TOS Review: Big IQ Kids

I don’t know about you, but sometimes I have a difficult time motivating my children to do their schoolwork. Sometimes it’s nice to turn to a program that is really fun for them. A program that teaches, but also rewards. Big IQ Kids is such a program, and I had the opportunity to give the premium version a test drive. Rather, my kids gave it a test drive.

About Big IQ Kids

Big IQ Kids is an online K-8 program where children can practice spelling, vocabulary, math, and U.S. state skills. Available in free or premium versions, Big IQ Kids teaches, quizzes, and then rewards children for their hard work.

Children work through lessons in one or more of the subject areas. When they are finished with the lesson, they earn coins, which they can redeem for online games. Virtual teachers with robotic voices teach the lessons and give clear instructions as to what the child needs to do. When a child masters a level of the program, he is moved up to the next level.

For math, spelling, and vocabulary, you can customize your child’s program to compliment other programs you may be using. You also have the option of using the standard Big IQ Kids Program. For instance, you can either use spelling words generated by Big IQ Kids, or you can plug in the spelling words you’re using from another program. Vocabulary works the same way.

Progress reports are emailed to parents who purchase the premium version. Free versions do not include access to progress reports.

Our Experience with Big IQ Kids

Both of my children were able to test Big IQ Kids. Bug is working at a 2nd grade level, and Stargirl is working at a 7th grade level.

Bug was the most consistent user of the program. We focused mainly on math (because he needs the practice) and U.S. States (because he’s a big geography nut). He really liked the program from the get-go, as the game rewards were very motivating to him.

Stargirl focused mainly on math and spelling, as those are the areas she needs work in, though she also did a few lessons in vocabulary and U.S. States. She was less vocal about her enthusiasm for the program, though when I asked her how she liked it, she said the games were a lot of fun. She also told me about some of the spelling and vocabulary words Big IQ Kids gave her, and they seemed very grade appropriate.

I’m not typically a huge fan of programs that are very hands-off for the parent, but I really liked this one. We have been going through some very busy times, and it was nice to send the kids to the computer to do a few Big IQ Kids lessons and know that they could do the lesson without my help.

Since each lesson was only 10-15 minutes, it was easy to incorporate Big IQ Kids into our daily routine. We’ll continue doing it over the summer, as it’s really helping the kids beef up their math skills, and it doesn’t seem too much like “doing school” to them.

I really liked that I received emails, detailing my kids’ progress. This is a really easy program, from a teacher perspective. Just let your kids do the lesson and wait for the progress report to show up in your email. I liked that I could access more detailed reports online, too. The following is a report of how Bug has progressed through the states program.

The Low-Down on Big IQ Kids

The Pros:

• Easy for the teacher
• Fun games motivate kids
• Free options, so you can try before you buy
• Short lessons are easy to incorporate into the school day

The Cons:

• You pay per child, so the premium version can get spendy, if you have multiple children
• The “teacher’s” voice is very robotic. That did’t bother the kids, but it bugged me.

My Overall Opinion: I thought this was a clever program to help kids master math, spelling, vocabulary, and state facts in a fun way. I think younger children would appreciate it more than older children. At least that was the experience in our house. I was amazed at how much Bug learned from the state program in such a short time!

I think the premium version of Big IQ Kids would be especially useful for kids who need to work on mastery of one or two subject areas, such as basic math facts.

Important Information About Big IQ Kids

Website: www.bigiqkids.com

Age Range: K-8th grade

Price: Ranges from free to $99.99 per year per student. Different pricing options can be found here.

To see what the rest of the Crew has to say, visit the Homeschool Crew Blog!

*Disclosure: I was provided a premium subscription to Big IQ Kids in exchange for my honest review.