Product Review and GIVEAWAY!: ABCmouse.com

*This is a sponsored post but that doesn't influence my opinions.  Please see my disclosure  for the nitty gritty details.

As I mentioned last week, we are keeping a light academic schedule for homeschool this summer.  Today I get to expand on our summer bridge: ABCmouse.com and even more exciting I get the privilege of sharing a giveaway with you!!

We would always see the advertisements during the kids' morning shows and honestly, I don't know why it took me so long to check it out.  One morning, I finally did and I feel like I've found the culmination of all preschool/kindergarten online programs.  We are using it as a summer bridge but it would make a great stand alone for preschool and supplement for kindergarten.  I plan on keeping that in mind four years from now when I'm teaching preschool...again ;).

Overview:
*Subjects addressed: reading, math, social studies, art, music, science
*Less than $8 a month (NOT per kid!) after your 30 day free trial.
*Ages addressed: Toddler - 2nd Level Kindergarten covering every general preschool and kindergarten skill you can think of.
*Set up as many as three unique users with separate grade levels, learning paths, and avatars for each.
*Over 3,000 activities that support common core standards and support all learning styles.
*No advertisements, pop-ups, or links to other sites.  Put together by a very impressive curriculum advisory board as well as production and creative team.

Three ways to use it:

1. Individualized Learning Paths
This is definitely my favorite aspect of the site.
You select a level for your child.  For example, the twins are on Level 6 which is the 2nd Kindergarten level option.  By choosing a grade level, you know that your child is touching on everything developmentally appropriate for his age.

Within the level, there are lessons.  You can see your avatar standing on steps of the path - again I LOVE the visual of them seeing their progress.  Each lesson is a different environment such as the dessert, the prairie, wetlands, and the ocean and they can learn about the animals and plants that live there.  Each lesson is displayed across the top of the screen and focuses on a different subject such as math, and a concept within.  An example is "Level 6: Lesson 2 - Math: More or Less."  Within the lessons, there are multiple activities including books, games, puzzles and more and there is a printable activity available at the end of the lesson.  Kids earn tickets for each activity completed.  The activities do not have to be completed in order but the lessons do; I love this because it gives the boys control within a boundary.  There is also an end of lesson prize and bonus tickets.

As if the games themselves weren't enticing enough, there are additional incentives and rewards as the children do their work.  With the tickets they earn, they can make purchases from place on the virtual map; anything from buying pets to clothes and more.

This option gives the boys a real sense of individuality.  They can change their avatar anytime they want and show off their virtual aquarium or virtual bedroom to their brothers.  One child in particular loves earning and spending tickets and has been saving up to buy a kitten since he knows we will never get a real one here :).  I love the added layer of teaching about money and how I can incorporate saving into that.

2. Free Play
If you don't want to set a learning path, or you feel like deviating from the path for a time, the kids can free play from the "Classroom."  In each section, you can make sure they are learning from age appropriate activities by selecting their grade.  There's even an interactive calendar feature.

The virtual map is like going on a field trip.  Kids can visit places like the zoo, the library, the farm, and the shopping mall.  You can even have them stop at "basics" where they can work on reading and math basics like sight words, letter sounds, or counting.

3. Lesson Builder
This option allows you to custom build your own curriculum for your child.  This overwhelmed me a bit although it'd be great if I only had one kid using it.  I just love that it's an option.  The website is packed full of activities and opportunities for learning.

And, of course you can do a combination of all of these, as well.

Parent's Homepage
This page is secured by a password only I can access.  I even get my own avatar and I'm not gonna lie, it was pretty fun designing it. :)

If you're into stats like I am (and keeping all of the kids strait...) this is a dream come true.  You have access to all progress by all children.  It is even broken down into how many books they're read, songs they've played, puzzles and art completed, etc.  You can see not only what lessons they've completed, but can actually expand and see exactly what game or project they did to complete those lessons.  It's very detailed.

You get access to their newsletter and can even block a certain activity, which we've had no desire to do, but it's a neat option.  If you are not a computer savvy parent, they include tutorial videos on how to do things like setting ABCmouse.com as a shortcut just in case you don't know how.

The children's settings are easy to change and if you're not sure where to start your child (I started our youngest too low at first), it is easy to go back in and change their level.

Parents can even earn tickets and rewards to distribute to their children.  You can use them for motivation to do jobs around the house.

Some Rinnagade Favorite Perks:
They can save their work in a file so no art project gets abandoned!  They have access to their file from their homepage and can view it anytime they want.  

There is also a printable directory so if you want them to reinforce skills off the screen, you have that option.

Another feature I must highlight is "My Hamster."  My boys love this!  You can purchase a hamster and then make him crawl through tunnels.  You feed him and give him water and learn facts about him.  When you are here, as well as the aquarium, you can even take pictures and save them.

For my kiddos on the spectrum, the more visual the better.  In our math curriculum, they have been struggling with the idea of counting by tens.  There is an activity on ABCmouse.com where you must count peanuts by tens and although it was difficult for them at first, doing the activity online really seemed to make it click for them.  This is a great example of a time where I would go off the learning path and seek an activity specific to what they're struggling with and use it to reinforce something I am teaching.

Bottom Line: 
Why pay $8 a month when there are free sites out there?

Starfall, DisneyJr, Nickjr, and Pbskids are all some of our favorites but you can only do so much on them.  Not to mention, you do not get an individualized experience that is saved each time that your child can progress on.

ABCmouse.com is far superior to the free sites for a very reasonable price.

But how would you like to have it for a year for free??!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway