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Improving Math Thinking Skills with Redbird Mathematics

January 12, 2016 by Selena Robinson Leave a Comment

How many of you think that you’re “bad” at math? I didn’t think I was bad at it, but I didn’t think I was exactly good at it either. I mean, I can get through it, but it’s not a pleasant journey.

So, I was thrilled to get a chance to try Redbird Mathematics from GiftedandTalented.com! Since the program was developed by Stanford University, I knew it would be exceptional for teaching kids how to use mathematical principles to think their way through operations, rather than just memorizing them. And I wasn’t disappointed.

Read on to see how we used Redbird Mathematics to improve math thinking skills with our second-grader. Plus, enter to win a three-month subscription absolutely FREE!

Disclosure: I received this product in exchange for this post and I was compensated for my time. All opinions are my own and I was not required to post a positive review.

Improving Math Thinking Skills with Redbird Math

What If My Child Hasn’t Been Labeled as Gifted?

Don’t worry! You can still use Redbird Mathematics by GiftedandTalented.com. One of the things I love about this program’s philosophy is that “giftedness” should be the destination, not the starting point. Which means that your child doesn’t have to be termed “gifted” in order to use it.

Instead of being a program catered to gifted kids, Redbird Mathematics strives to help kids of all learning abilities develop their own mathematical gifts. And, since we’re trying to combat the “bad at math” stigma in our family, that’s a philosophy we can get behind!

How Redbird Mathematics Works

When you purchase a subscription to Redbird Mathematics, you’re not tied to a single grade level. The program covers math concepts from kindergarten through grade 7, so you can move up or down as your child needs.

Redbird Grade 2 Outline

If you’re unsure which grade level your child should use, Redbird Mathematics gives you the option to look at the concepts covered in each grade. Since Pooh was already familiar with the Grade 1 concepts, we decided to start with Grade 2.

Redbird Intro Assessment

Here’s where it gets interesting. Once you choose a grade level for your child, the program gives him or her an assessment test to see what concepts they already know.

Redbird Math 2

I’ll be honest: It was extremely tough for me NOT to help Pooh with the problems on the assessment. I had to keep telling myself “It’s just to see what he knows. He doesn’t have to get them right.” Eventually I just walked away. So this part might be hard if you tend to be a helicopter parent like *ahem* me.

Redbird Math 1

Once the assessment is complete, the program automatically chooses a starting point for your child. Then it’s time to get started!

How Redbird Mathematics Improves Math Thinking Skills

What separates Redbird Mathematics from other math programs (to me) is the way that the program encourages kids to think about math operations.

Redbird Grade 2 Intro

Pooh already knows his addition and subtraction facts through 12, but he had never used a hundred chart or base 10 blocks before. So it was almost as if he had to relearn adding and subtracting.

Redbird Lesson Outline

Frankly, it was as if I had to relearn them too. So, if you are used to teaching math in the traditional manner, expect a fairly steep learning curve when you first begin using the program.

I also found that it was not a program Pooh could use on his own. But that’s okay. I don’t expect a lot of independent math learning in second grade anyway.

Redbird Math 3

In the beginning of each lesson, Redbird Mathematics gives you an overview of what your child will cover, as well as a few sample problems. That’s really helpful, because it can help your child prepare for what to expect as the lesson moves along.

Correct

Here’s what I really loved: Pooh had to really use his brain to learn how to add with the hundred chart. For example, when he saw the problem “8 + 10”, his first instinct was to start adding it in his head.

Instead, I asked him to follow the program directions and learn how to find the same answer using the hundred chart. After a few minutes of practice, he got the hang of it.

Redbird Math 5

But if he already knows addition facts, what’s the point of learning to use a hundred chart?

Well – if he can understand how numbers are related to one another, then his ability to solve math problems becomes more flexible.

Redbird Math 4

As the program showed him, moving up and down by rows increases or decreases numbers by 10.

Redbird 100 Chart Adding

And moving left and right increases or decreases numbers by one.

Redbird 100 Chart Shading

Once he grasped that, he could find missing numbers in equations and alternate counting by ones and tens quickly. That’s good practice for counting change, telling time, and algebra!

Redbird Math 6

There were a few times that I supplemented Redbird Mathematics with some hands-on tools. For example, when we were learning about how to find the distance between 42 and 67 on the hundred chart and then place the resulting numbers in addition and subtraction equations, it was time to break out the chalkboard.

Redbird Math 7

Once Pooh saw that we were using the numbers on the chart to fill in an abbreviated fact family, he understood what to do with them.

Base 10 Blocks Overview

When Pooh finished working with the hundred chart, the program moved him on to learning to add and subtract using Base Ten blocks. That’s right. After learning to add and subtract with one strategy, Redbird Mathematics introduces another strategy to learn the exact same skills.

But here’s what’s good about that: If kids can learn how to perform the same operations with differing data, numbers, and methods, they begin to understand mathematical principles better. Which means they can use them in various situations with ease.

And that’s what we want, right?

Base 10 Blocks Intro

With the Base Ten blocks strategy, I also used a hands-on tool: Unifix cubes.

Redbird Math 9

Breaking the rows apart into single cubes to replicate the math problem on the screen really helped Pooh “get” what we were learning.

Redbird Math 10

As he found out, you can regroup 6 ones and 7 ones into 1 ten and 3 ones.

Redbird Math 11

Which means that 6+7 is equal to 10 + 3!

Base 10 Blocks One and Ten

And that is the beauty of learning to add in different ways!

If you’d like to boost your child’s math thinking skills, now’s the time to purchase Redbird Mathematics! You can score a 10 percent discount on a three-month subscription through February 1 with the promo code LEARNMATH! Just be sure to enter the code during the checkout process.

Now – on to the giveaway!

Ten winners will receive a free 3-­month subscription to GiftedandTalented.com’s K7 Redbird Mathematics: Advanced Edition – a $60 value! This giveaway ends January 28, 2016.

To enter, use the giveaway widget below!

 

Entry-Form

 

To learn more about Redbird Mathematics from GiftedandTalented.com, follow the company on the social networks below! And don’t forget to sign up for the Redbird Mathematics Newsletter while you’re there! You’ll find the signup form on the company website.

  • Facebook
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  • Google Plus

 

Filed Under: Curriculum Reviews, Homeschool Math Tagged With: curriculum reviews, homeschool curriculum, homeschool math, homeschool programs, homeschooling, math, reviews

How I Cut My Family’s Phone Bill in Half!

December 21, 2015 by Selena Robinson 17 Comments

Update: 1/22/21 – I can no longer recommend Total Wireless for any reason at all.

The customer service is terrible, the policies have been changed with no explanation, and the store takes orders and your money and then refuses to cancel them when they don’t send your products.

Everyone, go to Mint Mobile instead. It’s where I’ve since moved my service.

We have not had a home phone line in over a decade. So it goes without saying that our mobile phone service is super important.

Unfortunately, it was also super expensive – especially on our budget.

I started seriously looking at our bills a couple of months back and one of the places I desperately wanted to save money was on our monthly phone service. But I just couldn’t figure out how we could do it. We each need a smartphone and we need unlimited talk.

Enter Total Wireless.

When I first saw the signage on display at Wal-Mart, I was extremely skeptical. (I had heard some unpleasant things about Straight Talk, another Wal-Mart product, in the past.) But after a few weeks of hemming and hawing, I decided to take the plunge and try Total Wireless.

Guess what?

It cut our family’s phone bill in half. That’s a pretty big deal.

Read on to see how using Total Wireless has worked for us! Oh – and let me add this – this is NOT a sponsored review. I haven’t received anything in exchange for this post and I paid for these products and services myself. This is a truly honest Total Wireless review.

1/22/22 – Read to the bottom for my update on the original post.
Total Wireless Review - Look! We're Learning!

Total Wireless Phone Unboxing

Before I share my experience with Total Wireless service so far, I want to give you an idea of what to expect when you purchase a Total Wireless phone and a monthly plan.

Total Wireless Phone Review

I ended up getting an LG Ultimate 2 – it was $59.99 and it had great reviews and the features I wanted, including a front-facing camera.

Total Wireless Plan Details

As you can see on the inside cover, you can choose from several monthly phone plans when you subscribe to Total Wireless. We went with the two-line $60/month plan, since it allows us to share data and have unlimited minutes and texting.

Total Wireless Activation Code

Inside the phone box, you’ll find an instruction manual and an activation card. It’s EXTREMELY easy to activate your Total Wireless service, by the way. All of the instructions are on the card, plus the website walks you through the process.

Total Wireless Plan Refill

A Total Wireless monthly plan card looks like what you see above. You can purchase it online, along with your device, or as a standalone card at a store.

Rather than purchasing a new card each month, we bought our initial card and then signed up for monthly auto-refill. Doing that gives you a tiny discount as well.

Also – the phone is returnable (within a certain amount of time). The monthly plan card is NOT. So keep that in mind.

Total Wireless Phone Unboxing

And here are the contents of my phone box. The phone comes disassembled, but you only have to insert the battery and replace the back cover. After that, you just turn it on and follow the onscreen prompts. Easy peasy.

Total Wireless Review

As of this post, we’ve had service with Total Wireless for a month and a half. In that time, I have to say that I’m pretty satisfied so far. If you use the Internet a LOT when you’re away from home, though, it might not work for you.

Right now, the company only offers 3G service. HUGE ANNOUNCEMENT: Total Wireless now offers 4G LTE service on select phones!!!! So if you choose one of those phones, you can stream on the go like everyone else. 🙂

If you choose a phone that only has 3G capabilities, when you’re away from a WiFi signal, you can’t stream video, you can’t download new apps, and you can’t use some services without SERIOUS delays.

Having said that, I’m almost never away from a WiFi signal. So that has not posed an issue for me. If I needed on-the-go Internet, I’d probably decide not to use Total Wireless. If 4G service becomes available, though, then this will become a non-issue. (Again: NOW available as of January 2017!)

For us, saving 50% on our phone service has been worth it. And scoring a good Android device for a reasonable price didn’t hurt either!

Total Wireless Review Update

Updated 1/22/22 – When a company decides to go anti-consumer, it really goes all out.

I ordered a phone from Total Wireless in December 2021. The order went through, but never changed status from “Processing”. After two weeks with no update, I used the online chat to ask a Total Wireless rep about my order. The rep told me that the order could not be cancelled. Oh – and there was no update on it, either. I filed a dispute with PayPal and got my money back.

Later, I wanted to cancel my service and I was told “The system cannot cancel your service at this time.”

So I ordered my new phone unlocked directly from Apple. When it arrived, I hopped over to Mint Mobile, downloaded the app, and in 10 minutes, had transferred my number away from that horrible company.

Interestingly, when I went to have my old phone unlocked to give to my daughter, the Total Wireless rep told me that I had to wait 60 days. With no explanation at all.

I will never, ever, ever use that company for any reason ever and I hope they go bankrupt.

Updated 1/14/17: We’ve been Total Wireless customers for over a year now and we’re still extremely satisfied! I just purchased one of the Total Wireless devices that is 4G LTE capable – a ZTE Citrine LTE – for $29.99. It’s great. I had to do a long indoor run on the treadmill for three hours a few weeks back and I totally watched two episodes of Sherlock while I did it.

We’ve never had any serious issues with phone coverage or service and, since we’ve signed up for the automatic monthly billing service, we get a $5 discount on our monthly plan. So we’re paying $58 a month for TWO monthly wireless lines. It’s awesome.

Total Wireless Review - Look! We're Learning!

How do you save money on your family’s phone bill? Do you have any thoughts or questions about our Total Wireless review? Let us know in the comments! And stop by the Total Wireless website to see if the service is available in your area!

Check out some of our other posts while you’re here!

How to Keep Homeschooling Costs Down - Look! We're Learning!

Money Management Skills Lapbook for Middle School

These easy kid crafts for winter are a perfect way to pass a cold winter's day!

Filed Under: Saving Money for Families, Taking Care of Home Tagged With: frugal living, honest total wireless review, reviews, saving money, total wireless, total wireless 4G, total wireless review

Hi! I'm Selena, a veteran teacher and homeschool mom to four. I'm so glad you're here!
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