This is our first complete year schooling at home. Technically my 7 year old son and 11 year old daughter are enrolled in school so that we may utilize the funds provided towards the curriculums or our choosing, but we have the freedom to choose from many different programs as long as they are secular.

My 7 year old is ahead in math, working at about a 4th grade level. I wanted to be sure to find a program that was engaging enough to keep his easily distracted brain intrigued but challenging enough that he would excel. I had heard DreamBox was fun and challenging, and after this year, I would have to agree. The math questions are presented like games. A subject can be practiced over and over if the program deems it’s needed or it will move on if all questions are answered correctly.

What I like about DreamBox is that it is interesting to my son. He has enjoyed playing the game as a reward after completing the topics. The graphics are colorful and well made. The music and changeable backgrounds keep it fun.

What I did not like, and why I will not be using it again, was the amount of lessons with the common core approach. There were many topics he could not move ahead on because the program wanted him to calculate simple answers using much more complicated means; such as regrouping 100s in addition when he could easily have used mental math. There was far too much time wasted trying to figure out what new way the program wanted him to come up with the answers.

What I liked about Aleks, and why I will be using it again next year, is that my daughter was consistently challenged with no time wasted. The explanations and lessons were clearly laid out. The program cheered her on and presented her progress with pie charts and graphs that she could follow. There was no time wasted with silly games or common core nonsense. I noticed significant improvement by the end of this year. I have no complaints about Aleks.

My daughter however, hated it.