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    #211402 02/25/15 06:11 PM
    Joined: Nov 2014
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    Has anyone used redbird math as an afterschooling activity? I'm wondering how well it would work as a 15-20 minute activity maybe 3 days a week. I've been teaching/making up math problems for him to do after school and the structure of a program would probably be a good idea.

    I would be getting the independent study version, so I'm also curious how good the teaching is in the program. I'll also be available to help him though if he gets stuck on something. Also, are the reports meaningful? I want to be able to monitor his progress without having to stand over his shoulder all the time.

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    Thank you Portia, I saw that thread, which is what made me aware of the program. I found a review of the program on youtube which mentions that sessions are 20 minutes long, so I think it could work. I wish they offered a trial period though.

    I'm also looking at beast academy, it looks really challenging.

    I wish I had the option to home school just for math. The school meets my kid's needs for the most part in other subjects, but the math curriculum is too slow.

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    My DS8 has done EPGY and Beast Academy. He's absolutely 100% obsessed with Beast. He thinks the comics are funny and the work is challenging to him, which he enjoys.

    EPGY is fine but he finds it to be way too easy most days. I've been surprised by how repetitious it is and I've been disappointed by that. We will probably not continue our subscription because of this.

    Just my two cents.

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    Thank NikiHarp. My son may do a number sense competition next year and just from looking at the placement test it looks like beast academy might help to prepare him for that a little bit.

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    I decided to try redbird mathematics for my son. I signed him up on Sunday and received my payment confirmation which also stated that I should receive an email with student login information. That email never came, so I started a chat on their website to figure out why. They told me that there was an error and the email was never sent, so they would resend it. I got the email, logged in and realized that it was the wrong level (grade 3, not grade 4). This was probably my error because my son is in third grade, but is almost finished with third and needs to start at 4th. So, I requested a level change and was told that the request would be submitted and I would be told when the change had occurred. It's now Wednesday and it's still the wrong level so I contacted them again and they had no record of my original request, so it is supposedly being sent again. I'm frustrated with them, it shouldn't be so difficult to get the level changed.

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    I just purchased a three month subscription to EPGY Redbird Math program. Its really low level and too repetitive. I'm very disappointed.

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    Yes, I agree. My child has been working on the fourth grade level for a little while now, and has yet to get to material that was not covered in his third grade class. There is a big section on place value, multi digit addition and subtraction, and 1 digit by 1 digit multiplication. That is all third grade level math. I've been working through it a bit to try and get him to a point where there is something for him to learn.

    There is way too much repetition for a program that is supposed to be for gifted students. If there was an option to skip through sections or change the amount of problems asked, it would be much better too. I also have already found one error and reported it.

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    My son is also working on 4th grade level. It is aligned with Common Core so you get the typical fuzzy questions. It's the best example of why Common Core is such a bad set of standards for gifted kids. On the one hand you've got confusing multi step questions that really force the child to slow down and think through the problem. But the math, (single digit multiplication in 4th grade, seriously?) is so low level, it's a joke. Common Core math pulls our students down.

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    My son just did the two digit by two digit multiplication lessons and it teaches a few ways to do it, but does not appear to teach the standard algorithm, which he already knows how to do and prefers. It annoys him and me. I'm ok with teaching the other methods (but with less repetition), but the standard algorithm should still be taught as it is the most efficient way to solve those kinds of problems. He is on the last multiplication section according to the outline and it hasn't been taught.

    I'm thinking about doing all the division stuff for him so that he can get to the lessons on fractions.

    Last edited by Appleton; 05/17/15 05:34 PM.
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    I know this thread is a few months old, but I was wondering if anyone else has new feedback. I was thinking of buying this so my son could do it at school while his class was doing the regular math, but from what I read so far it sounds like it won't work.

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