Tuesday, August 19, 2014

Homeschool: Clever Dragons Review


Dalton (age 9) and I were given the opportunity to try out Clever Dragons for two months. In exchange I agreed to write a review with only my honest opinions of the site. 
"Clever Dragons is a unique combination of online learning, creative play, and optional, moderated social networking. From math, to reading, to science, to the arts, there are learning games your son will enjoy and motivational rewards to keep him learning." - clever-dragons.com
Dalton (age 9) playing on Clever Dragons.
Our trial started at the end of June. Since we were on summer break, getting him to try anything educational was going to be a hassle. I never once mentioned to him that he would be learning. I simply said, "Dalt, check out this game." and he was in ... hook, line, and sinker. 

He was immediately drawn in by the fact that you could create your own Mini-Me. 
This has continued to be the main attraction for him. He loved changing his clothes and hair every single day.
It's pretty neat that you can buy clothes that others have designed
or design and sell  your own to earn gold. 
The CastleWorld was pretty neat as well.
There you will find an art shop, clothing store, design studio, furniture store, your castle, and as you earn more coins you can even upgrade your castle.

When you first start out, the inside of your castle is a blank canvas that you can decorate any way you wish. In order to do that, you have to have coins. That is where it gets sneaky (and educational).
You can visit other homes as well for inspiration.
Once you have used up all your coins, you will need more. How do you get them? Play "games" or watch videos. 
Dalton liked to play the game Dragon Egg and we used the Geometry Shapes Quiz a lot to reinforce his math lessons.

He did cave and watch a few videos when I would ask him to do so.
I think his favorite part of the day was getting to SPIN and win free coins.  He would laugh and get super excited when he won 50. The competition with kids for the most coins earned is great too. A real motivator. 
One thing we didn't use much was the chat board. Dalton really wasn't interested in that, but I am sure it is great for older children. 
I like that there is a free parent login where you can see your child's learning progress. You can even reward them with gold for doing their chores or homework.  For those y'all that want a more detailed overview, assessments, and reports you can upgrade. 

Now, down to the nitty-gritty... price.

As I said before, we were given a free two month trial, but new members can try it for a month for only $3.95 and then $8.95 there after. There are many more payment options to chose from as you can see from the screenshot below.
Would I try Clever Dragons again if I had to pay $3.95 a month. Yes, it is absolutely worth that. Would I pay $8.95? Right now, probably not. Our budget is really tight. But in the future, absolutely.

Now, if you are wondering "What about the girls?" Never fear. They have a sister site called Always Ice Cream just for them!
Give it a shot. You won't regret it. 

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