Our unpaid Revolution Math Review - a supplemental, interactive online math program for kids that we've been using.
Back in August, Everyday Reading wrote a post with Revolution Math. I signed up for a mostly free (it cost me $1) month long trial for my fifth grade daughter. We've been using it weekly ever since. Here's our Revolution Math Review. This post is not sponsored and these are our real experiences and honest opinions.
All three of my girls love math. How this happened is a mystery to me, but a very beautiful and happy mystery.
Math was never my forte. And my math education growing up did little to help the situation. Instead of algebra, geometry, trigonometry, etc., the high school I attended had what they called Integrated Math. In theory it combined all the types of math to help students make connections between the different types of math.
What integrated math actually meant for me, however, is that I never really understood what was what, even if I did figure out how to pass the tests. It wasn't until I took Statistics in college that I actually felt like I had a grip on something mathematical. But while I aced Statistics, it's really nothing like the other branches of math so it didn't help me out with algebra at all.
As an adult now, I try to avoid math wherever I can. So when my kids began to really excel in math at school, I was one proud mama. Now, my oldest is taking advanced math at school and even though she's only a 7th grader, she'll be finished with the 8th grade math curriculum by the end of this school year.
This is hugely exciting to me because she's the one that helps the younger two with their math homework.
Eila, my fifth grader, is the kid who will tell you that math is her favorite subject. (This blows my mind!) She's also the kid that begs for more homework in her free time. Unfortunately, all the fourth grade teachers at my child's school this year got together and decided that the fourth grade will not have any homework. That's where Revolution Math comes in.
What is Revolution Math?
Revolution Math is an online after school math program designed for 2nd to 5th grade.
The classes are an hour long, once a week. They are taught by a live tutor via video chat on the computer/ipad.
The program is designed to teach fundamental math concepts using a story based curriculum.
Here's what this actually looks like:
Revolution Math Tutors
It's the same tutor every week, which it made it easy for Eila to get comfortable in the class quickly. Her tutor, Sarah, is so great! She has an engineering background, so she really knows her math. She's also fantastic with the kids, both fun and patient.
She walks the kids through the story (more about that below) and then helps them work out the math problems, teaching concepts in more than one way so they really get it.
Every week after class, Sarah sends me a detailed email describing what they learned, where Eila excelled, and where she needs more work. She also offers resources for more practice during the week, like a specific website or game for the math concept they are working on.
I've been really impressed with the quality of the instruction and the tutor-student interaction.
How the Classes Work
Depending on the time slot you sign up for, there can be up to 4 kids in a class. The first week of Revolution Math, Eila was the only student. But every week since then, there have been two other students joining her.
It's the same students each week and Eila likes working as a group to get through the story. However, when they are working on math problems, they do it individually and the tutor is great at working with each of the kids. They're learning from each other in the group setting, but still benefiting from individual attention from the tutor.
Something I really love about these classes is that they work a few weeks ahead of the school curriculum. What that means is that by the time a concept is introduced at school for Eila, she's already been working on it with her Revolution Math tutor and she feels really confident about it in the classroom.
Story Based Math Curriculum
The story based curriculum is what makes Revolution Math feel like a fun after school activity for Eila and not just work. She honestly does think of it as play and gets excited every Wednesday for class.
The kids in the class are a team and each week they go on a digital adventure together. They pick characters that they read for and there's a video game aspect to it online. They have to solve math problems as they move through the story to solve mysteries and challenges and keep the story going.
Eila says it feels like being part of a fun graphic novel. It's really quite genius!
As they move through the story and math concepts each week, they have opportunities to earn gems. Revolution Math has an online rewards store where you can trade in your gems for real prizes, like an origami set, or a science kit, or Legos. Eila finds this very motivating!
This is nothing like handing your kid a workbook or worksheet. It's such an engaging, interactive way to learn math.
Our Revolution Math Review, the Good and the Bad
Honestly, we love Revolution Math! It's improved Eila's confidence in the classroom and definitely improved her math skills. And even though Eila isn't getting any homework from school this year, I know that she's getting this supplemental math instruction each week so I don't have to worry about her progress in math.
I'm so impressed with how well the program is run, from the tutors right on up to the administrative side of things. While working out our transfer from a trial account, everyone I talked to was so kind and helpful. They've kept in touch with me via text, which is very convenient, and they've been so easy to work with on everything.
The program itself is great, but the people who run Revolution Math deserve a gold star of their own for excellent customer service.
The only downside is that they are expensive. I don't think they're overcharging; it's definitely worth every penny. However, I'm a single mother raising four kids and I don't have much in the way of "extra" income. But after trying this out and seeing the results, I've worked out a way to make this happen right now.
I don't know how long I'll be able to keep this going because my income each month varies, but I'm hoping to make it happen for Eila through the rest of her fifth grade school year. I'd really love to add my youngest daughter to it in the future as well. We've really seen the value in it.
If you're looking for an at home math supplement, I give Revolution Math my highest recommendation.
Get More Information
Sign up for a trial - you'll also receive the fun learning kit with your trial
And if you have any questions for me about Revolution Math, just leave a comment on this post
LauriAnn says
Wow! Revolution Math sounds fantastic. I have several kids that have far surpassed my math skills (not hard to do) and their grade levels (harder to do) and would really benefit from something like this to supplement what is going on at school. Thanks for reviewing this!
somethewiser@gmail.com says
Thanks LauriAnn! I hope you find it helpful. I love that you can try it out for a month and really see if it's a good fit.
Chelsea says
For someone who hated math as a young girl (patriarchy pushing me down!) - I wish I had something like this that made learning a subject I hated enjoyable.
somethewiser@gmail.com says
Right! I could not be more happy that all three of my girls will not be limited in that way.
Elise says
I’ve never heard of such a thing! How awesome - I never really got into math and I hope not to pass on that feeling to my son. We’ll have to try it when he starts school. Thanks for sharing!
somethewiser@gmail.com says
Thanks Elise! It's really been such a game changer here.
Mandy says
I didn’t know how much I loved math until I went to college. I hated it until I had an awesome professor who made it all click.
My kids have a knack for math but I don’t encourage it as much as I do reading. Probably because it’s not as accessible as a book. This program sounds like it might be worth looking into.
somethewiser@gmail.com says
I really do think that whether or not a kid loves or hates math often depends entirely on who teaches it and how they teach it. We're really loving the tutor we have with REvolution Math! Eila was doing fractions with her yesterday and after the class ended, kept working on fractions for another 45 minutes. That's a successful math program right there!! Try out a month trial and see what you think. I'd love to hear how it goes.
Loraine says
This looks like a perfect interactive activity to use during school breaks. I too never enjoyed math and now I try really hard not to let my past experience hinder my daughter that loves it and doesn't have any of the anxieties or frustration that I did. Will have to check this out. Thanks for the review!
somethewiser@gmail.com says
It really is a great program! You could sign up for a trial over winter break and see how you like it.
Rose says
I'm familiar with Khan Academy, wonder how it compares.
somethewiser@gmail.com says
My oldest uses Khan Academy and it is great. I especially love that it is free. Revolution Math is notably different in that it's a live video session with a tutor, whereas Khan academy has prerecorded videos and isn't interactive in real time. I think both are helpful, but Revolution Math is especially great for young kids who really need the one on one personalized interaction.
Rose says
That's great!
Nicolle says
This sounds amazing!!
somethewiser@gmail.com says
It's been really fun and helpful!
Molly says
Glad you found something that works!
somethewiser@gmail.com says
Thanks Molly - it's really been a great fit for her.
Mieke says
It’s interesting to hear that you did Integrated Math, because that’s what my son is getting his Freshman year at the international school. I’m hoping it works out better for him, but will make sure to follow-up with his teacher.
You’ve sold us on Revolution Math for Kaia! We’re going to sign up for the free trial starting next week. I’ll let you know how it goes.
somethewiser@gmail.com says
My experience with integrated math wasn't promising, but in the hands of a great teacher, it might be a lot more successful. I hope you guys enjoy this program as much as we do! I'd love to hear how Kaia likes it.
Jill says
Ooh I will try this with miss Sarah 🙂
somethewiser@gmail.com says
Awesome! I'd love to hear how she likes it.
Shakila says
Very interesting Allison! Glad you found a supplemental math program that your kid loves. We've been using beast academy books (grades 2-5) for my younger one and they're pretty incredible. Alas, we found it a bit too late for my son who is in seventh grade as well (he's in the accelerated program as well, not to mention being in violin 1 at a local youth orchestra :-))! They're the precursor books to the fantastic AoPS books which he works on at home. Also, we live in the Bay area but we visited NM this past spring and fell completely in love with your state!
somethewiser@gmail.com says
Hi Shakila! Beast Academy looks awesome. I just spent the last 15 minutes going through their site and I'm very interested in trying it for my 3rd grader. Thank you so much for bringing it to my attention!
My daughter that's in the 7th grade is also a violinist in our local youth orchestra program (the Albuquerque Youth Symphony) - how funny! With our kids' love of books, math, and music, I think we'd all get along so well. I'm always happy to hear from you here and happy that you enjoyed your visit to NM. I really do love it here.
Thanks, as always, for stopping by and taking the time to connect here. It really does mean a lot to me!
Allison
Shakila Xavier says
So glad you checked out Beast, my 4th grader loves it.. Yes, our 7th graders would be good friends for sure! And, I'd remembered an Instagram(?) post about your oldest joining Violin 1 at the local youth orchestra and hence that comment 🙂 Love your blog as always!