When I was in grade school, the only type of educational tools my parents (more my Mum really) bought or used for me were from books; assessment books. We still see them around today and I don’t discount their value, as I also use them on my kids to help them with their studies. Whilst traditional resources are important, we cannot deflect away from the fact that kids nowadays are getting very technically savvy from a very young age. Kids as young as 4 or 5 even, are able to work their way around the computer, laptop and in some cases an iPad. I’m a firm believer of having a balance on both aspects of learning. The traditional writing with pencils, drawing with the different media available as well as being able to manoeuvre their way around on the computer and the online world.

There’s also been a recent surge of online games readily available for our kids to play with, either those that are just for fun, like dress up games or Club Penguin, or those of the educational nature. With so many online educational resources available, it can sometimes be hard to choose what’s right for your child. I’ve been lucky that the school my kids go to have subscribed to a number of different online educational sites. One of them is Mathletics, an online resource covering Mathematics for kids from kindergarten all the way to Year 12. Besides being a resource that follows the national curriculum, it also has options for your child to compete with other students from their level in real time,  from other parts of the world. This program also isn’t just about getting the right answers, but teaches your child how to get the correct answer when they do make a mistake by using the animated support. There’s also a “Concept Search” tool, that acts like a mathematics dictionary. Besides Mathematics, there’s also another part – Spellodrome, teaching your child how to improve on their spelling. Once again, based on your child’s level and ability, as well as the curriculum. Your child will be given a weekly word list to learn and to use the support to learn the techniques of learning the words.  Then there’s Cyclobot’s Revenge, where they will get to challenge against other kids on their level, like the game of hang man really. Or in another “live” game with other students where they have to fill out the missing word in the sentence. The best thing about these programs is that, not only would your child enjoy the games and challenges, but you will also be able to monitor their progress, which are sent to you periodically.

Would you like to win your child a 6 months subscription to both Mathletics and Spellodrome? The membership is valued at $88.00 and you can be in the chance to win this simply by leaving a comment. The give away closes on the 21st June 2011, 6pm AEST and the winner will be picked at random. For more chances to win this membership, you would have to share it on twitter and leave a comment stating that you did, or share it on facebook and leave a comment that you’ve done so. If you do all three, then you get 3 chances! Good luck everyone and stay tuned for my review of the product on the 22nd June 2011.

*Disclaimer: I have been given complimentary memberships to Mathletics and Spellodrome to trial. All comments are  my own.