This is a sponsored Smile Zemi review but all opinions are my own and based on personal experience
As our kids head back to school, we want them to be socially and emotionally well so they can experience academic success. But sometimes a lack of confidence can lead to stress and anxiety, even in our youngest learners. That’s where Smile Zemi can help.
Smile Zemi is a dedicated educational tablet designed to engage students in grades 1-5 in independent learning of Common Core subject material. This interactive tablet promotes productive screen time without distractions to foster confidence and skills needed by today’s learners. After trying lessons, I can see how the interactive learning experiences for elementary ages increase Common Core content skills and academic confidence.
About Smile Zemi
Smile Zemi is designed by Just Systems Corporation, a company in Japan with over 20 years of success making educational software. Their mission is “to help children discover the joy of learning and to experience significant personal growth through learning.”
Smile Zemi is their tablet-based education system focused on teaching Common Core State Standards (CCSS) to grades 1-5 by promoting independent learning in Math, English and Language Arts (ELA), and Word Study. Interactive learning exercises are combined with rewards for accomplishments.
Getting Started with Smile Zemi
I was provided a tablet, stylus, case, and a yearlong subscription for my Smile Zemi review. Upon unboxing the tablet, I plugged it in to charge overnight.
Even though I allocated a chunk of time for set up, I was pleasantly surprised that it took less than 5 minutes to connect it to our home WiFi, perform a software update, and connect it to my account.
Using Smile Zemi for Common Core Learning
It is recommended children spend 30 minutes a day using Smile Zemi to complete four short lessons a day, 5 days a week. For the purposes of this review, I completed Common Core lessons designed for grades 3-4 in Math, English and Language Arts (ELA), Word Study, and Science in Summer Mode. Summer Mode is the Smile Zemi dedicated Summer Program, available until August 31st. Once the summer program ends, the tablet automatically switches to a year-round course that aligns with your child’s current grade level, allowing them to continue learning based on their school progress.
After completing assigned lessons, Activities are added to the day’s lessons. Activities subjects include trivia, coding, and creativity such as animation.
Upon turning on the tablet, the day’s lessons are listed in the Today’s Task section. This guides students through the learning they’re assigned for the day.
The first day I used Smile Zemi, I completed 4 tasks in the Today’s Task section.
Syllable Types knowledge check (Word Study)
Robot Recycler coding activity (Activities)
The Wind and the Sun knowledge check (ELA)
Adding and Subtracting 3 Digit Numbers (Math)
Day 2 tasks (3 total):
Adding and Subtracting 3-Digit Numbers (Math)
Balanced and Unbalanced Forces (Science)
The Wind and the Sun- Central Message and Key Details (ELA)
Day 3 tasks (3 total):
Place Value (Math)
Walking Water Experiment (Science)
Understanding Text Structure (ELA)
Smile Zemi Review Based on 3 Days of Learning
After 3 days of using Smile Zemi, I found the lessons were age appropriate and interactive ways to support elementary learners. Each self-paced lesson was just the right length to keep interest and engagement high to teach important Common skills and concepts.
The tablet is incredibly easy to use and navigate. Kids will pick it up and immediately know where to go because the Today’s Task section puts each day’s lessons front and center.
While there are some other places where kids can tap such as My Portal, Daily Achievement, Daily Note, Event, and News, none of these areas are highly distracting. They’re interesting but unless a child spends forever writing a Daily Note, I can’t see them keeping kids from learning.
Audio and visual instructions help teach the Common Core learning objectives. The Watch and Learn and Observe features allow kids to watch any problem-solving strategy before attempting it themself. This feature is especially helpful for math. Watching Smile Zemi model the concept before attempting it activates past learning so kids can build on their success.
Some lessons are 2 parts that consist of a Learn and Practice. The ELA Central Message and Key Details Learn taught kids about fables and what a moral of a story was. The following lesson was a Practice one where kids apply what was just learned to determine the moral.
Positive feedback during each part of the lesson keeps motivation and interest high. Some lessons also provide more than one attempt for kids to practice what they’re learning.
After completing each lesson, kids earn stars based on their performance that can be traded for award items on the tablet, such as collection cards to create unique avatars.
Monitoring Learning with Smile Zemi
Parents can always see what their child is working on through the Daily Achievement section of the Smile Zemi. This shows the length of time spent using Smile Zemi and how many lessons were completed. Within each lesson, there is a report showing the concept, whether the lesson was a Learn or Practice session, percentage of questions answered correctly, and how much time was spent on the concept within the individual subject. Parents can also see if multiple attempts were made to answer the questions correctly.
There’s also a Progress Reports section available through the Parent Portal. The information is similar to what you can get from the tablet’s Progress Reports section but features information in different formats.
Bar graphs displaying weekly, monthly, or yearly progress display how many days your child studied, what they worked on, and the amount of time.
Through the Parent Portal, you can also change the recommended number of Today’s Tasks lessons provided to your child.
Parents can also provide words of encouragement to your child through the Support Your Child feature. When you leave your child a note through Support Your Child, they’ll see this on their tablet.
Smile Zemi Review Summary
As a parent and former teacher, I loved the way Smile Zemi lessons were structured to provide kids with opportunities to practice Common Core concepts in a way that was engaging and fun. Smile Zemi would be beneficial to families whose kids could benefit from independent learning experiences to boost their academic skills and confidence. The lessons are age appropriate and with 30 minutes as the recommended amount of time spent learning through Smile Zemi daily, lessons can be fit into the busiest schedules, even if done on the go.
The closed Smile Zemi interface means kids don’t have access to the internet, gaming apps, or video-sharing sites. Content keeps kids focused on learning without distractions. An internet connection is required to download lessons but kids to work on downloaded lessons without Internet access through Travel Mode.
I appreciate that lessons for grades 1-5 are available to all users so content can be adjusted up or down for kids to study Common Core concepts at any time. Being appropriately challenged is key to keeping kids motivated academically. Adjust the grade level setting on the tablet by tapping “Choose on Your Own” at the top left of the screen. This will enable you to select the desired grade for each account, and the courses for that grade will be suggested in Today’s Task.
Cost: Through the month of August, Smile Zemi is running a promotion where you can get a free tablet (regularly $329.99) with a $99/month subscription. At the cost of $1188/year, some families might decide this is worth it since the cost of a weekly tutor can be much more over the course of the year.
If you’re on the fence, Smile Zemi encourages families to let their children try it. They offer a Worry-Free Refund System so kids can try it and families can return it within 21 days of shipment if it’s not right.
If you’re a family with multiple children, each child will need their own tablet because the tablet does not currently support multiple accounts on a single device. Families with multiple elementary aged siblings should take advantage of the Sibling Special. Through this deal, you can get a $50 Amazon or Visa e-gift card for 2 siblings and a $75 gift card for 3 siblings.
When your kids reach middle school age or the subscription ends, you can remove the Smile Zemi program and use the device as a normal tablet.
Smile Zemi provided a tablet, accessories, and a yearlong subscription for review purposes. All opinions are my own. Affiliate links are included in this post which means if you make a purchase from a link, I receive a small percentage of the sale.
