Mad Dog Math~ A Review

I remember learning the multiplication tables when I was in third grade- or rather that I was SUPPOSED to learn them. I didn’t really put forth much of an effort, but then that was just the type of child I was. If I didn’t see the point in learning something I just “didn’t apply myself”, at least that’s the phrase I heard my parent’s repeat over and over throughout my entire public school career.

Math was the subject that I seemed to really master, as far as not learning anything goes. I know, I know, I heard all the arguments about balancing my checkbook and managing my money, etc. but it just didn’t matter to me until I got my first job as a waitress at a small coffee shop in our local mall. It was that job that really taught me math. I had to add up guest checks, give correct change when the register went down (boy, was that painful!), and figure out those percentage off sales when I would shop from my favorite stores when my shift ended.

My daughter has followed in my footsteps. She also does not want to learn math.  She barely opens her math book and as a result, she’s behind in math. When I learned that TOS would be reviewing Mad Dog Math, I decided to jump in and use it as a remedial program to really solidify her math facts because after all, those basic facts are the foundation to higher math.     

I can’t say that my daughter was thrilled at the aspect of drilling her math facts with Ruff, the smiling dog, but then she is 14! But she did it, nearly every day for ten minutes.  I asked her to begin the drills at two minutes for addition and gradually decreased the time to 30 seconds before she moved on to subtraction, then multiplication and now she’s working on division and a combination of the others.

Younger children would appreciate the incentives or club awards that they earn as they progress through the drills, my daughter? Not so much.  This program is certainly geared towards younger children, but it did fit a need in our home. It’s cute, not corny so if you have an older child that needs to solidify their math facts, Mad Dog Math could be a good option, after all, my daughter is able to recite her math facts quicker and more accurately.

Mad Dog Math has a selection of products for both home schools and classroom settings. You could choose the binder series, utilizing pencil and paper for the drills or you could select the downloadable software allowing your child to complete the drills on the computer.

Mad Dog Math is available as a Mastery Binder or CD-Rom for $69.99 while the downloadable software (for Windows PC’s) begins at $19.99.

As a member of the TOS Crew, I received a limited trial version of the Mad Dog Math at Home downloadable software at no charge for the purpose of this review. If you’d like to learn more about the product, you may visit the Mad Dog Math website or visit the Old Schoolhouse Homeschool Crew website and see what other reviewers’ thought of this product.  

You can also get a free trial of the product here .