Review of Time4Learning.com

DD1 and I completed our 30 day trial of time4learning.com. Overall, we really enjoy the website and I think it is a great tool! Some things we enjoyed most:

- The interactive lessons. They kept DD interested, and I never had to force her to work on time4learning.com because she found it fun and interesting.
- Science was interesting and covered a wide range of subject matter. We have typically been pretty spotty about executing science experiments, and DD has grown a dislike of science. For DD to say she thinks the science lessons are great is a big plus!!
- The parent involvement can be very minimal, so I can just direct DD to do a lesson in a particular course, and off she goes!

Dislikes:

- Some of the lessons seemed a bit to kid-like for a 5th grader. DD didn't seemed put off by it, but I thought it could have slightly less cartoon-like animation.
- Grammar lessons were very few, and not easy to find right away.

We plan on using this over the summer, but once the "school year" starts, we will be using a homeschool coop for Science class, and we have the resources available for the other courses we will be working on. One of the reasons I wanted to homeschool is to be more involved in the learning process with my daughter, so the convenience of having most of her lessons done independently conflicts with the wish for more time together while she is learning. We are doing some work over the summer, but it is going to be more informal, so just saying "spend some time on time4learning" is sufficient, and I know she is going to be doing something productive!

It would be nice if there was a "lite" option where we could just get 20 hours a month or something for a lower price. It would also be really beneficial if the courses lined up with each other a bit more, so you could work more like in a Unit Study (another thing we are trying to achieve in homeschooling) and have the things you are learning in one course relate to other courses.

Overall, I would recommend any parent to try Time4Learning.com and see if it fits a need or want in their family. It definitely fits some goals we are working towards during the summer and I'm excited to have DD explore on there on her own!

Homeschooling

So, we finally decided to do real homeschooling instead of going through a virtual school. We are really excited to get started!! I have the math books already, we are going to test out an online program for grammar and other things, go through a local homeschool coop for Science... it is going to be grand!!



Some things we are just flying by the seat of our pants, for now. It kind of feels like jumping off a cliff into the ocean... you know how to swim so you should do just fine, but WHAT IF there is a shark just waiting there to make you lunch? I do plan on having a framework for everything, but I figure starting over the summer will give us a head start, and allow us to make some mistakes without falling behind. Oh, and we are planning to buy a house, so that will throw some sticks over the track. Fun times.

I think what we are both most excited for is being able to take advantage of fun classes around the cities! There is an exhibit at the Science Museum right now on Ancient Egypt, so I'm compiling stuff for a unit on that. Eeee! Finally I'll be back in DD1's school day instead of just checking in in the morning and afternoon. InshaAllah that will bring us closer too.

I'm excited to share what we have planned... any maybe I can blog regularly and become a bajillionare from sitting on my bum and writing blogs!! Yeah right....