Disclaimer: I received a FREE copy of this product through the HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way.

MaxScholar is a multi-sensory phonics and reading program designed to improve reading skills, language, and performance scores.  It’s adaptable to different learning settings and can be used both in school and at home.  Programs can be accessed from any device so it can be used on the go.  The program is designed for children to work independently and at their own pace.

My older kids are given the option to work on MaxReading, MaxWords, MaxMusic, MaxVocab, MaxPlaces, and MaxBios.  I decided since it was summer to set a time limit and they could choose from any of the subjects to work on before they went on to play a computer game.  I like that the reading is often something worth learning and not just silly stories.  For example, my soon to be 8th grader was learning about Rosa Parks.  Here’s a small sampling from what he was reading.

After he reads, he then has to highlight important parts of the story, check his answers, work on an outline, writing exercises, and then answer questions.  After that he can play games on the program.

My 11th grader did well with the program since it’s all stuff she has learned before.  She liked working on the MaxMusic the best.  In that section she can choose an artist or Disney lyrics.  The program has you choose the verbs in the music and then work on a memory game.  She also liked the MaxVocab to work on letter sounds and spellings in words.

My 4th grader liked the games the best and reading all the different stories, but she didn’t like the work aspect.  She greatly preferred answering the questions over the highlighting.

My 5th grader liked the interesting stories.  MaxMusic was her favorite part because she liked playing the MaxGuitar.  She enjoyed reading the songs and then filling in the blanks afterward about what she read.

My 4 year old took the placement test and was started at level 0.  He does know his letters and his sounds, but missed a couple of the questions, so it started him at the very beginning.  He has the option of MaxPhonics or MaxReading.  He actually isn’t very fond of the MaxPhonics program because if you miss anything at all, you have to start the whole lesson over again until it’s done correctly.  We would have liked to see it just review the missed items with him and not have to do the whole thing over.

The part he kept getting stuck on would show several photos and ask for all the ones starting with a certain letter.  He would get some of them and forget to check all the pictures and end up missing some.  This was enough though that he would have to redo the entire lesson.  I ended up going back and fixing it so he could move on without getting frustrated on repeating.

For MaxReading, we both like that the program will read the stories to him. As far as the work on MaxReading, it required us to highlight main topics and such.  This he wasn’t able to do on his own, but we would work on them together.  I think it’s a good program for the younger age, but I probably won’t have him continue since it causes him frustration.  We will probably try it again when he’s a bit older.

Overall, we have been pleased with the program.  The kids will be continuing with the program, but I think I will be making some changes and requiring them to complete lessons before hopping on to the games or MaxMusic.  We are thankful for the opportunity to check out such a great program.

For More Information:

For more information, please visit the MaxScholar website.  You can also find out more on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest.  You can also click the banner below to read more reviews on this program from other homeschooling families.

The I Know It program is geared toward Kindergarten through 5th grade.  With over 400 math lessons and more being added, it is perfect to be used as a math supplement for both classroom and homeschool.  This program does align with Common Core and teachers can read about the concepts when assigning lessons.  When assigning a lesson, I can select individual students or my entire “class”, so the program can be tailored to exactly what my children need.

I Know It is available for families at only $90 for the year for an adult and up to 4 children.  Each additional child is $8.  Interesting in checking it out?  I Know It is offering a free 60 day trial to interested homeschoolers and teachers.

I Know It is designed for use on for laptops, Chromebooks, iPads, and desktop computers. It also works on mobile phones, but some features may be limited.  I really appreciate that we can take it on the go with our iPad!

We used I Know It with our 6th grader, 3rd grader, and 2nd grader.  Since our school year has just begun, I chose the previous year’s levels so they can work on building more math confidence with the program without finding themselves on concepts that they haven’t learned yet.

We’ve used a variety of different math supplement programs with our kids during our homeschool adventures and many they grumbled about.  I Know It didn’t cause any grumbling amongst the 3 that were enrolled.  Even my most resistant student gladly participated!  They enjoyed the instant satisfaction knowing they answered the problem correctly or getting an explanation on what went wrong.

Below I’ll show you what happens when my daughter picked the wrong answer:

The program simply lets you know your answer is incorrect and explains why.  In the above situation, it let my daughter know that the coin was a quarter and not a nickel and she selected for the example.

The program is very easy for children to use and navigate.  At the top of their login page, they can immediately see assigned lessons and click directly to them to get started.  If they choose to work on other topics, they have that option as well.  The graphics are very kid friendly and they loved hearing the fun noises when they answered correctly.  It shows a progress circle so your child knows how much further they need to go with that assignment.  There is a “read-aloud” option if your child has trouble with reading.  That was very helpful to keep my struggling reader from getting frustrated.

On the parent or teacher side of things, in addition to creating assignments, I can also monitor their progress.  I can see how much time has been spent on the concepts and how much accuracy there has been.  I can see the most recent activity by all students or select individual ones to look at for my records.  We like the I Know It program and will continue it for math supplementing throughout this homeschool year.

For more information, you can visit I Know It on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest.  You can also read more reviews on this product from other homeschooling families by clicking the banner below.