Beast Academy books or online?

[Anonymous]

My 8 yo DD has used the Beast Academy books in the past and enjoyed them. I was going to get her the next level up, but on their website I see that they now have Beast Academy online, where you can answer questions online in a game like format instead.

I'm sure she'd enjoy that more -- what kid doesn't like playing on the computer? -- but do you think it's better or worse than a paper workbook? Will she not get as much out of it online? Should I get her the book just to avoid the screentime?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My 8 yo DD has used the Beast Academy books in the past and enjoyed them. I was going to get her the next level up, but on their website I see that they now have Beast Academy online, where you can answer questions online in a game like format instead.

I'm sure she'd enjoy that more -- what kid doesn't like playing on the computer? -- but do you think it's better or worse than a paper workbook? Will she not get as much out of it online? Should I get her the book just to avoid the screentime?

the online version is fine. but these are not games by any stretch. you basically type in answers that you would write into the workbook - like X=19 or 1+5xn

[Anonymous]

The online version is more focused on doing problems but includes instructional videos and PDF versions of the comics.

[Anonymous]

Resurrecting an old thread on this topic rather than creating my own...

DS is a K who enjoys math (3rd year of Montessori). About a month or so ago as we realized school was done for the year, I decided I'd get him a trial subscription to BA and see how he liked it or if it was too challenging at this stage. Turns out he loves it. Sometimes gets stuck/frustrated, but when I'm available we can usually work through challenges and you can tell he's happy/proud when he has that moment where things click and he "gets" the concept that we're working on. He also enjoys watching the videos sometimes, even for higher level stuff he's not working on yet... not sure how much benefit there is to that, but it's probably not the worst thing.

Anyway, my original plan was to buy the workbooks if the trial went well, in order to limit screentime. Didn't want to jump the gun with an investment in the book series. But now I'm concerned he might lose enjoyment if he migrates from online to paper (and loses access to videos).

Has anyone else had this experience (migrating from online BA -> paper BA) with their kid, and how did it go?

DD is K-2... so I guess worst case if he doesn't take to the books we can always go back to online for him, and then I can hold onto the books until DD is ready in a couple years so it's not money down the drain.

[Anonymous]

the online version is fine. but these are not games by any stretch. you basically type in answers that you would write into the workbook - like X=19 or 1+5xn

Agreed. We found Beast Academy to be highly educational, but not especially fun, for my son.