Here's a software review I've done for 4 titles by Leading Step. The titles are MathChamp, Shape Up, Size It Up & SpellChamp.
Let's go with MathChamp 1st. There are 6 games to play; Catch A Number, Add 'em Up, Let's Subtract, Multiplying, Let's Divide & Fun With Fractions. That's a lot of games for the buck! You can chose how large the numbers are, and how many questions per game. Very kid friendly & educational. I liked the cute little bug. There is plenty of time given to answer each question. My 7 yr old Daughter had a great time with this one, and I ended up having to make it harder for her as she buzzed through it the 1st time easily.
Shape Up next. There are 3 games in this program to play; Identify, Catch & Transform. In each game there are different ways to play. Identify and Catch have identifying shapes, or properties. Transform has single shape or designs & puzzles. The last is a blast. You chose a shape, then move pieces to fill in the shape. Shape up was a good app to remind my Daughter of the names of some of the shapes, show her ones she hadn't named yet, and just be an all around fun time for her.
Size It Up is a bit more difficult. I was never really interested in math, and this game is a huge challange for me. There are 3 games available here; Arrows, Bricks & Numbers. Each deals with a different aspect of math. Arrows seems to be arranging numbers in the correct order, including negative numbers and values less than zero. Bricks consists of finding the correct answer for the math problem given. Numbers is placing numbers given in the correct sequence along the number line given. Each looks to be a well written game, very good for learning placement of all values of numerals and for keeping the mind sharp. My only problem with this app is that my mind went soft a long time ago and I can't wrap my brain around it. This one might be better for an older child. My Daughter couldn't get interested in this one, and I'm saving it for her to try out again in a few months.
Spell Champ is fantastic. It takes a little bit of time to set up the word groups and set up the controls per game, but once that is done, you're all set until you chose to make it a harder game or change words in the group. There are 5 games in this app; Choose The Spelling, Word Scramble, Fill In The Blanks, Spell The Word & Final Review. Each game takes the player through a short quiz, all dealing with spelling, with the player either chosing the correct spelling of the word, or having the player spell out the word with the keyboard provided. It can be as easy or hard as you define it to be, and it's a great app for those learning to spell. My Daughter absolutely loves this one, as she loves spelling & writing as much as she does math.
Overall I have to say that each of the applications are very well written and organized. Written for furthering the education of youngsters, it does it's job well, while still being entertaining. They all held my 7 yr old Daughter's attention, with the exception of Size It Up, and I think she'll enjoy that one also, once she gets to that level in her math studies.
I highly recommend these applications to anyone with children. They are not only fun, but also a good tool for learning.
I'd like to thank everyone at Leading Step and I urge you parents out there to take a look at the website for all of the Leading Step software.
