Little Math FAQs

Little Math is a powerful flash card application that promotes early childhood education in the field of math, for kids from four months to five years. The program is modeled after the right brain-based teaching methods of pioneers in the field of early childhood education.

Little Math enables you to use flash cards with your child in the easiest, most stress-free way possible. For more information on teaching young children with flash cards, please read Introduction to Flash Cards.

Little Math's user-friendly interface allows you to create and deliver flash card-based lessons, an activity modeled after right-brain teaching methods.

The lessons are delivered in a multisensory format, stimulating the baby’s need for auditory as well as visual stimulation for creating mental associations. The young learner will be able to see the word, see the number, hear the pronunciation of the number, and see the number of shapes. This effectively teaches children not just the notion of quantity, but their corresponding written forms as well.


Make it simple, make it fun - some BrillKids tips on how to make each Little Math session a success:

	Prepare your presentations ahead of time. Find out what categories you want to show, and prepare them for playback or print them out.
	Practice teaching your child by running through the playback by yourself, and pronounce each word out loud as you would during the actual presentation.
	Prepare your learning environment by clearing away all potential distractions – TV, radio, or phone.
	Make sure that learning area has sufficient lighting.
	Announce each learning session by telling your child which category or word list you will be showing. Do this in a fun way to excite your child. Ask him if he would like to see the flash cards.
	Give the presentation when your child is in a receptive mood.
	Don’t try to force your child to learn! Never attempt to give a presentation when your child is tired, sick, or disinterested.
	Keep in mind that each session should be filled with as much love and fun as possible!
	Be lively in your presentations!
	Give your child a healthy break in between presentations, and take this time to bond further with your child by showering your little one with assurances and affection.
	Make sure the flash cards (physical or virtual) are at least 24 inches (60 centimeters) away from your child and at her eye level.
	Keep track of your child’s learning – make new presentations on a regular basis and retire any presets he shows diminished interest in.

We advise parents and teachers to encourage their baby or young child to participate by saying the numbers and doing physical actions that help in associating quantities with their written forms – pointing, running a finger along the written forms, or singing. This interactive and multisensory approach greatly adds to the fun of learning!

What are the advantages of using Little Math over making my own flash cards?

Little Math offers you a quick, easy, and mess-free way to create your own math flash cards. You save time and money by having quantities of shapes randomized and laid out for you, without needing to cut them out and gluing them onto physical cards.

Your Little Math flash cards also allow you to teach your child math – sets of equations can be randomly generated to your specifications.

To read more about the advantages of using Little Math, click here.

How many times should I use the program each day?

We recommend a playback of three times per day for each preset. Lessons should be spaced evenly throughout the day, or at least a few hours apart. Your child’s interest may vary from day to day, or during the course of a lesson. It is important for you to monitor your child’s reactions and adjust accordingly. DO NOT BORE YOUR CHILD – it is vital that you make learning a fun and happy experience!

What age group can benefit the most from Little Math?

Children who are exposed to this learning method at a very early age learn the fastest. We recommend this program for children from four months to five years of age. Children of all ages who are learning about numbers and math for the first time can also benefit from the program.

When should I start using Little Math?

You can start using Little Math from when your child is four months old. However, do not expect your child to show any perception of quantities until at least 9 to 12 months of age. Some children may take even longer than this to show any perception of quantities. Remember that every child develops at her own pace. The primary goal of teaching should be to stimulate your child’s brain – and have fun while doing it! As long as you are both enjoying yourselves, your Little Math lessons are already a success.

What if my child shows no interest in his Little Math lessons?

If your child is not interested in his Little Math lessons – or indeed, shows a negative reaction to Little Math – stop using the software for the time being. Your child’s reaction means that this time in his life is not the appropriate one for beginning math lessons. This may be because your child is not developmentally ready to start learning math. Alternatively, your child may be attaining another important developmental milestone (learning to crawl, learning to walk, teething), or it may be that he is adjusting to a change in routine (you have moved house, your child has changed schools). Whatever it is that is making your child unreceptive, put Little Math aside for now, and give it another try in a month or two. Keep doing this until your child does show an interest.

What is the best way to show Little Math playback presentations?

Seat your child on your lap or next to you. If you are using the computer, make sure the screen is adjusted to the right angle and distance for your child to view it properly.

How to present the flash cards:

	Icons/words/numbers should be large, clear, and precise.
	Presentations should be brief.
	Flash cards should be shown quickly, about one card per second.
	To ensure continuing interest, aim to stop before the child's interest starts to dwindle.

What is a Preset?

Presets are a powerful and flexible tool which gives you many options when you want to play back a set of numbers. Here are the key elements:

1. NUMBER RANGE
You can use the Number Range to specify, for example, only numbers from 1 to 20 to be shown during playback. This gives you a great degree of control over what to flash to your child.

2. NUMBER OF DISPLAYS/EQUATIONS
You can set how many quantities you want to flash in one sitting. When learning numbers and counting, you can choose whether you want the Number Range to be shown numerically forwards, backwards, or in random order. When learning math, you can choose to flash addition, subtraction, division or multiplication equations.

3. DISPLAY ORDER
Choose to display quantities (icon), numerals (numeral), and written words (word). You may display any combination and order of the three different formats for each number in your Preset.

4. DISPLAY SETTINGS
Adjust the size and color of your Words and Numerals, as well as the Background color for each slide. For your icons, you can choose from a wide variety of options to randomize, customize, and lay out your quantities!

How can I use my own pictures for the icons?

Little Math is designed to be as powerful and as flexible as you want it to be. It allows you to customize all the flash cards and Presets, enabling you to add and manage your own customized materials as much as you want.

You can tailor-fit your child’s learning and integrate other types of icons such as fruits, transportation, or your child’s toys with the program. Simply go to NUMBER LIBRARY, and create a new Icon Set for you to personalize or add to. Click CHANGE and you can add any images from your computer to use as icons to flash quantities to your little one.

It's that simple!

How can I download new Media sets?

Little Math enables you to download word, sound and icon sets to add to your child’s learning program. Simply sign up for an account for the BrillKids Forums, log in, and go directly to the File Downloads section to access hundreds of BrillKids files as well as user-generated content!

How do I import Presets that I’ve downloaded?

Importing the Presets and Media Sets that you have downloaded for Little Math is literally as easy as a click of a mouse!

Simply just locate the files you have downloaded in your computer. Double click on them with your mouse and you will notice that this automatically opens your Little Math program, as well as an import dialogue to assist you. Confirm whether you want to import the files to Little Math and sit back while the program grabs all the information and plugs it into your Number Library!

How do I create a new Preset or Media Set?

ADD a Preset

	From the Playback Menu, choose to display NUMBERS (to teach counting) or MATH (to teach equations).
	Click on NEW, type the name of your new Preset (e.g. "Numbers 1-20"), then press the ENTER on your keyboard.

CUSTOMIZE the Preset

	For Numbers, select the range of numbers you wish to flash to your child and how many numbers you wish to display. Then you can choose whether to flash the numbers numerically counting forwards, backwards, or randomly.
	For Math, select the type of operation you would like to teach (Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication or Division), how many integers you wish to place on the left side of the equation (e.g. 15 + 15 + 15 = 45 has three integers on the left side being added up), as well as a range for the integers.

Finally, choose how you want to display your quantities.

First, click on the SETTINGS button, and choose a type of display for your numbers - Icon, Numeral or Word.
Next, adjust your settings for Icons, Fonts and Background using their respective settings boxes.
To display more than one format for teaching NUMBERS (not available for MATH), you may choose up to three multiple Displays.
To save your customized settings, click SAVE to save to the current Preset, or SAVE AS to save as a new Preset.

How do I record my voice pronunciations for Little Math?

Here's what you need to do to record your own voice for Little Math:

	You need a working microphone for your computer. If you have a headset with a microphone, this will do just fine.
	You need to open Sound Recorder in your PC, or if you have Little Reader HOME BASIC, you can use the built-in Easy Voice Recorder. All Windows-based computers come with a Sound Recorder program. • Click on START on your taskbar. • Click on ALL PROGRAMS - ACCESSORIES – ENTERTAINMENT • Lastly, click on Sound Recorder. • This will open a very simple sound recorder on your computer. Make sure your microphone is plugged in already.
	Click on the RECORD button to begin recording.

That's it! You can now record all the words and languages that you want!

Actually, if you're going to be the one using Little Math with your child all the time anyway, and you're happy with your own pronunciation, you may choose not to use any pre-recorded pronunciations and just read the words out by yourself. It's much more stimulating for the child to hear a 'live' voice, and it would encourage more parent-child interaction that way.

To turn off the pre-existing pronunciations, just make sure the "Pronunciation ON" box is unchecked.

  

Little Math is not supported by Mac computers at this time and requires a Windows-based operating system to install.

How do I upload my Presets and media sets to the File Downloads section?

So you've exported your Preset or Media Set and you want to share it with the whole world! Here's how to do it:

If you have not specified the path where your exported file should be, it will be in the default Import-Export folder in your computer. You can find it by following this map:

MY DOCUMENTS - BRILLKIDS - LITTLE MATH - IMPORT-EXPORT

All of your exported Little Math Presets and media sets will be there by default.

Here’s how to upload them to the forums:

1. Go to the Forums.
2. Click on My Files, Add a Download
3. Click on Little Math Library Files. Choose what kind of file you would like to upload – a Math Preset, a Numbers Preset, or a media set.
   
4. Fill in the details for your file by clicking on the circular buttons.

Here's a few tips on "uploading" or adding a download:

	Fill in the details for your file by clicking on the circular buttons. Here's a few tips on "uploading" or adding a download: For the title, make sure you specify if it’s a Math Preset, Numbers Preset, or a media set.
	ex. Media – Spanish (Woman) Sound Set For the description, please give a brief summary of what you included in your set. ex. .LMTM file contains pronunciation files spoken by an adult Spanish Woman for numbers 0 to 100.
	For keywords, you may type in all the keywords that you think will help other people find your download file.

Click on BROWSE. Look for your exported Preset or media set in your computer (refer to the map above) and click OK.

After that, click on ADD DOWNLOAD.

Your download will begin shortly after. A progress bar will display how much of your file transfer has been completed, but don't worry if it seems like the page isn't changing for a few seconds to a minute - it just means that the transfer is taking a while, so don't stop or refresh your browser. When the transfer is done, the page will automatically change itself and you will see a screen that shows you your upload history (all the files you've ever added).

What is .NET framework?

The .NET Framework is Microsoft's managed code programming model for building applications on Windows clients, servers, and mobile or embedded devices. Developers use .NET to build applications of many types: Web applications, server applications, smart client applications, console applications, database applications, and more.

The .NET framework version 2.0 improves scalability and performance of applications with improved caching, application deployment and updating with ClickOnce, support for the broadest array of browsers and devices with ASP.NET 2.0 controls and services.

Why do I need to download .NET framework before installing Little Math?

If your computer is already running on Microsoft Windows Vista, you won't need to download and install the update - you will only need to do this if your computer is running on Microsoft Windows XP or another lower operating system.

BrillKids Little Learner Series requires an installation of .NET 2.0 Framework or higher to be able to operate on Windows. Installing this Microsoft upgrade will enable you to proceed with the software installation, and continue using BrillKids Little Learner Series programs.

.NET 2.0 Framework is a one-time-only installation requirement for all of BrillKids’ early learning software. Once you have it installed, you won't need to install it again.

Can the software be used for other languages besides English?

Yes! All of our Little Learner software can support languages that use the standard Roman alphabet. Other alphabets and character-based languages are also supported, as long as the user has installed the language packs on their computer!

What are the minimum system requirements needed to run the software?

We recommend the following minimum system requirements to ensure optimum performance for the Little Learner Software:

	Operating System: Windows XP, Vista
	PIII CPU or above
	At least 256MB RAM
	120MB free HD space
	Internet connection

How do I Get a License Key?

You may get a license key by purchasing one from our BrillKids Software Store. You may get to the store by going through our Little Math product pages and clicking on the BUY NOW buttons.

How do I install my License Key?

Your license key may be retrieved at any time by signing in to your forum account and visiting your Account Management Page.

Once you have downloaded the license key, you can import it into Little Math HOME in two ways:

1.    Locate the file on your computer, double click on it and begin importing, or
2.    In Little Math HOME, go to the HELP menu, select Enter license key, and click on “Import License from File…” as shown below.

After you have successfully imported your license key, your License Panel will turn into a gold bar with a Little Math logo.

Note: You must be connected to the Internet to activate your copy of Little Math.

I have just purchased a license for my software. Will I be able to use this license for other computers?

Purchasing a license for your software enables you to register the installed program in two PC units. Should you choose to uninstall the program and install it on another unit, you will need to first send us an e-mail verifying that you have deactivated the former copy.

You may access your software through a network, provided that you have obtained an individual BrillKids license for each pair of workstations that will access the software through the network. For instance, if 10 different workstations will access Little Math on the network, you will need to have 5 license keys, regardless of whether the computers use Little Math at different times or concurrently.

How Do I Report An Error Or Bug In Little Math?

If you encounter an error with your Little Math HOME, there are two ways you may report the error:

1. Application Crash

If Little Math HOME has encountered an unrecoverable crash, you may see an error message pop up as displayed below:

We encourage you to send us the error report, to help us know more about your problem. To report the error, simply click on the “Send Error Report” button. This will open another dialogue box, which will ask you for more details:

After adding your additional information about the error, remember to put in your email address or your forum username so that a representative of the BrillKids Team can get back to you as soon as possible.

2. Report Bug

If you are experiencing less critical software problems or minor bugs, you may wish to use the Report Bug feature to notify us. The Report Bug feature can be found under the Help menu.

The Report Bug feature involves 3 simple steps, outlined in the window that pops up. First, choose whether or not you wish to take a screenshot of your Little Math HOME, and then click “Create System Report”.

Note: BrillKids highly recommends taking a screenshot, as it can help us isolate the problem.

A Windows Explorer window will come up containing the System Report File, as shown below.

Leave the window open and proceed back to Little Math HOME. Click on Report Bug and you will be taken to the Report Bug form. Follow the instructions therein and attach the System Report file, then click Post.

Note: You must be logged in using your BrillKids forum account to use this feature.

I want to get a refund for purchasing Little Math. How do I deactivate my copy of the program?

To deactivate your Little Math HOME, follow the instructions below:

Warning: Deactivating your Little Math HOME will terminate your License Key permanently!

1. Make sure you are connected to the Internet. If you are not connected, you cannot deactivate your software.
2. In Little Math HOME, go to the SETTINGS menu, and switch on the “Show deactivation” option.
3. Go to the HELP menu and select “Deactivate License”. A prompt will come up to make sure you wish to continue.
4. Click through the prompts to deactivate your Little Math HOME.

Do not disconnect from the Internet or change any system settings while Little Math HOME is deactivating. Once Little Math is deactivated, all functions will be disabled, but you may purchase a Little Math HOME License Key and re-activate at a later date.

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