Osmo Math Wizard: At-Home Learning to Alleviate Math Anxiety

October 12, 2020 / Learn About Osmo

While quarantine continues to keep your kids at home, you might worry about them falling behind in key subjects like math an math anxiety. To help your child learn in a self-paced environment, we’ve launched the spell-binding Math Wizard series for grades 1 and 2 overcoming math anxiety!

Beyond helping kids experience math through a hands-on, story-based approach, the Math Wizard series enables your child to apply everything they learn from Osmo to school and everyday life! These curriculum-inspired games helps in reducing math anxiety and also helps to build confidence and understanding in what they are learning, and are perfect for digital learning at home. 

“Exhaustive research shows that using manipulatives help children learn math, especially in the areas of counting, place value, computation, problem-solving, fractions, and more,” says Pramod Sharma, CEO of Osmo. “Rather than teach kids to memorize formulas and processes, Osmo Math Wizard games helps in reducing the math anxiety in students and offer a hands-on approach, combined with digital learning, to allow kids to think creatively and solve problems on their own–a hallmark of all Osmo games for kids, while compelling narratives and adventures keep them continuously engaged without their realizing they are learning.”

Math Wizard Series Alleviates Math Anxiety

According to research, almost 50% of elementary school students, 20% of U.S. adults, and 25% of teachers face math anxiety, which may start as early as kindergarten. Rest assured, Osmo’s Math Wizard games help alleviate overcoming math anxiety, by allowing children to learn in a self-paced environment. Targeted hints are built into gameplay to help struggling learners, nudging them in a way to discover a correct answer, so they do not disengage.

“Math Wizard makes adding and subtracting numbers, along with measuring, so fun, approachable, and un-intimidating, which makes a huge difference for a child who may feel apprehensive about math, while lessening anxiety for parents who feel obligated to teach their child math,” adds Sharma. “The math anxiety games are not perceived as a task or test that puts students in direct competition with peers, too.”

The first two titles in the Math Wizard series are Magical Workshop and Secrets of the Dragons:

Magical Workshop (available for iPad and Fire; retail $59.99 at playosmo.com and Amazon.com) is an addition and subtraction adventure, where kids brew potions with dragon claws and sparkle dust to master place value, and they continue their quest by counting balloons to help dragons fly. This learning box has 4 mini-games helps in overcoming math anxiety:

Potions – Learn addition and subtraction while mixing up potions with your trusty mixing mat, rods, and cubes.

Dragon Drop – Use a vertical number line to attach balloons to dragons for flight. 

Magical Flight – Travel on a magic broom to rebuild castles all over Wyverndell. A construction crew will help out, but you have to double-check the count of materials. 

Wyverndell Express – Operate your own dragon courier business! Solve math word problems at every train station to unlock new routes. 

Ways to Reduce Math Anxiety-Kids Will Learn:

● Addition and subtraction within 120

● Counting and place value

● Comparing numbers 

Secrets of the Dragons (available for iPad and Fire; retail $59.99 at playosmo.com and Amazon.com) allows kids to learn and master measurement at their own pace, where they explore the Dragon Reserve and its outlying biomes. As dragon scouts, they discover new dragons, measure, and feed them based on their size which helps in reducing math anxiety.

Overcoming Math Anxiety-Kids Will Learn:

● How to use non-standard units to measure  

● How to use a ruler to measure

● Estimating length

● Adding lengths

The next two releases in the series will debut in March 2021. The Math Wizard series will be available in Canada in January 2021.

Contact: Media@playosmo.com

About Osmo

Osmo is an award-winning STEAM brand whose products are used in over 30,000 classrooms and 2.5 million homes. It is building a universe of hands-on play experiences that nourish the minds of children by unleashing the power of imagination. The company brings physical tools into the digital world through augmented reality and its proprietary reflective artificial intelligence.

Founded in 2013 by ex-Google engineers Pramod Sharma and Jerome Scholler, the Osmo Play System fuses digital gameplay and physical interaction to create fun and nutritious play experiences designed for all kids. 

Osmo is headquartered in Palo Alto, California. 

Learn more at playosmo.com.