-To give you an idea of how many lessons are offered in just Grade 2, let me list them: Language Art

When we lived in Mexico for nearly 2 years, the answer was easy. We found a great private bilingual school that our kids started attending in preschool. costa rica travel tips They quickly learned a great deal of Spanish, and my older daughter (then 6 years old) often came home with what felt like a boat-load of homework each night. We loved it. And hated it. Why did school costa rica travel tips have to be about test scores and memorizing junk? Why did they have to do so much busy work that I don't think actually taught them anything? Why did 6 year old children have to attend school all day, and then come home and do even more homework?  What about being kids? What about the joy of learning?
So, when we took off on our full-time traveling journey this summer, we were a bit worried, and yet a bit excited about going the homeschool route for the first time. Would our older daughter (now 7) even like it?  Would her feisty personality (which hates a parent as a tutor) be able to adapt?
Many different homeschool methods were explored and tested. Workbooks were used, and ditched. Then we started searching online for a solution, and we are SO happy to report we finally found one we love Time4Learning.com .
At first, I was a bit taken aback that are a monthly subscription format (it is per child, with a discount for each additional child). Some other homeschool programs (which I've now learned are very sub-par) offer a dirt-cheap low yearly price. How could this program be so much better?
But as I've tested it and used it in our family, I'm sold and consider it a drop in the bucket for education costs. The yearly price is still significantly less than our cost of putting 2 children in a private school in Mexico for just one month (which was very cheap by US standards)!  There is no yearly contract, and there is even a 14-day money back guarantee, so you can be certain you love it.
I found Time4Learning.com via another homeschooler's positive review online, and was excited that they'd give me a free month in exchange for an honest review on my blog. They have some free lesson demos that you can click through on their website, but they are not even the tip of the iceberg in the immense curriculum that is offered in their subscription program. After 1 month of trying the program out for each of our daughters, here are some things I love:
-The program has automated lesson grading and record keeping—which costa rica travel tips will be great if I have to prove anything to a school in the future. Plus, I can see what they are exceeding in, or what they may be having trouble with.
-My kids can have access to a grade above or below their current level, in case they are ready to learn more (or a bit less) about a certain subject. For example, my 7 year old was on a "space" kick, so I upped her from Grade 2 to Grade 3 for awhile, so she could learn from their larger science curriculum that had even more lessons costa rica travel tips about Space.
-To give you an idea of how many lessons are offered in just Grade 2, let me list them: Language Arts—210 activities, Math-215 activities, Science-21 costa rica travel tips activities, Social Studies-23 activities. Starting in Grade 3, the number of activities costa rica travel tips in Science and Social Studies jump up to levels comparable to the other subjects.
A little background on our family dynamics: My 7 year old HATES to be taught by her parents. She is SO sweet and respectful costa rica travel tips of teachers, but when it comes to us sitting down with her and trying to explain something to her, she shuts down and turns off.
This program does a great job at teaching costa rica travel tips concepts…not just practicing them. Whereas costa rica travel tips some other homeschool programs I've found require a parent to sit down and talk the child through the lessons, in Time4Learning.com the program does the tutoring and explaining . They have little scenes that pop up with characters that usually costa rica travel tips have an "expert" (aka: a robot or another costa rica travel tips kid who knows his stuff) who is answers pre-programmed questions for the student. The questions that are asked are all perfectly fitting, and address what every kid would be thinking. So, my 7 year old can sit down and tackle an entirely new subject costa rica travel tips or math concept all by herself , and come out with a full understanding of it. She proves this by going through the full lesson plan, answering the practice questions, and doing a little quiz at the end.
I truly believe that self-driven learning is much more effective for my daughter than having me sit next to her and try to "play teacher," and Time4Learning is the best teacher I've found in an online-based homeschool costa rica travel tips program. That, and she really enjoys it!  The lessons are engaging and interesting! Even I have been fascinated by some of them
As for my 5 year old…she costa rica travel tips is still on a preschool level. At first I wasn't sure if it would be worth the extra money for her to also do the program, but without a doubt I will also keep her on it. She enjoys it and her curriculum offers what appears to her as mostly learning games ("fun" stuff in which she is accidentally learning, too!). I'd much rather she jump on Time4Learning.com than on pbskids.org, where I have to wade through the junk (and ads) to get her to some games that actually teach her something!
In other words…with all this said and done…I am a picky person and don't like to commit to any monthly costs unless I truly see the value in it. And with this program—I costa rica travel tips certainly see the value. And I'm not the only one—guessing from their 13k fans on Facebook!
The only downer is the program uses Flash, so you can't pull it up on your iPad for the kids. But, wait!   There is a work-around which their site doesn't mention!   You can download the Puffin Browser App on your iPad which allows you to view Flash—and wa-la!  You're back in business!
All opinions shared are entirely my own, and I was compensated for this review with a one-month review trial. I will continue this service costa rica travel tips on my own dime. I do not receive any commissions for referrals, but I hope you enjoy them as much as we do!
How much time do your kids spend on time4learning.com per day and per week? How about you, the parents? I understand that learning never really stops, but nonetheless would like to try and measure time involvement dedicated to homeschooling Thank you!
It all depends on what we are doing at the time. A lot of our learning comes from field trips out of the house, etc. I also don t think the majority of a kid s day should be spent doing study work or being on a computer. Kids can learn a lot faster when they are not in a classroom environment with a lot of distractions and other kids who must go at the same pace. I m happy if my older daughter puts in 1 hour a weekday but that rarely happens. When she does log in and I ask her to do a lesson I find that she just keeps going and going until perhaps 5 or more lessons are done (without me having to ask)! We don t do a set amount costa rica travel tips of time, and when she decides she is doing math, for example, costa rica travel tips I suggest she try out another subject for awhile. Many lessons later she is done altogether. For the 5 year old, I don t push it unless she asks to play games online or do homework, and then I log her in. As for time that is required for me? Zip. Every parent costa rica travel tips is different with homeschool times, etc. But I feel that the general consensus is that homeschooled kids do not spend a large amount of time in directed learning, as they do in a classroom. They can cover the same material in a fraction of the time!
This is interesting. All the online curriculum I have seen is boring (Switched on school house. *cough*). costa rica travel tips I like what you say about the tutoring aspect. Do you feel like the work is at grade level? Is the math strong?
Hi Lana. Yes, I agree many online curriculums are not interesting enough to hold my 7 year old s attention (or mine). This one is quite good, and I was really impressed with HOW WELL it explained math concepts that I may have found a bit tricky to explain, otherwise. And I love how it takes her on a path towards understanding bigger and harder concepts one step at a time. Some other programs just HIT you with a new concept, and I d stop and think how do I even begin to teach this to her, so she can do what the program costa rica travel tips wants her to do?! Yes, I do feel the work is at grade level for my daughter! You should give it a try! I especially costa rica travel tips love how varied the lessons are not just strong on one subject.
We have used time4learning.com on and off for many years now. My oldest is using the Algebra this year, my middle K, my youngest pre k II. They all like the program. My oldest just could not figure out pre-algebra we used at the beginning of the year but when I saw that time4learning.com had algebra, I jumped on it for him to give it a try. He likes that he can replay the lesson if he dose not understand costa rica travel tips it. I like that he is learning it all by himself. Only needs me every so often. Makes it easier on me.
I think it s cool that you can start and stop your time4learning.com membership depending on the situation, and what stage your child may be at! Definitely makes life easier to have a good program like this! Now, if only it could change my feisty daughter s attitude ALL the time THAT would be dreamy!
I have wondered the same thing and I am thinking costa rica travel tips not. From what I can tell on the back-end, a decent amount of off-time (2-3 weeks?) may cancel and close out your records. However, you could likely print them before costa rica travel tips you stop, etc.
If you cancel they do not keep your records. costa rica travel tips Once you cancel they keep your account open until the end of your of billing cycle. You can put your account on Dormant for $4. a month if you want to take the summer off. This is a great choice. Or if you want to try a different curriculum you can put your account on dormant. That is $4. a month per student. Does that help you with your question.
Awesome thanks for letting us know! This is exactly what we need, as I wasn t too thrilled costa rica travel tips about paying during the months we plan to take off from school. I love that they will keep the records ongoing much better than canceling and