Our curriculum covers from counting to fractions, decimals, percentages, and Algebra. We teach math conceptually which means that we are focused on teaching the language behind the math. Regardless of whether a child is struggling with mathematics or thriving and is way ahead, we are able to determine their level and build upon the foundation of concepts they already understand to accelerate them forward.
Elephant Learning was at the Westwood Chile Festival this year and we had machines setup for children to play with the system while we talked with parents. One girl told us she was doing multiplication and we put her in that curriculum. The software displayed 4 groups of 5 objects. You could see her counting to get the answer. Alvaro then asked her, "What is 4 times 5" and she quickly responded "20."
She had memorized her multiplication tables but she did not know how to use the multiplication to solve a problem. We see this problem very often, it is why children struggle with word problems and have troubles when they get to Algebra. The math is essentially useless for her, and math class is probably a stressful exercise in memorizing random facts. That is the reality for many of our children and it is a cruel situation to be in. It is why almost half of first and second graders report having math anxiety. They tell themselves they are not a "numbers person" and decide not to learn math. Children understand later in life how to use multiplication to solve these problems, and that is the saddest part, they just did not know when it could have made a difference. These concepts are not difficult to grasp nor are they innate, our software presents activities that are known to teach these concepts in a safe environment where there is no judgement or biases and we allow children to develop intuition around the mathematics.
From time to time, someone wants to understand exactly how these puzzles help children learn. They are not memorization. The activities come from early age education experts and they were proven to teach the concepts. The key is providing the right activity to build upon the knowledge already learned. Just like when you show your children colored objects to teach them colors, the activities exhibit mathematical concepts through having the child determine how to solve the puzzle and then labels the concept used. We examine many ideas from different angles because mathematics can be represented in many different ways. One good example is the number line to represent numbers versus physical objects. Building these concepts from different angles, only once understanding is established for earlier concepts, allows us to ensure that children are empowered by these concepts. We like to say, empowerment is understanding the concepts holding us back, and ENJOYMENT in the classroom setting is understanding the teacher. That is what we provide.
The tuition is $35/month. Our partners at Math Matters, a non-profit dedicated to mathematics provide scholarships that can lower the tuition to as low as $10/month. The application for the scholarship is a part of our enrollment form. To get started go to the home page and click "Apply Now."
After signup, the tuition is not due for three days and if in that time you cancel there is no penalty. After that we simply ask that you finish the month you are on.
There is no contract. You may cancel at anytime. We only ask that you finish your current month. Just let me know if that becomes the case. I am happy to help anytime. There is also a cancel button within the Plan and Payments tab of the Manage Account menu.
If you purchased a package through a reseller you have prepaid for a longer term and you must honor the agreement made with them.
Scholarships are awarded by our partner Math Matters, and they are using an algorithm to look over the answers to the scholarship application and provide an instant award.
If you feel that the award was somehow unfair, and you let us know about it, we can send the application to Math Matters for manual review.
On average, children in our system learn 1.5 years of math in about 10 weeks. Based on the data, we are able to guarantee your child will learn at least 1 year of math in 3 months if they use the system 30 minutes per week. After 3 months of usage if your child has not learned at least 1 year of math contact us and we will either refund the money or find a way for your child to work within our system. In fact, we want you to contact us much sooner if you are having issues so that we can ensure that your child is empowered by mathematics. We are happy to step in and look at the data in order to see where children are getting stopped and we provide advice and tutoring if necessary to help them over the stumbling blocks.
There is absolutely no risk on your part, only your child's future to gain.
Students may login via a url or a QR code, both provided when you click on "Login Tokens" from the menu. If you scan the QR code on your device or browser, the system will not allow the student access the Login Tokens, Manage Account, or any other student besides their own profile.
After enrollment, an optional configuration screen appears allowing you to change the default initial assignments for children. Children over 12 entering our system do not receive a default assignment and it is required for a parent to set the assignment appropriately.
One can also set a new assignment for a student by clicking on "Manage Account" and clicking on "Students" tab and the "Change Assignment" link under each student. If you missed setting the initial assignment during optional configuration you may use this method as well.
Elephant Learning's placement exam is a test out mode. We assign subjects and ask the most challenging questions from each subject. If the child answers all questions correctly we open up new subjects also in test out mode. If they answer incorrectly or skip we assign that subject. Because of that, the longer your student is in the placement exam, the better it is for them as it means they are further along.
It is important that skipping in our system, especially during the placement exam, be reserved for questions that are too challenging. Our system will treat it similarly to answering incorrectly. If a child encounters a question that is too difficult during the placement exam, it is better for them to skip and receive a review than to power through as reviews tend to go quickly.
You can determine if any subject is in test out mode on the Dashboard, it will have a star next to it's name. Because of the way the placement exam works, it may take longer for some students and that is great because it means they are further along. Usage during the placement exam should match what you want them to do for coursework. Recommended usage is 10 minutes a day, 3 days a week.
The placement exam was intended to be seamless to coursework for the children so that they do not feel like they are being tested. We will automatically switch to coursework when all subjects are out of test out mode and they will not be able to tell the difference. The puzzles are all activities that were proven to teach math concepts, and children learn by solving them.
Sometimes, children answer incorrectly or skip accidentally during the placement exam. If that happens, you can put any one subject back into test out mode from the dashboard. Click on the subject, and you will see a button that says Test Out. This is a great way to have them continue right where they left off.
If you have helped your child during the placement exam or you need them to retake the exam for any reason, you can do this by logging in via web browser and going to Manage Account > Students. If you want to remove the old data, you may remove the student and add them back. When you do they will be assigned the default placement exam for their age. To set the correct assignment (regardless of whether you removed them) you may click Change Assignment and choose the assignment that best fits their level. If it says placement exam or assessment it will assign the subjects in test out mode. IT IS IMPORTANT to ensure that the placement exam starts behind their level so that we are catching up to them rather than having them fail back to their level.
The Elephant Age is the average age a child is doing the same mathematics outside of our system. We created this to make a simple metric for a parent to determine how their child is doing. We also provide detailed reports that allow you to understand what your children understand and what they are working on currently along with activities that you can do outside of our system to help accelerate learning even further.
Have your children use the system 10 minutes a day, 3 days a week. They can play more or less depending on the child, and we do not recommend going over 60 minutes per week in order to prevent burn out. The gamification is NOT the same as having a game and for children these problems are hard and require a lot of concentration and focus and so if your child becomes fatigued do not force them to use the system, allow them to rest and try again the next day.
Once your child has completed the assessment, we will assign a starting Elephant Age and the reports become accurate. The best way to use the tool is to allow the system to evaluate the child without interference and then to provide support outside of the system.
Giving very pointed hints that help the children figure out how to solve the problem have been shown to be extremely useful, and giving the answer has been shown to not be helpful. When given the answer, children may not understand the concept and will move forward, but the system will move them back when they do not understand the more complex concepts built on top of the missing concept.
If you wish to help your children, the best way is to use the reports on the dashboard to understand what your children are working on within the app and to use the activities that we provide to help exhibit the mathematics outside of the system. The best way to use the tool is to allow the system to evaluate the child without interference and then to provide support outside of the system.
Our system is not common core. Common core is an academic standard. We are compatible and aligned with common core in that we teach mathematics conceptually, which is what common core, as a standard, aims to accomplish. However, Common Core tends to alienate parents and we think parents are an important part of the equation and so we have made a system that accomplishes that goal without any confusion for parents. We cover from counting to Algebra. If your student is working on any of those subjects we will be able to help.
We have a classroom product that is coming out soon. We are currently working on pricing for it. We would be happy to add you to the announcement when it happens. Would you like to be on the email list? Send us a message using the chat widget below.
In the meantime, we would be so grateful if you recommend us to parents, we would be happy to give you a demo so you know how we achieve results.
Homeschool parents understand the need for professional tools to help their children learn. Any good tool should reduce the time and effort required by the user to accomplish the goal. Think about driving a nail with a hammer versus a nail gun. Elephant Learning is like a "Math Gun." Have your children start each day with 10 minutes of Elephant Learning. Use the reports to tailor your lecture to fit them exactly where they are working within the system or a little beyond. This will make math time understandable for your children, and therefore more fun. While we do not cover the entire curriculum required for a student to go through Algebra, we cover the key concepts where misconceptions occur making it so that the rest of the material is on the surface for the child.