Online learning is an important part of our homeschool. I was excited when we were asked to review Time4Learning for my 1st grader.
Time4Learning
Time4Learning is an online curriculum program for students from preschool through 8th grade. In fact, they now offer high school courses as well! There are lessons for Language Arts/English, Math, Science, and Social Studies. There are also other things available for different levels, such as Phonics for preschool and kindergarten levels and Time 4 Art for 4th-8th grade. High School has a variety of electives.
Easy to Use
Time4Learning is easy to use. My 1st grader had no problem figuring out how to go from login to lesson. It is well-structured and systematic, which is helpful for many children, including my son.
As you can see, the program uses arrows to show students which thing to choose, and it has a big green “Completed” check mark so they know what has been done.
If the work is too difficult or too easy, the grade levels can be adjusted to a grade level ahead or behind. In some subjects, my son flew through it and I could see moving him to the next level. Science was an example of that for him. He just can’t get enough of science!
Feedback From My First Grader
Time4Learning is different than any other program he has used since it is a complete core curriculum. This exposed him to subjects on a daily basis that we don’t always do each day.
Here are the highlights, according to my 6 year old son:
Loves: “I usually can do it by myself.”
Likes: “That there are puzzles where you have to get things correct to get the puzzle pieces.”
Wishes they would change: “I wish that there would be a memory thing before the quiz that asks you if you remember everything.”
(I told him that is exactly what a quiz is supposed to be, and he said, “Oh, I forgot!”)
So then he said he wishes that there was a place to color before every quiz.
Glad he learned: “A dragon that China does is supposed to scare away dark, evil spirits.”
(He loved learning about this in social studies. I thought it was awesome that he got to learn about other cultures and their practices. He got to learn this at his own pace and at his interest level. Awesome!)
Favorite subject: Science! He was delighted that there were 2 levels, because he quickly worked through level 1.
The hardest subject: Math
I think this was more of a problem for him because he didn’t understand the way they were asking it. Once I came and re-read it to him and broke it down a little, he was able to get it.
For example, he didn’t understand how to tell if 8-1=7-4. However, when I asked him, “What is 8-1?” and, “What is 7-14?”, he had no trouble answering those and realizing that they were NOT equal and that the problem was false.
He has never done math in this way before, so it was a challenge that he just needed a little extra help with to understand the question. With practice, I know that this will be much easier for him and he’ll be accustomed to this type of questioning to perform better in time.
Parent Administration
There is so much to look at on the Parent’s Admin part of the Time4Learning site. I was able to see exactly what subjects and activities that my son completed, including the date and time. I saw the percentage he got correct and how long he spent on everything.
I was also able to set how long I wanted him to have to work on the curriculum before he could play in the playground area.
For parents that need to present homeschool records to an umbrella school, supervising teacher, or for their portfolio for the state, this is a terrific resource. Records can be generated by time period and easily printed for sharing.
Try and Then Buy!
If you would like to, you can try a free demo, personalized to the grade level you’d like to try out. That will give you the opportunity to see what the lessons are like.
Time4Learning retails for $19.95 for the first preschool-8th grade student, per month. Additional students are just $14.95 per month. High School includes 4 courses and is $30 per month.
Bottom Line: We Like It
I love that this allows my son the opportunity to learn from each core subject any time he wants. He gets the satisfaction of seeing when he has completed lessons, and I get the peace of mind knowing that he is learning from a well-rounded curriculum.
It’s fun, colorful, and well-organized. I’m able to see exactly what he’s been working on and how well he’s doing.
The only potential downside I see is the cost. However, when you consider everything that is included, from the core subjects, to the playground area, to the comprehensive reporting, to the ability to adjust grade levels for student ability, it truly is a good value.
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