I never dreamed I'd find math games that my 5-year-old, Tom, couldn't wait to play. But that's exactly what happened when we logged on to Dream Box Learning, a fee-based Web site (with a two-week free trial) that delivers fun math lessons.

Kids choose from the site's four themes (pets, pixies, pirates, and dinosaurs) and complete math-related tasks to earn objects that help the animated stories progress (earn a hammer to repair a pirate ship, for instance).

With about four games per task, six tasks in each story, eight stories in a theme, and four themes — well, that adds up to a lot of fun math. After finishing a story, players earn a certificate. Tom racked up seven certificates in 17 hours. How do I know? The site's parent dashboard continually assesses and informs me of his progress, all while making real-time adjustments to his math level. Ages 5 to 8, DreamBox.com.

— Naomi Adler Dancis

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.