This post is sponsored by Smartick Method. I was given a 6-month free subscription in exchange for this review. However, all thoughts, ideas, and opinions are my own. Please see my disclaimer page.
About Smartick Method
I was given the opportunity to try Smartick Method for my oldest son. The Smartick Method is an online math program designed for kids age 4 to 14 years old. It uses the latest Artificial Intelligence technology. This means, it’s ability based so your child progresses at their own pace.
Smartick uses math to help develop problem solving and critical thinking skills. It has logic exercises that help kids improve logical reasoning and reading comprehension. It does not follow official curriculum or state standards. It was created to prepare your child to advance faster than what is taught in the classroom.
Smartick recommends a short 15 minutes a day session. This creates a study habit and routine to avoid burn out and to keep children motivated and coming back for more. You can access Smartick from your PC, tablet, or phone.
smartick is for kids ages 4 - 14, so while your little ones can't participate -- they can watch!
I had my son use Smartick in the summer. He was enrolled in preschool and received a ton of excellent math instruction from his Pre-K teacher. He already understood patterns and shapes, recognized numbers, and knew how to count. I thought this was a good program to help him hold on to all of that precious information he learned during the school year.
First you set up an account for your kid and they set up an avatar.
When your child starts the program, it greets them, then asks how they are feeling.
Then the study session begins. The activities are based on your child’s age and initial assessment from when you first set up your account. For a five-year-old, it’s a lot of counting, number recognition, and patterns.
At the end of the session, it gives the child a snapshot of how they did – how many they got wrong, how many they got right, and an opportunity for corrections. Then the parent gets an email from Smartick with the results from the session. Parents get daily reminder emails for their child to complete their session.
What I liked:
"aw... bummer."
The kids picking and designing their own avatar helped them get excited about completing the program. It allowed the kids to take ownership of their learning and this app.
The “Today I feel” feature was really cool because I feel like it helped gauge how the session will be.
If you get a question right, the child hears an excited DING and a star gets added to the green bar on the side.
If you get a question wrong, you hear a sad THUMP. It’s not completely soul crushing, but it’s more of an “aw, bummer…” sound.
Parents get an email reminder for their kids to complete their session.
There is an opportunity for corrections.
There is a virtual world that lets kids “buy things”, compete against others, or play games.
If your child can’t read, there is a purple megaphone by the directions that tells the kids what to do.
What I didn’t like:
Some of the directions were confusing, there are a few exercises where there is more than one right answer. When doing those questions Caleb got it wrong when he picked only one answer or when he picked more than one answer, when there was only one answer.
The vocabulary was a little advanced for the younger kids. Words like “indicate” and “sequence” are excellent vocab words! But they stressed my five-year-old out. I’m glad that he was exposed to that kind of vocabulary since we normally don’t throw words like that into our daily conversation.
The Take Away:
This is an awesome program. The activities are age-appropriate, fun, and engaging for my five-year-old. The accessibility of the app is incredibly convenient. The reminders and incentives to complete the program are a major plus. The email reminders and notifications are extremely helpful but it’s actually following through with completing the program is my problem as a parent.
Smartick Method would be great for parents and families that homeschool, for parents that are more consistent with following through with educational apps, and/or teachers. This would be an AMAZING resource for math small group instruction, supplemental learning tool, or for kids that get done with their seat work early. If you’re a hot mess mama (hi, I’m justine.) that means well, Smartick would be really beneficial for your kids – but you actually have to remember to have your kids do it – which is totally my problem. It is a monthly subscription so if you forget to do it or go looooong periods of time without completing activities, you will still get charged.
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