Bonny Terry Learning {Review}

I’ve mentioned previously that math is the one area that I really would like our children to grow in this year. One of our girls especially struggles in the ‘speed’ department in answering math questions…we can sit and dwaddle forever at times in answering what seems to be a simple problem.

I really dislike drilling, drilling, drilling facts into the kids to help them memorize and truthfully, they aren’t so keen on it either {the word meltdown comes to mind here}. Receiving the Math Zone game in the mail to review for Bonny Terry Learning was a fun little surprise for me and the kids. They love games and I love knowing that they are learning while playing. I was also intrigued by a little quote I found on the site:

“Did you know that improving math skills is more than improving memorization skills?” ~ Bonny Terry

About Bonny Terry Learning

Bonny Terry Learning provides a variety of tools and games to help children in the areas of reading, writing, spelling, study skills and math from grades K through high school. They also have assessment tools for parents who are concerned that their children might have a learning disability.

From the site ~ Bonnie Terry, currently a Board Certified Educational Therapist and Learning Disabilities Specialist in private practice, has served as a special education teacher since 1973. She received her B.S. in Elementary Education and Special Education from Illinois State University, Normal, IL, and a M.Ed. in Special Education from California State University, Sacramento, CA. Bonnie Terry is internationally recognized as an expert in Educational Therapy and Learning Disabilities.

Products Reviewed

We received two different products to review: the Easy Math Reference Guide and the Math Zone Game. The Reference Guide {$17} is a 16 page booklet that explains math concepts and facts from first through 8th grade including: addition/subtraction, multiplication/division, word problem strategies, geometric shapes, measurement, fractions, decimals and more. Essentially, it’s a one-stop tool that you can put into a binder for quick reference when your child {or you} get stuck and can’t remember various concepts. The guide gives examples in each area so you can see a problem worked out from start to finish.

The Math Zone Game {$12} is a card game that includes two different decks of cards {color-coded} depending on the age/ability of your child. One deck is geared toward ages 7-9 and the other is for ages 9 and up.

While playing the game, children practice addition, subtraction, multiplication and division and earn points when they figure a problem correctly. The deck also has ‘bonus’ and ‘sorry’ cards that can help either double or halve your answer score {I promise, it sounds more confusing than it really is!}.

To be honest, I avoided the game at first because I couldn’t quite figure out the rules. Different colored decks, new rules…it was a little overwhelming to me. When I finally sat down to do it, I realized it wasn’t so difficult after all. Laurianna was the only one that was really able to play the game with me {the right way}, since McKenna hasn’t really started with multiplication and division. While Laurianna dreads her math problems normally, this game made solving the problems fun and competitive, something that triggers a little more in her brain. Needless to say, it’s something that we will be pulling out weekly to use during our school time as a fun game to play with Mommy.

My only ‘issue’ was that the card colors came intermixed and they are supposed to be separated by color {part of my initial confusion with the game}. Poor me. I had to sort 81 cards by color. It was tough, but I survived and now we’re happily playing with our sorted cards. {grins}

Find Out More

Math isn’t the only subject that Bonny Terry offers ‘helps’ for school subjects. Be sure to check out the company site to learn more about these and other products.