Homeschool Review: Time4Learning Part 2

As I said in my disclosure and PART 1 of this review, our family has been given the opportunity to try out Time4Learning for a month. We started on July 18, and today, our last day of the trial, is August 18. So, I guess I should finish up this review. All opinions are my own and 100% honest.

Bailey (7th Grade) working on Language Arts at the kitchen table.

We have used Time4Learning in every room in our house, and thankfully, the kids have never put up a fuss when I asked them to use the curriculum in their daily schooling. They have really enjoyed it.

Here are a few pics of Bailey's lesson. 

When I asked Bailey (7th Grade) what he thought about Time4Learning, he said "It is fun to do. It is better than Head of the Class (though I believe that has now been discontinued), and it is not boring. It is fun to learn without being bored."

When I asked Dalton (3rd Grade) his opinion, he said "I like using it instead of books and pencils because my hand doesn't hurt from writing. Sometimes, it is really fun."

Here are few pics from Dalton's lessons.

One thing I really love about Time4Learning is that you can adjust what grade level the child works on. Dalton is in 3rd grade, but struggles with math. We were easily able to jump back a grade if things were too hard for him on the current level.

I like that the parent is able to print grade reports, attendance, and even customize certificates for each child. It is extremely helpful in tracking the child's progress. If you get confused or have questions, there is also a parents forum.

We all really enjoyed the Language Arts and Math sections of this program. The Science and Social Studies we weren't sold on. We didn't dig as deep into them, but from the few times we glanced though them, they didn't appear to be animated and the amount of reading to be done of the 3rd grade level was a bit excessive for my son. However, I feel that I would use this program at the full price, for just the Math and Language Arts sections alone. It is hard to make those enjoyable and they succeed at that 100%.

Will we continue to use Time4Learning? Probably not. Why? We simply can't afford it. Would we continue to use Time4Learning if it were FREE or significantly reduced in price? Absolutely.

I do not feel that $19.95 a month for the 1st child and $14.95 a month for each additional child in the PreK-8th grade level is excessive. That is certainly a reasonable price and far cheaper than some other programs I have seen. Especially since our kids have thoroughly enjoyed this curriculum. However, the cost just isn't in our budget at the moment.

The kids and I give Time4Learning a thumbs up!

Homeschool Review: Time4Learning Part 1

As I said in my disclosure, we've been given the opportunity to try out Time4Learning for a month. When we've had a spare minute, I've been having the boys give Time4Learning a go. So far, we like it. Our official school year doesn't start until Monday (August 5) and from there they will be using it daily for a couple weeks. I'll check back in with a full review soon. But for now, here are few pics and notes.

Bailey (7th Grade) trying out Time4Learning.

Dalton (3rd Grade) trying out Time4Learning.

It is really quite hard to get a photo of the screen and the kids both in full color. Either the screen is blown out or the kids are super dark. So I had to settle for taking some both ways. Above are the boys in action, below are a few screen shots.

As you can see, the graphics are great. 

 There is nothing dull or boring in the Language Arts section. Both of my boys are loving it.

 Getting them to try Time4Learning hasn't been a struggle at all as it holds their attention. It is not only educational, but entertaining.

The only thing that I've had trouble with so far was figuring out how to turn in Bailey's (7th Grade) assignment in the Odyssey Writer. It had the option to turn the assignment in, he clicked it and it gave him a bunch of names of teachers, but we had no clue which one we were to send it to. When I emailed customer service they got back to me really quickly. This was the reply:

"Hi Alana,

Thank you for contacting us.

In order for a writing assignment to mark as complete, it must be handed in. Students can hand in finished projects by clicking on the last icon in the orange toolbar that indicates a hand holding a piece of paper. A screen will appear that asks which teacher the child would like to hand the assignment into. Any teacher can be selected, this simply marks it as complete. Grading is the responsibility of the parent. The child will scroll down and click send at the bottom of the screen. 

Parents are responsible for the actual grading of a child’s writing assignment. To access the finished, work go into the recent work of the progress reports and click on the hyper-linked N/A  next to the name of the lesson. By clicking on the checkmark icon, a rubric will appear that gives descriptions of how to grade a sample, based on the areas of content, idea development, voice, and conventions. Parents can then print out the work and write the grade on it for keeping in your paper portfolio. Please note that you will not be able to save the grade in the online reports section.

Hope this helps!

Thank You,

 Time4Learning.com Customer Service"

We haven't made it through all the sections (courses) available just yet. But we will. If I had to give you a yay or nay at this point, I'd say Yay!

Continue to read PART 2 of this review.

Homeschool Review: Time4Learning

I've been invited to try Time4Learning for one month in exchange for a candid review. My opinion will be entirely my own, so be sure to come back and read about my experience. Time4Learning can be used as ahomeschool curriculum, for afterschool enrichment and for summer skill sharpening. Find out how to write your own curriculum review for Time4Learning.