Review of LearnBop

It's no secret if you read my reviews that I review a lot of math programs. And I like most of them. I think changing up the math is one thing that keeps it interesting for the kids and keeps them coming back for more. It's not, "Not math again?!" It's, "Oh, fun! What math are we doing today?" Well, when I first read about LearnBop, it wasn't just a case of my observing that this would be another fun math program. I knew that LearnBop for Families was one math program we *had* to get! Fortunately, we were able to review the Family Plan.  What makes LearnBop different from every other math program out there? Several things, but most importantly it adapts in real time. LearnBop figures out exactly where your student is deficient and fills *those gaps*. So if you have a kid who is on level in everything but one or two concepts, you don't end up wasting all of your time going over things you already know. You fix what needs fixing. Something that doesn't have a kid spinning his wheels and relearning what he already knows? Yes, please! Another thing that sets LearnBop apart is its choice of approaches. You can either choose to go through LearnBop by grade level or by subject (these are called "roadmaps"). You can change your roadmap at any time. This graphic shows all of the roadmaps. It also shows another key feature of the program, too. Progress made in one roadmap transfers to another one where applicable - again, no wasted effort!

You can view your progress at any time:

The reference to "watch video" takes you to something like this (N.B. the videos are embedded. You never have to leave the LearnBop site.):

You have to achieve 90% mastery of Solve Bops to complete the concept. Here is a sample Solve Bop:

If you ask for help, you get a dialog like this:

The very first "hint" looks like this. Obviously, LearnBop starts you at the beginning when helping you solve a problem.

As mentioned, you can change your roadmap at any time, but if a student changes his map, you, the parent, get an immediate email notification - that's a really great feature!

LearnBop and My Family

I have three kids using LearnBop. Michael (11) is doing the 5th grade roadmap. Mary-Catherine (11) is doing the fractions roadmap. Nicholas (almost 13) is doing the 8th grade roadmap. Now, technically Nicholas is doing Geometry in his regular math program, so 8th grade math is a couple of years back, but I welcomed the chance to have a program like this where he could see if he had any gaps from jumping back and forth with math programs over the years. Nicholas has been using this along with his regular math program, while LearnBop has become the twins' primary math course.

Of the three kids, Michael is the one who loves LearnBop the most. He welcomes the chance to work on it. It is just right up his alley. Mary-Catherine is slightly less enthusiastic, but I honestly think that has less to do with LearnBop than it does with her reluctance with all things fractions. I am enthusiastic enough for the both of us. We will persevere! I love that I can target fractions with her. This is where she needs help, and I have the option just to have her work on fractions - yes there are other programs that allow you to do this, but none that are this visually engaging, this helpful, and this responsive.

At first Nicholas was reluctant to do LearnBop, but he warmed up to it. I really like him having a review of some concepts he hasn't seen in awhile. I am going to have him continue doing 8th grade LearnBop alongside his regular Geometry program. Because he has done the material before, he is moving quickly through it.

Other Crew members also got to review LearnBop, so to read their opinions and experiences, be sure to click the banner below.