyDelete

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