We are so thankful for our sponsors at IXL for providing this great opportunity to experience and review their online learning program!
Ah, homework, how I’ve missed you. NOT! I don’t know about you mommas, but homework is my least favorite thing about school starting back up. Getting my kiddos to do something brain stimulating after they have returned home is like herding cats. When we were asked to complete a trial of IXL, a learning website, I was all over it. Anything to give me a hand with getting that homework done with less struggle!
Why IXL?
When researching IXL, the thing that stuck out to me the most was that it really (I mean REALLY) lines up with Colorado education standards. It is state specific to help boost or align with what our kiddos are learning in school right now. I love that it is teaching my daughter the way she is being taught in school, which, honestly I struggle with – Common Core I’m talking to you! IXL is a wonderful website for all ages, featuring skills from pre-K through high school (calculus is being added!). It isn’t just a site for your child to be on that’s “educational”.
My fourth grader was the best guinea pig for an online learning program as she prefers educational web over books. She really enjoyed playing on the IXL website every day to wrap up the summer and has continued to play now that school has started. IXL offers a fun and engaging site with interactive questions, images and motivating awards. It has over 6,000 skills for language arts, math, science and social studies. It is very customized for each child, even down to what kind of badges they can earn.
What we liked
What I really like, as a parent, is that I get an email about her progress every week. It tells me how many questions she answers and how much time she spends on the site. I like reviewing with my daughter the skills she has mastered (and what has challenged her). It doesn’t look like an animated game and I really liked having an alternative for my kiddos to try out. For her, what she really likes is that when she gets a question wrong, instead of moving on and giving another question it really breaks down how to solve the problem. The more questions answered correctly, the harder the next question will be. If she continues to answer a question wrong it will drill down to easier questions until she masters a skill. Unlike other sites it continues to challenge my daughter and rewards her for working.
Where you can find IXL
IXL offers more than one way to play. It’s not only a great website, but they offer an app on Apple iTunes, Android Marketplace, and in the Amazon market for the Kindle. My daughter loves playing on the website because it is easier for her to navigate but is glad to have it on her Kindle for on the go. Between the website and app she has practiced for over 2 and 1/2 hours, answered 250 questions, mastered two skills and earned three medals in math alone!
When I asked my daughter what her favorite part of IXL was she said that it’s like she’s playing a puzzle game, that she has to keep building to get the prizes. My favorite part is that she thinks that learning is fun – because it can be!
Have you tried IXL? What was your favorite part?
