The search for online software to help out with the homeschooling journey
Recently, I started a trial month of ABC Mousse for my daughter as I really felt she sometimes picks up stuff a lot better when learning on her own instead of listening to my explanation. I think the different home education software that's out there can really help making learning interesting for children. I found ABC mousse last year, but didn't start the trial at the time because I was already in a trial month for another one, that turned out to be too difficult for my daughter at the time.
Timing matters
The timing to try out this software felt much better a few weeks ago, and I decided to sign up. I put her on level 1 as she missed out on so many months at the kindergarten and I assumed all the things she does know, don't hurt to repeat. Most positive case, she will fly through the level easily and have fun by continuously succeeding in the lessons.
This is exactly what happened, within 2 weeks, she finished level 1 and I'm proud of her. She's truly enjoying the lessons and is even mostly learning on her own. The first week I had to help a bit here and there to explain how to handle the mousse and what she needed to do, but know she usually only calls me to ask help when the software needs a refresh or to show me how many tickets and prizes she's earned so far.
Understanding the levels
At first, I felt like some of the lessons were a bit too easy for her, but then I also discovered that some lessons still have the option to change the level to a more difficult one, even though overall it's level 1 they're learning.
For example, there are jigsaw puzzles in the lessons, that are way too easy for my little one. Even though she has missed out on a lot of "normal" lessons, her puzzle skills have always been off the charts. I showed her how to up the level herself, and now she understands it's a standard easy class, and she can make it more difficult herself.
ABC Mousse could be a great help for the next years
When you create a profile, you have to select the right level for your child:
As you can see, my daughter should be (age-wise) at the kindergarten level, which is 5 and 6. But we all know how frustrating it can be for a child if they don't understand what's asked of them. Therefore (and also to measure her actual knowledge a bit) I decided to start at level 1, hoping she'd find a lot of things that weren't new to her.
Yes, this could turn out to be boring, and I have noticed a few things (like coloring activities) that are for younger kids, but I feel this is a good repetition of her knowledge and this way I make sure that she won't bump on any lessons that she couldn't have understood unless going through all levels.
The software is not only meant for the little learners out there, but as you can see, the levels go up to level 10. I'm quite convinced that we will be having fun using this software in the next years to come.
Different subjects on all levels
In every level you will find reading, math, world around you and art/coloring classes. A healthy mix to make sure the child stays interested.
There are also songs and even at level 2, they also show the text of the song, even though they can't read yet, they will continuously read along with the text while hearing the song.
I'm happy with her overall progress since we started this trial
Not only have I seen her understand how to handle the laptop, which is quite convenient as today kids are expected to understand this, but also have I seen her actively trying to get more out of the lessons.
For example: There are classes about a letter of the alphabet, where they also show images of the word starting with this letter, while pronouncing the letter and words to the children. These classes at level 1 aren't focused on the writing part yet, but my daughter decided to get her writing set (which I bought recently to practice this herself. She has managed to write (and remember!) some words by focusing on the writing part all by herself. I feel quite proud that she decided to make it more challenging for herself when she could.
The costs
There are some things to take into consideration, as I felt a bit bummed finding out after signing up.
Monthly: This plan costs just $12.99/month* and is an advertisement-free site for children. We do not allow third-party advertising through our website or mobile app. This allows kids to navigate through ABCmouse content and focus on learning and playing without being distracted.
Short-term: This plan costs just $29.95/every 6-months* and is an advertisement-free site for children. We do not allow third-party advertising through our website or mobile app. This allows kids to navigate through ABCmouse content and focus on learning and playing without being distracted.
Annual: This plan costs just $59.95/year* and is an advertisement-free site for children. We do not allow third-party advertising through our website or mobile app. This allows kids to navigate through ABCmouse content and focus on learning and play without being distracted.
The prices above are how they advertise them, BUT once you have started a free trial month, you are overloaded with offers before starting the program where you get the option to pay lower fees, and if you want this, you get the free trial month added to your subscription period. You will have to pay immediately, which I find quite stupid because what's the point of the trial month if you can't first try it out but pay for the next year as well?
Conclusion
I love how the classroom material is set up, and the learning path is cool, they get to earn prizes and tickets for completing the classes, which works motivational. I assume that the bigger children will also get grades once the study material gets harder.
I do believe that the discounted price just below 60 bucks a year is well worth it. Especially considering the fact that the children can have a hard time keeping up with the others if they miss out on kindergarten/school due to illness/pandemic that we are still dealing with currently.
I have tried a few ways to let my daughter catch up on school related stuff but not one of them has been as successful as using the ABC mousse software until now. So far I only let her use it on the laptop, to make sure she will have a good overview on the lessons, but if you find it more convenient to run this on a table or phone, this is possible as well.
I will write another update in a few months to see if I'm still happy with the membership then. Today, I can recommend it to anyone, at least for the free trial to see if this is a match for your child and him/her learning path!
