Thinking math is where your child practises spotting patterns, sorting, counting shapes, weighing and measuring, and reasoning things out. It has two paths. Basics is the original path, moving slowly through one part at a time for children who are just starting. Challenge is for children who are used to it and want harder puzzles: matchsticks, balance scales, age puzzles, working backwards… Every lesson in Challenge starts with the Dino working through an example before your child tries on their own.

How your child gets in

On your child's home screen, tap the Math subject, then the Thinking math tile. This part belongs to your child, so there is no parental gate.

At the top of the screen are two big buttons: Basics and Challenge. Whichever one your child taps, the lesson map for that path appears below. The app remembers the choice separately for each child, so next time they land on the path they are working on; a child who is just starting is always on Basics. They can switch paths at any time, and their progress on the other path is kept.

The lesson map looks like the Math map: each part is a path of lesson tiles, with the Dino standing on the tile that comes next. A tile with a cloud is a lesson that isn't on the device yet; tapping it makes the app download it. The first time you open Thinking math, the device needs a connection to download the lessons.

Basics

Lessons open one after another, part by part: patterns in shapes and colours, sorting, position, big and small… Each part ends with a quiz, and finishing it earns your child a trophy. The Extra practice part at the end of the map lets your child keep practising once they have reached the end of the path.

Challenge

It differs from Basics in a few ways:

  • The parts don't lock each other: your child can pick any part, right from the start. Within a part, lessons open in order: Learn → Step by step → practice → Quiz.
  • A Learn lesson is a teaching page with pictures that build up bit by bit. A Step by step lesson cuts a worked example into steps: the Dino explains one step, then says Your turn!, and your child does that same step themselves.
  • The How to button (the Dino holding a light bulb) in the title bar opens hints one step at a time; your child taps Next step to see more. In easy practice lessons the button is always there; in harder ones it appears after one wrong answer; in the hardest lessons and in Quiz lessons the hints only open after your child has answered. Looking at How to before answering means that question earns at most 2 stars.
  • After a first wrong answer, the Dino says Try again! and raises a fist to cheer your child on: no telling off, no red. On the third wrong answer, the app shows the whole method and lets your child move past that question with 1 star, so they never get stuck.
  • Quiz lessons draw from a question bank: every attempt is 8 different questions, and questions your child hasn't seen yet come first. Before the quiz, the Dino asks Ready? and your child taps Let's go!.

The Matchstick puzzles part

In this part, your child moves the sticks on the table themselves. Tap a stick to pick it up, then tap an empty spot to put it down; dragging works too. When a puzzle needs an extra stick, take one from the Matchstick box. Once the sticks are in place, your child reads the sum again and taps All done!. The Start over button puts the table back the way the puzzle began. If the answer is wrong, the table stays as it is so your child can keep fixing it; from the second wrong answer, the sticks that need moving light up around the edge.

Challenge lessons are being added to the server bit by bit. If the screen says Challenge lessons are on the way., your child can tap Basics to carry on with the original lessons.

For parents

  • The Learning report has a Thinking math section: the Basics line comes first, with Challenge right after it.
  • If you want your child to be able to open Basics lessons they haven't reached yet, turn on Unlock every lesson in Settings. Each child has their own switch, and it only applies on that device.
  • Thinking math lessons, Challenge included, count towards Playtime tickets like every Getting ready for school lesson.

Good to know

  • Neither path is labelled with an age or a school year. If Challenge feels too hard for a younger child, just go back to Basics; if Basics feels too easy for an older child, switch to Challenge.
  • With an account, the lessons your child has finished on both paths follow them to your other devices. The choice between Basics and Challenge stays on this device only.
  • Lessons already downloaded to the device work without a connection.

If a lesson is hard to follow or an answer looks wrong, please write to us at dinokids@digidinos.com.