Fun Online Education with Time 4 Learning - A Review

Finally, a chance to review Time 4 Learning!   I've been seeing T4L for a couple of years and always wondered what it was about.  Now I know, and I'd like to share our experience with you!   You can also read other TOS crew members' reviews by clicking here.   

The Basics:

• Time 4 Learning is an online curriculum that is designed for children Pre-K through eighth grade.  It encompasses math, science, social studies, and language arts.  You can read exactly what is covered on the curriculum overview page.   There is also a comprehensive "scope and sequence" page, along with lesson plans already completed for you!  

• There is also a "playground" area where the children can play games.  (Admittedly, we didn't use many of these... I find my kids get sucked into the games if they know they are there, so I didn't advertise that option until much later!)  

• It is designed for homeschool, after school, or summer school use.  As a homeschool family, you could use Time 4 Learning as your full curriculum, or as a supplement to your current curriculum. Read what Time 4 Learning has to say about using their curriculum in your homeschool.  

• A monthly subscription to T4L is $19.95/month for the first child, and $14.95/month for additional children.   This price includes all subjects.   You can also try a demo of Time 4 Learning.  

• Time 4 Learning runs on PC and Mac.  At this time, it utilizes Flash technology, so it is not compatible with the iPad.  

Getting Started:  

• Set up of Time 4 Learning was extremely easy.   We received an email from Time 4 Learning and I gave each child a user name and password. Shortly after we were sent an email for each child with their login information.    Login was easy for my children.  I simply made them a bookmark in our browser and when it was time for their computer work, they were set.  EASY.  

• We did not have any technical issues or questions during our use, but if we did, Time 4 Learning is available for support via email and telephone.  Any questions that you might have are probably answered on the FAQ page.  

Our Experience:

We used Time 4 Learning with a first and fifth grader.   They tested out ALL areas of the curriculum.  I found that there was something in EVERY area they could use!   While we would not use this as our primary curriculum, I did feel it was a good investment as a supplement.   If you have a computer driven child, it would be particularly beneficial.  My oldest summed it up perfectly:   "I like how they make everything into a game!" 

The graphics were high quality, and it always kept both of my children's interest.   Here's an example from a second grade math lesson:

First Grade:

Everything in the first grade curriculum was read to the child... many times there was the option for the child to either be read to or read on their own.  This is a good option to have in place.  Attention span and interest level was taken into account, and it was an excellent fit for my six year old. Quizzes were  given after each concept, and concepts were appropriately sequenced.  

Phonics:   We liked the cute lessons with varied activities to keep my son's interest.   The characters and voices/songs were engaging and funny.  Our favorite here was the Crab Crawl, which was a game using high frequency words.  Very fun!  

Vocabulary:  My son enjoyed these lessons, but here I did have a bit of a problem with the curriculum.  I felt it was a lot of test prep work, and as homeschoolers we don't do a lot of tests!   The stories were textbook type, which didn't appeal to us.  

Language Arts Extensions:  My son enjoyed the options he had to be read to, read aloud, or read alone.  He read a story about hurricanes and a story about a volcano, which really interested him.  

Math:  This section was our favorite!   The lessons were quick and fun.   I also liked the fact that there were printable resources to go along with the lessons.  For example, a measurement lesson had a printable activity sheet to supplement what my son learned on the computer.  We did lessons about measurement and fractions, and I'm sure we'll continue to do more!

Social Studies:  We are studying the 50 states this year and Time 4 Learning was a great addition to our curriculum.  Patriotic songs, the Pledge of Allegiance, and many other lessons about our country were included.  Very nice.  

Science:  A complete lesson about magnets kept my son highly engaged and within twenty minutes he had learned quite a bit. 

Fifth Grade:

What a change from first grade!   Everything is read by the child, and is presented in a much more mature fashion.  My ten year old, however, still thought the program was fun and never complained about doing schoolwork!   

Language Arts:  My daughter worked through a large section about punctuation, commas, and quotation marks.  She was given a quiz after each section, which provided immediate feedback.   

Math:  The math was challenging for my daughter, which was good.  I did find that there wasn't a lot of TIME given for explanation, which some kids need for math.  The speaking was done more quickly than I would have liked.   She did, however, appreciate how math concepts were likened to real life (a game of Battleship, for example, in the line and point relationships lesson).  I could see this being a comprehensive math curriculum, which intrigued me.  

Social Studies:  A lesson on Ancient Greece was completed as I watched.  The map activities were thorough and interesting.  It was a perfect supplement to our study of The Ancients.  There were many social studies lessons to choose from.

Taking notes for a science lesson

Science:  Note taking was encouraged in a lesson about classification of living things!  This skill is so valuable, and my daughter felt very "official" during this section.   She also remembered the most from this section.   

At any time I was able to log into my parent account and see a progress report for my children.  Not that I don't trust them, but it was nice to "check up" on them to keep track of their learning!   This could also serve as your main record keeping if it is your full curriculum, and it is ALL DONE FOR YOU.  To me, this is Time 4 Learnings biggest advantage!  Your record keeping and planning are complete and thorough, and for many moms this would be a huge burden lifted from them.  

In closing, we very much appreciated the chance to review Time 4 Learning and will probably keep using it AS A SUPPLEMENT in the future.   It opened our eyes to the world of online learning, which is fun and engaging for my children!  

Disclaimer: I received the above named product from TOS Crew in return for my honest review. I have not been compensated in any other form.

Discover Spanish - Review and Giveaway!

Earlier this school year, I found a program called "Discover Spanish".  My nine year old was taking Spanish classes for homeschoolers, and I was interested in an online program that would supplement her learning.    The people at Discover Spanish graciously offered me a subscription to their online program in return for a review of their product.  After a year of using the program, I'd like to report to you on what we thought, as well as offer one lucky reader a subscription to Discover Spanish!

The creators of Discover Spanish describe the program as :

"The original language learning system that makes use of a building block approach
to teach practical conversational skills. Immerse yourself in 36 interactive
lessons that are fast, fun, and easy!"

Discover Spanish can be used a stand alone curriculum, or as a supplement.   It is designed for ages 9-99 and is equal to two years of Middle School Spanish or one year of High School Spanish.   If you have a visual learner, this will be just the thing for learning Spanish!   The lessons are engaging, and you can practice skills as many times as you want, with immediate feedback.

 

Each lesson is a real-life application (The House, The Family Picnic, Pets, etc...) with different themes going with each lesson.   We liked that it was conversational, and my daughter took part in real-life conversations with Johnny Spanish.  

I encourage you to visit the Discover Spanish website to fully explore the program, and even try a demo lesson for free!    

A one year subscription is $54.95, and then you can also download their podcasts to your .mp3 player to review on the go.    Discover Spanish suggests just 15 minutes a day with the program to be on your way to learning Spanish.  

Our impressions:

• We were so happy to be able to use this program.   This program, in addition to my daughter's Spanish lessons, gave her a very good introduction to the language.   I do believe it would benefit her even more if she was just a little bit older.   
• The quick pace of the lessons and short amount of time required were great!
• The additional podcasts can reinforce learning and can be listened to to any time, anywhere.  

The creators of Discover Spanish are giving away a one year subscription to their program to one lucky reader.    This contest will be open until Thursday, June 16 at 8 p.m.  Please be sure to leave a valid email address or way for me to contact you in the comments section!  

Ways to enter:

1. Become a follower of Homegrown Learners on GFC (or tell me if you already follow) and comment.
2. Tweet this giveaway and leave the link in the comments.
3. Visit Language Treks (Discover Spanish) on FB and like them, leaving me a comment.
4. Follow Discover Spanish on Twitter, leaving me a comment.
5. Try the free online sample lesson, and leave me your impressions in a comment.  

Good luck!

Disclosure: Our family was given a free trial of this product for review purposes. We received no compensation from it and all opinions and experiences within this review are expressly ours. 

Creation - Review

Interdisciplinary.... it's a word I am LOVING more and more as I homeschool!     The latest product I have the pleasure of  reviewing for The Homeschool Village is a perfect illustration of an interdisciplinary study.    Creation (by Masterbooks, a division of New Leaf Publishing Group) builds on the foundation of God's Creation by exploring it through math, science, art, language arts, and spelling.  

Written by David & Helen Haidle and Mary A. Hake, it is designed for grades 1-4 and consists of thirteen "6-in-1 comprehensive curriculum lessons":

• God Creates Light
• God Creates Sky
• God Creates Water
• God Creates Land
• God Creates Plants
• God Creates Sun, Moon, Stars & Planets
• God Creates Sea Creatures
• God Creates Birds
• God Creates Animals
• God Creates PEOPLE
• God Creates a Day of Rest
• Creation Celebration
• God's Great Plan for You

The authors have designed the book to be used as a 4, 6, 12 or 13 week study, depending on the number of days you choose to work out of the book and which lessons you choose.    Since we like flexibility in our schedule, I am choosing to use the FOUR WEEK Study of Creation, which is one lesson on three or four days each week.    I especially love one of the authors' suggestions, which is to designate one whole day a "Creation Day" and just explore God's creation on that day.   Fridays might be a great day to do this.    

Each lesson begins with a list of the materials you will need - most of these items are things you would have around the house or in your homeschool supply closet.     The lesson also opens with an object lesson, which is always hands-on and engaging for the young child.   In preparing for this review, I showed this book to a friend at church who used to be an editor for a major Christian publishing house.  Her comment was, "I love the way it is laid out so simply and easy to see everything you will need right away.  It's easy on the eyes!"   When I first looked through the book everything looked achievable and easy to implement because of the simple layout.   

The lessons then offer math, English, science, art and spelling activities.  The Masterbooks website is an EXCELLENT RESOURCE for users of this book.   Take a look at it here.   Explore some of the links at the site to get a wonderful feel for what activities take place in the book.    My children enjoyed the math connection in Lesson 1, which was making a Moibus Strip.    There are "suggestions" and "extra activities" to extend learning even further.   Preview a portion of the book here.   

In addition, the book offers 12 "Character, Connections" lessons:

1. Wisdom
2. Faith
3. Purity
4. Responsibility
5. Diligence
6. Honesty
7. Cooperation
8. Peaceableness
9. Kindness
10. Respect
11. Obedience
12. Thankfulness

These little lessons are favorites of mine... I think because they are short (15-20 minutes) lessons based on finding Bible verses, reading them aloud, and then some type of craft or activity to reinforce the value of that lesson.   For example, I made a large block "W" for each of my children and they cut  them out and wrote what Wisdom meant to them on their W.    They put the W on their room door and now they see it often and we talk about what being "wise" truly means.    It's something that has extended way beyond the small time investment of the lesson itself!   I love that my daughter wrote that being wise means "Knowing how to use your wisdom" on her W.  One of the Bible passages about wisdom we read:  

Get wisdom, get understanding;
   do not forget my words or turn away from them.
 Do not forsake wisdom, and she will protect you;
   love her, and she will watch over you.
 The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom.
   Though it cost all you have, get understanding.
 Cherish her, and she will exalt you;
   embrace her, and she will honor you.
She will give you a garland to grace your head
   and present you with a glorious crown.”   Listen, my son, accept what I say,
   and the years of your life will be many.
I instruct you in the way of wisdom
   and lead you along straight paths. 

Proverbs 4: 5-11

This book can also be used in conjunction with The Creation Story for Children, written by David and Helen Haidle, which is based on Genesis 1-2 and Psalm 139.  

I hope you can see that there are SO MANY POSSIBILITIES in Creation.   For just $14.99, it would be an excellent investment for your homeschool.   Hey -- what about using it as a wonderful summer Bible study that still keeps the kids academically focused?     Visit The Homeschool Village today to WIN YOUR VERY OWN COPY!    

*Please note that I have been provided a complimentary copy of this resource by The Homeschool Village specifically for review purposes.