Written by my wife Mitzi.
Our children used the online program called Time4learning for 30 days. If you are interested in the program go here. Josiah just turned 5 years old so he used the preschool program, and Abigail is finishing her 2nd grade year so she started with the 2nd grade level but jumped to the 3rd grade level pretty quickly. Time4learning offers four subjects; language, science, social studies and math. The preschool level does not have these four subjects.
Abigail enjoyed the science portion the most. It was informative and she was able to navigate it very well. She liked being able to choose what she wanted to learn about. She also enjoyed using the math portion more than doing the workbook that she works on normally. It was nice to be able to give her a break on the workbook every once in a while. I liked the format that each subject offered. Each subject was not too long so it kept her attention and it clearly showed when she was finished.
Josiah's preschool program was set up where each section of work was by subject matter such as color, shapes, farm animals, the body, etc. He did these sections well and quickly. However, Josiah did not enjoy doing this program as well as another program we were testing out at the same time. We also tested out the Reading Eggs program which only addresses language learning. He would ask to be done with time4learning so he could go to the Reading Eggs site. Abigail enjoyed doing the Reading Eggs site more than the language portion in Time4learning as well. I liked what the preschool program has to offer but since Josiah didn't enjoy it as much the other site it was hard to have him work on it. The format of Time4learning was consistent and easy for him to work thru. It just did not keep his interest as well. It could be that it was not challenging enough, but he is not a strong reader yet so I did not change his level.
The only improvement I would suggest would be emailed progress reports. The program has a way to see the progress on the site, but I would like to have that emailed. Overall, I think the program is a great supplement for homeschoolers. I think that it is especially a nice alternative for learning basic science and social studies. Being a Christian, I was concerned about the science portion but the subject matter did not deal with evolution and if it does you could just skip over that part very easily since each portion is titled. Again, I liked the preschool format, but Josiah did not. He may enjoy the kindergartens level better but I am not sure. Even though my family will probably not use this program because of the $20 per month cost, it may fit other homeschooling families' needs.
I am happy that we had a chance to test out this program for a month. It helps to know what is available and to see whether our children would enjoy it or not.
1 comment:
Our family has been using T4Learning for years and it works for us,but I can see how other programs can work better for other families. I have not heard of the one you mentioned. I also like the fact I can skip over any mention of evolution,although we haven't seen it in our lessons yet.
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