Kid's App Review: Jumpstart's Madagascar Math Ops

Last month I gave you a preview of the new Madagascar Math Ops App that we were really excited about.  Our favorite penguins helping make math practice fun, sounds great!  We've had a couple of weeks to play around with it, so now I'm ready to review the app and give you an inside scoop about it.

The app's premise is that the major characters from the Madagascar movies have been kidnapped by mysterious men in black.  Players have to help the penguins rescue them by solving equations so they can build up enough fizzy drink to power their jet packs so they can fly and free their friends from cages.  This will make more sense as I walk you through game play with some screen captures.   

There are several grade levels of math skills to choose from, a nice feature, making it more likely more than one kid in the family can use it.  Parents can also register and keep track of the progress for more than one child using the app too.  A screen capture of the parent information for each level is show above, which lets parents know just what skills your child will work on in each one.  I liked how clearly everything was written out for you.

After your child picks a game, one of the next screens to appear is the progress screen, showing which levels were completed.  From what I can tell, the bananas have to do with how well your child did rescuing the Madagascar character, in the fun game part of the app.  The numbered level will be "cleared" when you solve enough problems and fill up the container with fizzy stuff, regardless of whether you are able to aim the penguins well enough to free the Madagascar characters from their cages.  As you can see we were somewhat better at the math portion than saving the Zoosters.

My daughter is entering second grade in the fall so we started with 1st level with sums to 24.  I liked how the equations were presented horizontally rather than vertically, as this is usually more challenging for learners.

To clear the early boards you simply have to find the two equations that are correct.  After tapping one to highlight, you tap the check mark at the bottom to see if your choice is correct.  If it is the container will begin to fill and if not, the equations and check mark will turn red giving a visual cue that it's not the right choice.

Thus the app is self checking, always a nice thing, that allows for independent practice.  You are allowed numerous chances to pick the correct two, we never ran and I purposely made mistakes to check.  I assume you have endless chances to pick, good for kids who have a lot of trouble with math and avoid too much frustration. 

The math portion of the play gets progressively more challenging as you move along through the numbered levels.  It will switch from simply identifying to requiring players to solve them by spinning the dial to the correct number.  You still check your work by tapping the check mark.

It becomes even more challenging when further along portions are now missing and must be replaced to make a complete correct equation to fill up the fizzy power.  This was around level 13, the furthest we had gotten before writing this review.

I think it's likely play was switched up again at least once more, to help increase the challenge and keep things from getting too repetitious and players from losing interest.  My daughter was getting a little tired of the similar play as we moved through the New York setting.  I hope when we move onto Paris and Sydney for the next stages things are changed up a bit so she will continue to be engaged by the game.

So why are we doing all this math?  Learning is always fun, right?  Well, if you child is like mine doing countless equations is going to get old after awhile without some motivation to continue.  This is where the storyline comes back into play.

After each numbered level is cleared you get a chance to don a jet pack and soar into the air, trying to free the Zoosters by knocking over things and breaking them out of their cages.  Play is much like aiming a sling shot.  Different types of jet packs from basic, to ones that drop bowling pins when tapped, and even exploding jet packs make play interesting.

Depending on how the cage is stacked sometimes you have to aim your penguin to fly high and knock things over and sometimes you can aim directly at the cage to break it.  It's challenging and sometimes you have to knock out the kidnappers in black suits as well.  My daughter and I are not particularly good at it but we have fun nevertheless.

Since we aren't especially good at video games, previously my daughter has experienced a lot of frustration with other games an apps.  This one hasn't gotten her down yet, even though there are a couple levels we cannot seem to break those cages!  It helps that you aren't stuck on one level if you can't figure out who to knock things down to free the Madagascar character and that you can come back, finish some more equations, and have another go at freeing the Zoosters.

Overall, I think Madagascar Math Ops is well worth the $2.99 purchase price.  Familiar characters to interact with and the short clips got my child really interested in playing and it keeps her busy when we're doing things like waiting in line or for our food to arrive at a restaurant. I have had no issues with the app freezing or not working, it's definitely well done in that respect.   Since it's from Jumpstart, I knew it would provide quality educational content even before we tried it.

Madagascar Math Ops is a fun game, set up to enable kids to be successful due to the self checking and pick an answer format.  I think it would be very useful for parents of learners who need something more engaging than worksheets to help improve math skills.  Repetitious practice is part of learning these important basic math skills.  Madagascar Math Ops makes this much more interesting and reinforcing through the play interspersed throughout the practice.

We are new to the world of smartphones so I just love that for less than the price of a workbook I can bring along an interactive game in my purse to give my daughter so she can work on math skills at any time.  This is a reliable app, geared toward early elementary aged kids that delivers what parents want...making learning more fun.

Madagascar Math Ops can be purchased at the following online resources:

iTunes

Google Play

Amazon

Disclosure: I was provided with a JumpStart promotional code at no cost JumpStart in order to test the products’ abilities and give my own personal opinions on it. The opinions I have given are mine and may differ from others but were not influenced by the company or the free product provided

Snowman Math

Snowman Math Materials

Dice

Math Mat (above)

Cotton Balls

Dry Erase Marker & Sheet of Kleenex for Eraser

Page Protector or Laminate

I love being able to make my own learning materials for ER using the beautiful digital scrapbooking kits I've collected.  This simple addition activity I created with Let It Snow, a now retired kit from Louise Franks Designs.  (Visit the kit release post to download the Design Team Quick Pages I created, they're still available for free download.)

Snowman Math is simple and straight forward to do.  Roll a dice for the first number.  Write it on the first blank line.  Roll again for the second number and write it on the second blank line.  Use cotton balls to represent each numeral and place on the corresponding snowman.  For example, if the first roll is a two, place two snowballs on the first snowman image.  Then count up all the math manipulatives, in this case the cotton balls, to get the total.

I printed the math mat on high resolution paper so the colors would be nice and vibrant.  Then slipped it into an empty page protector for a cheap way to "laminate" it and make it reusable.  On the otherside of the page protector, I slipped in a copy of this printable of Rhymes to Help Students Write Their Numbers, thank you to Miss Ingram for providing it.  That way ER can refer to it, if she needs help while writing.  I also put a piece of cardstock in between the two to make it a little stiffer and easier for ER to write and erase on.

Besides the cotton balls, we sometimes use some fun snowflake counters that I also used to Let It Snow to create.  We also use them to create patterns.  I glued them to an old empty cereal box before cutting them apart and "laminated" with clear packing tape so we can use them over and over.

Linking this up to the weekly linky at the blog I helped co-found, ABC & 123: A Learning Cooperative.



Disclosure: As a member of the Louise Franks Design Team, I received access to kits to create promotional items.  While this was not part of a DT assignment, I did use a complimentary kit to create them and in the interest of full disclosure am noting this for readers.

Valentine Countdown Chain

Making paper chains are a fun and simple project to do with your preschooler. It's a good way to practice cutting straight lines. If you turn it into a countdown chain, you can also work on number writing.

For our Valentine Countdown Chain, I used pink cardstock and paper scraps from the project I will be posting tomorrow for the Creative Scrapbooking Diva's Valentine Blog Hop. I liked the scrapbook paper because it's double-sided. Both sides of each loop will be pretty and it's good thickness, unlike some paper that's so flimsy it bends all over as you try to cut it. Using a ruler I drew lines to make strips. ER then cut each line to make straight-ish strips. Remember, we're still practicing cutting straight lines, not proficient at it...yet!

A scalloped circle punch was used to make our number markers. I wrote each number for ER and she traced over it. In an ideal world, I do not advocate tracing. However, ER finds numbers very challenging and is more willing to try if she has guidelines to trace. So we traced, because I wanted this to be a fun project and not one that resulted in tears. Don't look too closely at the hand grip on the marker, that's also a work in progress.

To assemble the chain, form circles with strips and place the number over where the two ends met. Staple on top of number to form chain. Continue until the chain is finished. We were going to use ours to countdown the days until Valentine's, but ER decided it was too pretty to use, so it's on display as a decoration. This was a nice project because ER could work on it semi-independently, meaning Mommy got a chance to empty the dishwasher and mop the floors. I know you're thinking my life is pretty glamorous right about now, aren't you☺

Shared on the Weekly Show & Tell Linky Party on my other blog ABC & 123 and Easy Homemade Crafts at Quatro Mama's blog 4tunate.

Five Little Pumpkins

We been reading our copy of the traditional song and fingerplay, Five Little Pumpkins, doing all the normal things like showing the ordinal numbers on our fingers, singing it with a felt board activity in which we put up pumpkins onto the board and count them, and making a little booklet.

We also did this simple art project, putting the five little pumpkin onto their fence. I tried to have ER write the numeral on each pumpkin, I think you can tell how well THAT went by the 2 and 5! Those curves are still really hard for her; she traced the three to avoid tears. I probably shoud've started out with writing each in pencil and having her trace, live and learn:)


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Review & Giveaway: Calico Critters Card Game, "Who's Missing"

Giveaway now closed, thank you to everyone who entered and congratulations to Kiy, comment #33, who said, "Our favorite fun activity is the coloring pages. Right now, coloring is ALL the rage in our household!"
ER and I have been enjoying daily game time with our new Who's Missing card game from Calico Critters. Featuring the adorable friends from their popular line of play sets, the games are both fun and educational and the cards are the perfect size for little hands.
We've been playing two out of the three suggested games. The first one improves your memory skills and was a totally new concept for ER. That makes it really fun for her. I lay out 5 cards in a row. She looks at all the cards and tries to memorize what's on them.Then ER covers her eyes while I take away a card; I have to watch her like a hawk for peeking☺. She has to tell me which Calico Critters are missing. As the game is played, the row of cards grows, so the game becomes more challenging the longer you play. I think that's a great way to keep older kids challenged and engaged. Right now we only go up to seven cards because after that she becomes frustrated.
The next game is a great one to work on number recognition and counting. She wants to play so badly, because she just loves the Calico Critter families on the cards, that it's gotten her to really start looking at the numbers on them more and more. Which is great to me. I also like how all the cards with two animals on it all have a pink background. It's nice to give kids more than one type of visual cue, they can figure out which cards got together by color and numeral.
To play this game each player gets five cards. To modify and make it a fun and successful activity for ER we play with our cards face up. The rest are placed in the middle and the top one is turned over. Players take turns looking at their cards and either matching up the same Critter family or number. The first player to use up all their cards wins. The last game, Calico Critter Rummy has players collect seven cards with the same number on them. It involves preplanning and strategy that ER isn't ready for. It's nice to know this is one game that can continue to grow with her. We can also continue to make the other games a little harder and challenge her. I know we'll be playing with this set for years to come.
Giveaway!
Would you like to win a set?

International Playthings, the makers of Calico Critters is giving away one to my readers!

I know you'll have so much fun playing, that your kiddos won't even notice they are learning and improving critical life skills.

To Enter:
Head over to the Calico Critter's website and tell me your favorite product there.

Extra Entries:

• Publically follow my blog using Google Friends Connect.
• Post my link button.
• Fan me on Facebook.
• Follow me on Twitter. Tweet about this giveaway, link to this post, and include @KTnestingspot in it.
• Tell me which fun activity on the Calico Critter's website your kids would like the most.
• Tell me your favorite Calico Critters Family.

Good Luck! Giveaway open now through April 2nd at midnight EST. Winner has 48 hours to respond to my email before a new one is chosen. Open to US residents only.



Disclaimer: Thank you to International Playthings for sponsoring this giveaway and providing the reviewers set of the game. This review relates my own personal and unbiased opinions and experince with it and yours may differ.

St. Patrick's Day Math: Using Coin Manipulatives

St. Patrick's Day has built in math manipulatives, the gold coins in the pot at the end of the rainbow lend themselves to hands-on activities. Now is a great time to stock up, as gold coins like the ones above are already marked down. Buy several sets for a center and you'll be able to use them in your classroom for years.

In many kindergarten classes, students are working on simple addition. Place a set of number flash cards and the coins in your center and have students take turns building simple addition or subtraction problems. Extend the activity by having students record the problems they make on a sheet of paper.

Variation:

You can also provide large foam dice instead of the number cards. Students will roll one at a time to get a number to add to their problem. You can differentiate for struggling learners by having those students roll the dice and count out the same number of coins.

Patterns:

My school had a die cut machine in the work room, another suggestion is to die cut out shamrocks and have the students use them along with the coins to make simple patterns, like ABAB. You can also use picture cards for the shamrocks, like I did in this previously shared activity.

Classroom Store:

Shopping is another great way to use the coins. Provide several items students can pretend to buy and lable each a price. Have each student pick a number card, this is a good time to use larger teen and twenties. Each child counts out the corresponding number of coins. They can then use the coins make purchases.

Get them to practice their handwriting by having each student completes their own "receipt" by writing down each item they want to purchase, the amount for each, and then write the total. This center benefits from having a parent volunteer supervise.

If you are interested in preschool curriculum, check out my other blog ABC & 123 today. We're giving away a complete letter of the week alphabet program.

St. Patrick's Day Activities: Shamrock Slap & Patterning

I recently put together two very simple card games, using clip art, to play with ER. Since I love having everything organized neatly, I even made two crayon sized boxes out of cardstock to hold them.
To create Shamrock Slap:

• Make a table in a word processing program with three columns and three rows.
• Size it to take up the entire page, you will end up with nine boxes.
• Add a letter to each box or program the boxes with whatever skill you are working on.
• I used the letters in ER's first name and printed out the page five times.
• Add a shamrock clip art to one page and print out 1-2 copies.
• Cut pages into cards. I rounded the edges, just because I thought they'd look cuter.
• Shuffle the cards to combine.
• Note: Use cardstock to print the cards are sturdier. Cards can also be made by writing on index cards and using shamrock stickers.

I apologize for the cat hairs in the pictures, unfortunately vacuuming day was after I took the pictures!
To play Shamrock Slap:

• Stack the cards face down, into the play pile.
• Player one picks up a card and says the name of the letter on it.
• If it's correctly identified, the card goes in a pile face up next to the play pile.
• An incorrectly identified card gets placed on the bottom of the play pile.
• Play continues until a shamrock card is picked up and placed into second pile.
• The first place to slap the card wins the entire pile.
• Play continues until all the cards are gone or no shamrock cards are left in the play pile.
• The player with the most cards wins.

This game is very simplistic and my daughter really likes it. She giggles a lot and loves slapping the pile. Yes, the player putting down the shamrock card usually gets to slap it, but that's okay with me. I just wanted something quick and easy to play. Plus she's usually successful and enjoys playing. For me, that's the whole point, to make repetitious learning fun. St. Patrick's Day Themed Patterning: Since I was already making shamrock clip art cards I decided to make a few more stacks using additional seasonal icons. Mine are all part of my word processing program, but an image search online should yield many similar clip arts you can use. Right now we've been practicing extending patterns. I begin it and then ER continues until the cards run out. We've made ABAB patterns and ABCABC patterns (above) and AABBAABB patterns (below). The next step is to have her make her own patterns independently, she's pretty good at ABAB. Using 3D manipulatives would be preferable but this is a nice and inexpensive way to change up the activity for a wide range of thematic units. It's also another simple way to make another connection with new vocabulary, like leprechaun, that are also a part of the seasonal books we are reading. After St. Patrick's Day I can remove the leprechaun and pot of gold and replace them with flowers and bunnies and use them longer.

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Snowball Counting Activity

I put together this simple center, with a counting mat for numbers up to fifteen, for my kindergarten class and recently got it out to use with ER. I'm focusing on numbers up to five because at this time, my goal objective is number recognition.

It's very easy to make up the counting boards, and it's a good time for finding paper doilys on sale too. The stickers are so the kids can self check their work. In my classroom I had a large number line stapled to one wall, that they could also refer to. These are laminated for durability, but if doing this at home it's probably not necessary.

All the kids have to do is place the right number of "snowballs" i.e. cotton balls onto the the large snowflake. I like how they can see the numeral, sight word, and visual representation of the number all at once. ER is fairly proficient at counting out and representing numbers to ten. So as I stated at the top, I make a point to point to the number and finger trace it in the air while we do this activity.

Let's Talk Turkey

Ever day in kindergarten, we had center time. Here are some of the simple turkey themed activities I made up for November. I am only doing the math activities with ER right now and all were made with clip art from a seasonal teaching book I have and laminated for durability. Turkey Uppercase and Lowercase Letter Match Up: A simple activity to practice finding letter pairs, match the uppercase turkey with his lowercase labeled features.

Turkey Feather Numbers: Made with numbers up to 20 because I find that the teen numbers are the hardest to master. Normally once you've got 20-30 down you've also mastered 30-99 because the naming pattern is the same. Program one set with colored label dots from an office supply store. Label the other set with the number word and numeral. Find the pairs.

Turkey Feather Counting: ER absconded with my feather collection, we normally use them for art projects. Or you'd see them with the hand drawn turkey bodies in this picture. No smart remarks about my lack of ability to draw! A simple concept, simply add the correct number of feathers to each body. Practices 1:1 correspondance and numeral recognition.

Paper Plate Number Puzzles

Here's a quick activity that's easy to adapt for many different themes and content areas, paper plate puzzles. Start with paper plates, these are smaller dessert sized ones, and cut them in half to make the puzzle. When I made a set for my kindergarten class I used standard sized ones because I went all the way up to thirty and needed space to put all the stickers.Cut each plate in half, trying to make a different type of cut so that each plate puzzle is unique. It gets kind of hard when you're doing a lot but at least vary them a little. Write the numeral on one side and add stickers to represent that number on the other, very simple. ER helped me make ours and loved using all the stickers.

The faint black marks you see on the bottom of the side with the 4 on it above, are the self checking dots I drew on the back. The idea is that ER can check her work, and make sure she's got the right match by counting the black dots and seeing if they're the same as the other side with stickers on it. Of course, it would help if she knew the concept of same! She is so literal that because they don't look exactly the same, she didn't quite understand how they are the same because they both have four things on them. Ah a new concept to work on!
We only did up to number five, because our objective is for ER to start recognizing numerals. She can already consistently count aloud and represent with small objects to twelve. Because having to think about the numeral or written number, is something I haven't really concentrated on before it was quite a challenging task for her.

Paper plate puzzles are a great and inexpensive, translation: cheap, way to make manipulative activities for your students. As a beginning teacher I had several sets because I didn't have a lot of money to spend on fancy activity sets from teacher stores. Come to think of it I still don't!

Other ways to use them include: simple classification (ex. a set with things that go in the bathroom to match up, things that go in the kitchen, in the bedroom etc), colors, uppercase and lowercase letter match, word families (ex. pig on one side and wig on the other), simple math facts (addition problem on one side and answer on the other), and contractions (can't on one half and cannot on the other)

This is part of the Halloween Show & Tell linky post I am cohosting at my other blog, come on by and jump on board with your Halloween celebrations, costumes, or themed lessons!