Mia's Math Adventure: Just In Time Reviews

• Absolutely Amazing!!

  
  By AUFHFZ3ZA3LIP on 2005-11-28
  Absolutely Amazing!! Both my 8 yr. old and 10 yr. old daughters have found this software entertaining, challenging, and educational. The software has four different skill levels that is challenging to both their learning needs. You can either play the game with Mia Mouse or just do the activities.
  
  If you're an adult, don't be discouraged by the interface - it's not for you, it's for your child. They will love it, listen to the instructions and figure out how to make Mia move and find clues.
  
  I initially sent this back, tried three other programs and finally came back to this as the best math software available for 3rd and 4th grade girls!
  
  

• Entertaining - But not enough Math

  
  By A3863J0GRPTTKK on 2006-01-21
  This is a fun game and my daughter loves it. However, I am dissapointed that much of the game involves searching for objects rather than doing Math. Even the math segments are too game-oriented. For example, in a couple areas, the player must try to catch the correct answer rather than just type it in.
  
  I would definitely buy other Mia games, but would like to see more educational content.
  
  

• Perfect for Short Attention spans

  
  By A24N2S9MC0JVOP on 2005-08-09
  My daughter is 6 and she loves this game. She has played it non stop since she got it. Through great graphics and entertaining story kids go on an adventure with Mia to make a time machine to stop a fire. In the process they learn shapes, temperature,directions,sequencing, problem solving, adding, subtracting etc. There are 4 levels of difficulty so that when kids master one level they can move up to the next. My child is learning math and enjoying it! Bravo!
  
  

• Excellent for kids with concentration problems!

  
  By A30Y8TI35UF3L4 on 2005-07-28
  I bought this for my son who was having difficulties with multiplication and division at school. It not's that he wasn't a smart kid, but more so that he had a hard time concentrating at school for something he wasn't interested in. My wife suggested we try software games and we found this. It is amazing. My son loves the Mia characters and spend hours on the computer, we can't even tear him off it and as a result, his math has improved. Well recommeneded for anyone whose child has learning difficulties or concentration problems.
  
  

• What I was hoping for

  
  By AUTZ7QFYODNW0 on 2006-11-10
  My daughter is 6 years old and is reading well, but she may have a learning disorder with math. The jury is still out on that. This program was exactly what I had hoped it would be. It is fun, and my daughter gets caught up in the story. She gets very excited when she gets the hang of doing the problems. For the most part, the program is appropriate for her skill level. The activities push her, but are not so difficult that she becomes too discouraged. I do have to sit with her and help her with some of the math activities, but she is willing to try to do the problems on her own because the game has inspired her. This is one of the first academic type of activity we've done where she has actually asked me to let her do it on her own and doesn't want my help most of the time. Each section of the adventure has a smiliar pattern to it, and learning to use the program is very intuitive. Whenever you need help you just click on Mia's face, and that has always been enough to figure out how to get going in the right direction. Each time the program runs it is slightly different, which is also a nice feature. We have not used the program on the more advanced levels yet, but so far we've been very pleased and would probably purchase other programs by this company.
  
  
• A good blend of storytelling and fun
  By A143SDU5SN1OO7 on 2006-07-08
  We got "Math Blaster" for our six-year-old, who has been a very savvy computer user since he was 18 months old. It was so difficult to maneuver the character (jump over wrong answers, run through correct ones) he actually cried over it.
  
  Mia's math is much more gentle. The storytelling does take up time in the game, but it seems to give them a rest between problems. There is geometry ("which figure has two congruent sides?"), basic math facts ("2 + 5" on level 1, "2 x 4 x 3" on level 4), following directions ("take the tunnel on the lower right"), and telling time ("move the clock back 3 hours").
  
  We have had the game for about two weeks, and so far it's getting played every day. Our older son plays it at level 3 or 4, and our little one (four years old) plays it at level 1 with a bit of help.
  
  I have not yet found out where to find the "report card" - I have asked their tech support.
  
  
• My 5 year old adores this game!
  By A3CSEY75FRTID0 on 2006-02-12
  My 5 year old son love the Mia character and the stories. He loves the math(which does involve time), too! Even though the age group for this game is 6-10, he had no problems on Level 1. He only needed a little help with the time telling. As for the people that say this isn't educational enough I would say that it's not boring! My son has played the game over and over and never tires of Mia!
  
  
• Count me in with those who are unimpressed
  By A2SX1068IPJW5E on 2008-01-11
  Yes, this is a fun game and the kids love to play. But, if you are actually looking to use this program to reinforce math skills, you should keep looking. In my opinion, and I actually played the entire game myself, this program is a long entertaining interactive adventure with a little math sprinkled in here and there. I, personally, was a little disappointed because the reviews and endorsements were so uniformly positive. For me, this is the bottom line: I try to limit my kids computer time. And, when they DO play the computer, I prefer to allow them to play games that have some kind of redeeming educational value. This makes Mia better for me, than, perhaps, some mindless shoot-em-up game. But, I still think that this game lacks enough educational content to feel good about letting them play for hours. And, I don't think the game is particularly useful for teaching or even reinforcing math skills. So, in my opinion, buy this as a GAME that you will let your kids play as a reward. As a game, it is a pretty good one. The story is entertaining for elementary age children, and the content is appropriate with absolutely nothing objectionable even for younger kids. But, don't expect any real math learning, and don't expect this to be a particularly useful tool if you are homeschooling math. So, in my opinion, buy this if you are looking for a fun game for your kids that also as a small amount of educational reinforcement. But, DON'T buy this if you child is a struggling math student who needs tutoring, or if you are a homeschool family looking for a way to teach your children math.
  
  
• Difficult to navigate
  By A12CUDNB8QGFVM on 2007-03-14
  I found this software very difficult to use. It does not have any "Stop" or "Go Back" button. The only way to exit an activity is to hit "Esc" button to exit the program and then start all over. When starting over, there is a very lengthy annimated introduction you have to go over each time and I could not find a way to skip it.
  
  
• Mia Math
  By A27ZA1J6ZHJG8S on 2007-01-09
  Nice little program, Kindergardners will need adult help with the math and the time telling. Levels 1 through 4 allow growth as the kids learn. Had a glitch on installation and help desk was very good.
  
  
• Mia's Math Adventure: Just In Time
  By A23G4D2V2BKW17 on 2006-11-12
  Imaginative, challenging math that will be useful for some time.
  The controls on a MAC are awkward at times with Mia wandering places I did not intend but once you are in the math module everything works fine. Held the children's attention for about an hour.
  Good graphics.
  
  
• Special Instructions for MAC users
  By A1TNTC8BXWZN6S on 2007-03-01
  
  The response time from running via the CD is incredible slow. To fix it follow these instructions received from the manufacturer. Worked GREAT for me:
  
  On Macintosh, you can easily create disk images (.dmg files)
  out of the CDs using the "Disk Utility" program found in the "Utilities"
  folder inside the "Applications" folder. Using disk images, the game
  will run entirely off the computer hard disk.
  
  Below are the steps to create a disk image on Macintosh. Note that if
  you need help with this procedure, we can assist you over the phone.
  
  1. Insert the game CD in your Macintosh.
  
  A CD icon appears on your Desktop.
  
  2. Double-click on the "Disk Utility" icon found inside the "Utilities"
  folder under "Applications".
  
  The Disk Utility window appears on the screen.
  
  3. Click on "Session 1" item on the left-side pane.
  
  The Session 1 of the game CD is highlighted.
  
  4. Click on the "New Image" icon in the toolbar at the top of the
  application window.
  
  A dialogue window appears on the screen.
  
  5. Set the "Image Format" to "Read only" for optimal performance and
  save the image on your Desktop or any convenient location of your choosing.
  
  The Disk Utility program writes the .dmg file. When the process is
  complete, you can close the Disk Utility program. If the process fails,
  then it probably means that your copy of the disk is not fully readable.
  
  You can now double-click on the .dmg file to fake the insertion of the CD.
  
  
  
• Short on math
  By A38QEQ3OVCUYCX on 2006-11-02
  This was the 2nd 'Mia' game we bought for our son (now seven) and will probably be the last. He loved both this one and Mia Science, but I feel the games are long on game but short on math. After three hours of playing (over a couple days) he had the entire puzzle solved! Even though he as on the easiest level, I feel the game should engage the child longer than that. After solving it, he would play the higher levels but they only make the math harder and do not introduce any new challenges.
  
  The games are well made, and our son was entertained, but I don't think much math was learnt.
  
  
• Mia's Math Adventure:Just In Time
  By A3L6ODO4IEWB49 on 2006-11-10
  This set was ordered for my friend's grandaughter. She loved it. It was easy for her to use on her own once the software was installed. She uses it everyday. She even tries to get her grandfather involved. He's very pleased with her progress since purchasing the software.
  
  
• A fun challenging game
  By A263KP92EH0RY3 on 2007-05-07
  I teach computer classes to children and needed something for my older kids that would really challenge them and this works great! The graphics are colorful, the instructions are clear and helpful and Mia has her own little personality which comes out in places that you don't expect - ie, if you wait too long to move she starts tapping her little foot. The game takes you on an adventure around her garden to find all the pieces needed to make the time machine you need to - oops, don't want to give it away. I plan on having all the Mia the Mouse games for my students.
  
  
• Mia's Math Adventure
  By A3MUXU3KKCS615 on 2007-11-10
  I think this is a great product; although, I'm not sure a child use to high graphics and speed would have the patience to play it. My son originally hated math but has loved playing this game; but he is 6. He loves the characters and story line. For me, it is a little annoying to have to use 2 disks to play the latter half of the game, but my son doesn't seem to mind as he loves the game. Overall I am pleased with his progressive improvement in his math skills. He loves it and is improving and that is all that matters to me.
  
  
• Mia's Math is DIFFERENT!
  By A2C7WFO6CGYOJ6 on 2008-02-25
  Mia's math is an adventure game with an occasional math-based activity thrown in. The math skills are quirky, not your usual drill-and-kill practice. It really requires some higher-level thinking. I'm using it with third-grade students, and they are frequently challenged. My only complaint is that the user-interface is too simple. You can save games, but there's no way (that I've found so far) to jump to certain areas, other than restoring a saved game. Mia gets irritated if you linger too long somewhere. She likes to keep it moving! My nine-year-olds are enthralled!
  
  
• Frustrating
  By A3U78OW4OO2Q8W on 2008-06-11
  We have had this game for a while, and bought it because of the many reviews. However, my daughter and I find it extremely frustrating. Even when we know what the task is to be done, we often cannot figure out how to do it. The math puzzles, when we come across them, are fine, but most of the time is spent figuring out where to click for something. This game is very linear, so if you can't figure one thing out, there's no way to move to another task where you might eventually better understand the gestalt of the game. You just sit there, with Mia tapping her foot, repeating the same clue again and again and again and again and again. The help at kutoka.com was good to find, but it wasn't sufficient to solve the problem.
  
  Even with the parts we have played, I don't find it terribly compelling.
  
  
• Wonderful computer animation and fun story
  By A23SP88OUWLOQX on 2006-08-30
  Kids don't usually learn much science (in public school anyway) and this computer game REALLY helps to fill that void. It is educational, VERY attractively designed, interesting, and my [...] daughter really enjoys it! It's not too hard either.
  
  
• Not Impressed again
  By AY95NBW5JVK2C on 2007-10-22
  Unfortunately, I bought this at the same time as the Mia Reading Program. I found it just as difficult and just as useless in an educational setting.
  
  

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