edited to add: I found a short video on YouTube of a demonstration of Zillio, I hope watching it helps explain how it helps kids understand multiplication!
My youngest son is in the 5th grade this year. He has a learning disability that makes it extremely difficult for him to learn math. He can understand individual concepts, but applying them is difficult. For example, he can tell you what 4X7 is, but not 40×7, even though he’s been taught to just add a zero to 28 to get 280. Nathan just doesn’t see that connection.
And then I got a press release about Zillio, a 3D math game that helps kids see the relationships between math concepts, and I pretty much begged the company to please send me one in exchange for a review. Which it has taken me months to write, and I sincerely apologize to them for that. Because in my opinion, everyone who teaches math at any level should have a Zillio game on hand.
Shown in the image is the Zillio Mini Mountain. It measures 18” in diameter, 8” high and 36″ at the highest peak. It also rotates! It comes with 3 dice and 12 foam cards with punch out tokens, and the games can be played by up to 4 players. The Zillio website has a TON of FREE, downloadable math games that can be used by parents, teachers, tutors, anyone who wants a fun way to teach math to kids.
I highly, HIGHLY recommend Zillio. The Mini Mountain is the most affordable, at $99.95. As we were playing “Mountain Goat Scramble”, I kept thinking that it seemed like an awesome addition to a homeschool classroom. It’s big, but light enough to pick up and put away on a shelf when not in use. And it’s FUN. Kaitlyn can spend hours with her little toy animals, jumping them up and down the steps while telling herself a story about whose chasing who. Nathan is still reluctant, because math really is hard for him, but it does seem to help him understand how addition becomes skip counting becomes multiplication becomes division. I hope I’ve helped those of you reading this who want a fun, hands-on math activity to consider getting a Zillio!
whoa…$99 for this learning tool…while i dont believe there is a price limit on my children’s education…i think that type of money would be better spent on a tutor or software that can constantly be updated…i am going to the website or youtube to see if i can find a video on this further explaining how to use it…thanx for the review
.-= wynnie mcbride´s last blog ..Get The All New PS3 Slim =-.
I think that this is some great information dealing with alternative ways to teach math and spark the interest of children. Awesome review, thanks for the info