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Hi, my name is Melissa. Pour yourself a cup of tea and stay a while. I'm completely devoted to my Savior, madly in love with my husband, and joyously raising my daughters. I'm so glad you stopped by and I hope you enjoy your time here!

Wednesday, September 4, 2013

Time4Learning: Review

Time4Learning

Online resources for homeschooling is becoming a huge trend in the home education world. You can find anything you need from supplements for fill in the gaps to full course curricula. The difficulty comes in trying to weed out the useful from the time wasters. I typically aim to keep our learning environment as focused on literature and hands-on activities as possible. Computers and screens are usually reserved for supplementation, so I'm pretty picky about what my girls use. 

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Time4Learning is a company who has made its presence well-known both within the homeschool world. Simply search for online homeschool resources and Time4Learning pops up very quickly! All of the core areas are covered including language arts, math, social studies, and science for $19.95 each month for k-8th grades. Discounts are given for each additional student signed up. Courses for high school students are also available. The learning environment definitely has more of the feel of a game and Beth, a six-year-old 1st grader, definitely saw using this as playtime. This is a great benefit when you have reluctant learners. Sparking interest is vital with any program whether a traditional approach or computer-based.


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Beth was the primary user for reviewing the program and used the 1st grade level, but her sisters were right there along with her and thoroughly engrossed! She tried out all of the subject areas and was able to quickly complete all of the language arts and math material. Her official grade-level is 1st, but her ability level is second grade or higher. One of the nice things about Time4Learning is if you find the material is too easy (or too difficult!) you can request a grade-level change. This takes about 24 hours, but I'm glad it requires confirmation so parents have plenty of time to consider.

One area which we were concerned about was how science information would be presented. Our family's world-view is that all of Scripture is true, including a literal 6-day account of Creation. I appreciate that although Time4Learning is not a Christian-based curriculum, they have taken time to address these concerns and even have a specific board within their forum to address this. Click here to see what they have to say.

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Another wonderful aspect is the availability of lesson plans. We are blessed to live in a state where the regulations are easy to follow. Some states are a bit more challenging and require lesson plans. Time4Learning is a huge help for this. It is set up to be a full course curriculum. This can be reassuring for parents who are feeling unsure of themselves as they embark on their journey of homeschool can rest easy knowing their children will be able to meet what is considered grade-level requirements. My personal feeling is it is a little less rigorous than I like our curriculum to be, but my girls tend to be a bit advanced so I'm always searching for more challenges.


Whether you are searching for a full-online computer-based curriculum, fun educational or a supplement for any particular subject, you should check out Time4Learning! This is definitely a high-quality option for any of these scenarios. My daughter asks frequently, "Can I play my mousey game now?" Getting her to agree to play is never a chore and the bonus is she is all the knowledge she is gaining. 




Click below to see what others on the Review Crew had to say!

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5 comments:

  1. I am getting ready to sign up for Time4learning on the 16th. I used to use them years ago and decided to use them again for my "active" son Jack. I know you get a $25 reward for referrals and would love to list yo as a referral if I can. :)

    Brandi Sutherland Knoxville Tn

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    1. Thank you so much Brandi! I'm not familiar with how the referral works, but I appreciate your thoughtfulness! Send me a note via the "contact me" link and I can give you my information.

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  2. What a great review! We have been using T4L for a long while now (since early 2007), so it's nice to see it from a new, fresh perspective. :) I love how you pointed out the Christian forum, and the fact that they are trying to be upfront about any possible spiritual/world view conflicts. We are a Christian family, but thoroughly enjoy using Time4Learning. My oldest, a 9th grader, and I were *thrilled* when they recently announced they were going to offer high school courses. They were very upfront about some of the material that would be covered in the Health elective course, so it was nice to be able to prepare ourselves, and our son, for what he was going to be learning. :)

    Again, loved reading this review. Looking forward to checking out more of your blog! :D
    Katie

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    1. Thanks for stopping by! It is refreshing to know up front where a curriculum stands without having to spend a lot of time looking around their site. I'm glad you've had such a great experience with them! I am interested in hearing what the high-school levels are like. I'm sure they are structured very differently from the elementary.

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    2. The high school courses are different, while being similar. If that makes sense, lol. The landing page (lessons, portfolio, etc.) and login are the same, which made my son much more comfortable. He wasn't immediately overwhelmed with change. :)

      The classes themselves are much more involved, as they should be, lol. There are videos of live teachers (these are pre-recorded, not interactive), which my son thinks is really cool. He likes being able to see a person, and their excitement about what they are teaching. There are a few animations. Not many, but enough to break up the "lectures."

      So far, it's been wonderful. :)
      Katie

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