Learning Algebra & Geometry With Stinky Kid Math ~ Review
Math is one of those subjects that it seems you either love or hate. Why is math a struggle for so many people? Maybe it's just the way you've been taught math!
Disclosure: I received a free copy of this product for review, all opinions are 100% my own.
Maybe it's just the way you've been taught math! If you struggle to teach math or have a student struggling with math you should have a look at Stinky Kid Math!
Online Math Lessons For Kids Who Struggle With Math
Stinky Kid Math was created by Todd Matia. In 2007 Todd was teaching a group of teachers at the University of Minnesota on how to teach pre-engineering classes for high school.
He found that many of the teachers hadn't taken a math class in over 15 years and really struggled with the concepts in algebra. Todd really wanted to find a way to help them understand and came up with a story about a kid who owned a house.
He wanted to make money so he had people move into his house as renters. Then he made himself very, very stinky! Why? Well, to get them to move out. He used this story to break down the more complicated algebra concepts and this was the start of Stinky Kid Math!
Stinky Kid Math is geared toward people who struggle with traditional math classes. Stinky Kid Math is intended for children in middle school and up to adults who need to brush up on their math understanding.
Stinky Kid Math is an online site that covers Foundational Algebra this covers pre-algebra & algebra 1, and Complex Algebra that covers Algebra 1 & Algebra 2. There is also a Geometry course.
When the user is logged in they can choose to complete the lessons in order or use the lesson lists to narrow the topic of interest and move forward from there. This is a wonderful option that makes it easy to use for students who need to start at the beginning or those who just want to practice some harder concepts.
Video Lesson Associative Property
When you are viewing a lesson the first video is displayed in the middle of the screen. On the right side of the screen, you have a list of other videos in the lesson, the workbook, and worksheet. This layout makes it so easy to navigate in a lesson.
Foundational Algebra Lessons
The videos that we have been using in the Foundational Algebra average a length of 3 to 5 minutes each. They are often set in unexpected locations with a live instructor.
The instructor goes over the concept in a short but very clear manner using bright colored markers to illustrate. The length of the lessons are just long enough to keep the interest of the student and yet explain the concept well.
Math Games
Math Games Lessons
Stinky Kid Math also has fun math games that give the student practice in converting fractions, adding and subtracting positive and negative numbers and understanding shapes, etc.
How We Have Been Using Stinky Kid Math
I've been using Stinky Kid Math with our oldest daughter. She is 13 years old and in grade 8. Since she is just starting to work at the pre-algebra/algebra 1 level I decided to have her start working at the beginning of the Foundational Algebra course.
Algebra Properties Lessons
The first lesson in this section is under algebra properties. In this lesson, she learned about the three important algebra properties commutative, associative, and distributive.
Each property had its own short video. These were explained really well and helped her to understand what was ok and not ok to do in solving problems.
Book Basic Algebra Properties
After watching the videos there is a "book" they can read online or download and print. The book covers everything that was in the videos including the definitions and how to solve example problems. These are again colorful examples and easy to follow.
I have to say that both my daughter and I LOVE that these books are available! It allows her to focus on the video on not trying to keep up writing notes at the same time. We keep these stored in her math binder to refer to as needed.
Worksheet Algebra Properties
After watching the videos and going over the book notes you can print a worksheet. There is also an answer key and I love that it's done in colorful handwriting! That's just something cute that made me smile.
My daughter works on the worksheets and I help any time she needs help. We use the answer sheet as a solutions guide when she's stuck. Together we work through the problem step by step until she understands it.
What Do I Think?
I've really enjoyed using Stinky Kid Math. The website is easy to navigate and everything is explained in an understandable way. It's the little touches that make me smile when using this program.
Stinky Kid Math is intended to be used as a supplement and teaching tool and not a full curriculum, however, I do think it would be easy to make into one.
The only thing I would change is that I wish it had more worksheets available for each topic. If I feel that extra practice is needed then I need to search for topic worksheets online. That's not hard but it would be great if more were included.
I really like that Stinky Kid Math uses a skill-based perspective rather than just memorization. They really want the student to understand the WHY behind the math problem.
Are you interested in Stinky Kid Math? They offer a free trial that would be a great way to see if it's a good fit for your family!
