Online learning is becoming an increasingly more popular choice for many homeschool families. Some use it to supplement while others use it as the core of their curriculum. There are so many sites offering this type of learning that it can become difficult to figure out which one fits your family. Drawn by convenience and the appeal to students, parents are using today’s technology as an educational tool. One such program on the internet which provides quality education is Time 4 Learning.
From the website:
“Time4Learning is a student-paced online educational system covering preschool through middle school. It is popular as a homeschool curriculum, for afterschool enrichment, for remediation, and for summer study.”
Time 4 Learning offers a wide age range for homes with students in multiple grade levels. Teaching multiple levels is one of the more challenging tasks in homeschooling. Time 4 Learning helps by providing a rich education or reinforcement activity for multiple students. While one child is doing math on a computer the other can be studying English with mom.
Here are the basics included in the program:
Online Curriculum for PreK to 8th Grades
Access to 3 Grade levels of lessons
1000+ Student-Paced Multimedia Activities
Language Arts, Math, Science & Social Studies
Interactive, Project-Based Activities
Detailed Reporting for Easy Record-Keeping
Lesson Plans & Teaching Tools for Parents
Lessons Correlated to state Standards
I had the pleasure of reviewing Time 4 Learning with three of my children for a month. We all had a great time navigating the system. The program is very easy for all of us to use and find our way around. My little test subjects are 5, 10 and 12.
My views:
My favorite part was the timer function. I could set the timer for how long I wanted them to do “work” before going to the playground to fun activities. I found this especially helpful with my 10 year old boy who likes to play more than study. I also enjoyed the graphics. The graphics were appropriate for the age group and not too over stimulating that it drowned out the learning. Some programs seem to rely heavily on the entertainment and visual factor while Time 4 Learning used these elements only to enhance the learning experience.
My kids’ views:
My 5 year old loved every minute she was using this program. She enjoyed the ease of logging in and navigation. She could run this program completely on her own. She enjoyed the learning time as much as the playground if not more.
My 10 year old enjoyed his time online learning as he prefers to never open a textbook. He was able to do his math online without problems and learned enough to call it math for a day. Areas he previously struggled in he began to master so this format worked very well for him.
My 12 year old is not fond of online programs. She enjoyed some of the learning but most of all she love the social studies. Beyond that she prefers a book.
If you have children who enjoy online learning or need a break from the textbook, Time 4 Learning is worth checking out.
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