Review – Math Analogies Beginning Level From The Critical Thinking Co.

Math is a really important subject but it goes far beyond just memorizing facts. I believe that to really understand math properly you need to develop a good sense of logic.

Disclosure: I received a free copy of this product for review, all opinions are 100% my own.

So I was really excited to receive a copy of Math Analogies Beginning level from The Critical Thinking Co.

Fun Computer Game To Teach Children Logic

Math Analogies Beginning software is a Windows only program, however, there are versions available for Android and iPad tablets. It is also available in book format. This program is intended for children in grades K-1.

System Requirements for the Windows version are:

• Windows 8/7 and Vista

• CPU: 1 GHz or faster

• RAM: 512MB
  

Buying this software lets you download it and install it on up to 2 computers ($6.99). There is an option to buy licenses for up to 6 computers on their website if need be.

When you first open the program you can set up your user account with your child's name. After this, it's very simple to get started.

The software has a total of 152 analogies. As you work through them it keeps track of the total number of analogies you have tried as well as the percentage that you have answered correctly.

Once the child has worked through all of the 152 analogies they can try a second attempt. On this second round, only the questions that they answered wrong in the first round are shown. After all of the analogies have been answered correctly it doesn't offer any more attempts.

There is an option to select to restart the program. Choosing this deletes all of the old user stats and starts everything fresh.

Math Analogies 1

Each question is displayed on a divided screen. On the top are 3 pictures and a question mark.  On the bottom are another 4 pictures.

The child has to look at the top series of pictures and figure out what picture from the bottom should come next. Then they click on the picture and drag it up to the question mark. They are then told if they answered right or wrong and the program moves on to the next question.

Logic Puzzles For Kids

How We Used The Math Analogies Game

I installed Math Analogies Beginning on our children's laptops. I found that it installed quickly and easily. When we've been running it, it runs nicely and doesn't seem to be a resource hog.  This is an older laptop with 1 GB of RAM and runs Windows 7.

I intended to use this with my children aged 6 and 7 but I found my 9-year-old loved it as well.  I had first planned that we would use this in the afternoon fun learning time for about 15 minutes.

The problem was my children enjoyed using it so much they were always wanting to use it for longer periods of time and throughout the day! This is a good problem to have and showed me that the Critical Thinking Co. has made a great program.

Our 9-year-old just loved using the program and after I showed her what the program was expecting of her, she flew through the questions. That was expected since it's below her grade level. Now that I know she enjoys this type of mind game, I'm going to have to get more in this series for her.

The 6 and 7-year-olds I've moved a bit slower with. Many of the questions they can do on their own.

These are the ones that are just matching images. Other questions that use analog clocks or word patterns they need my help to read them.

Logic Puzzles For Kindergarten

Logic Computer Game For Kids

Fun Way To Practice Logic Skills For Kids

We have really enjoyed using Math Analogies! As I mentioned earlier I think that developing the skills to look at problems and situations logically and pull out the bits of information to solve the problem are very important. This applies not only to math but all areas of life!

I think this software program is well suited to a visual learner. All of our children are visual and prefer online interactive methods over workbooks. If your child does prefer a workbook style then this program is available that way too.

You can try an interactive FREE demo on their website if you would like to see if it's a good fit for your family.