Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post by FlightPath for PowerMyLearning. I was compensated for my time, however all opinions and thoughts expressed are my own or my five-year-old son’s.
When my son graduated kindergarten this past year, I was understandably worried about first grade because I was unsure of how he’d do following an entire summer off. I was afraid he’d forget some of what he learned during the year. Because of my worries, I signed him up for a month of summer school in addition to purchasing activity books for him to work on throughout the summer.
I also looked online for free online activities and games for him to do because I wanted to give him a great start to first grade. Some sites I found were okay. Others were boring and didn’t engage him very well at all. I wanted to find a site that engaged him, since he has ADHD, and wasn’t expensive. When I was asked to review the math section of PowerMyLearning I was excited because there are tons of activities and games listed for all ages and interests, and I figured there was probably several activities, at least, that he would respond positively to. I wasn’t disappointed!
Tonight I finally got a chance to sit down with my five-year-old and we tried out several of the games available. I was anxious to see what he thought of the site since he can be the ultimate critic. I highly recommend PowerMyLearning to any family looking to help their children through the summer months so they don’t lose some of the knowledge they gained over the school year. Also, if you’re like me and living on a fixed income, it can be hard to find the money to pay for paying sites. PowerMyLearning gives parents the opportunity to help their children without breaking their piggie bank.
PowerMyLearning took the guesswork out of searching for the best learning sites out there since there are so many results that pop up when you search for activities and games. Also, there’s always the worry that a site you visit will be loaded with viruses or other malicious content. By going to PML, you don’t have to worry about those problems since they do the searching for you.
What I also like about the site was that you can link your child’s account with your own so login is done in one easy step. That makes things easier for parents.
The first game we tried was Invention at Play. It was easy for me to manipulate the puzzles pieces but my son said it was “too hard” for him. He lost focus rather quickly. This was not the ideal game for him. But I had faith that we would find games he would enjoy.
The second game that he tried out was Dino Place Value. He was excited to try it because it had a dinosaur in it, and he’s really into dinos, just like his sister was at his age. The sound on the game was very loud, so we did have to turn it down. The game itself, though, was fun for him. A number was displayed on the computer screen and he had to pick the corresponding ones and tens egg to make the displayed number. He went through approximately 20 numbers before we moved on. He would have kept going because it kept him entertained, but I knew we had to try out some other games.
The next page/game we visited actually contained a music video that was a parody, of sorts, to “Bad Boys”. It was a song about counting by 2s, 5s and 10s. It was a catchy and would definitely appeal to children of his age. I think it’s a great tool to teach children how to count by 2s, 5s and 10s.
My son’s two favorite games that he tried were Bunny Ride and Penny Prizes.
Bunny Ride is a Curious George game. You drive a blue truck and pick up carrots to feed the bunnies in the back of the truck. He played this game for about 15 minutes. The controls were easy for him and he didn’t complain once. He had a huge smile on his face the entire time and said, “That was fun!” once he finished.
Penny Prizes was a colorful game that really caught my son’s eye. Each problem featured two numbers. Based on the instructions, he either had to pick the higher or lower number. If he chose the correct number, he got a brightly colored gumball. The game continued until he filled up the gumball machine.
Based on my son’s reactions to the games he tried, I think children his age are more apt to enjoy the games/activities that are colorful and easy to use. They keep them engaged for longer.
Have you tried out PowerMyLearning? What are your thoughts? Please feel free to leave a comment below.
If you’d like to learn more about PowerMyLearning, please visit their official site or one of their social media pages.