Time4Learning

Having multiple children, multiple ages, has proven a little overwhelming to me in the homeschooling arena; especially with a newborn and a toddler too.  So, my husband and I were searching for a way to continue homeschooling without totally stressing me out.  Our answer – Time4Learning.

Over the last couple years I have looked into Time4Learning several times, it pops up repeatedly on homeschool sites, and google searches.  So what is Time4Learning all about?

• online curriculum for your preschooler all the way through 8th grade including Algebra!
• lessons are fun, animated games – the child does not even notice he is learning!
• children work at their own pace and have access to several grades at one time
• outstanding reports for the parent to print out to easily show the child’s progress
• covers Language Arts, Math, Science, and Social Studies

One concern for parents with an online curriculum is that the child will be sitting in front of a computer all day.  That is not the case with Time4Learning – there are also worksheets to print out to reinforce concepts, spelling lists, books to read, etc.   My kids all LOVE the fun lessons and do not complain about the worksheets because they are not daunting.

With lesson plans already prepared – school can begin each day with ease. There is also a parent forum to provide extra support and resources.

Still not sure if Time4Learning is for you?  Check out this tour to find out How it Works.  One of my favorite things is that it is a month to month service – so, if at any time you feel it is not working for you, there are no penalties to stop.

We are using it as a motivation for the children – if they choose not to do their work on Time4Learning then we will stop paying for it, and they will go back to worksheets and textbooks.  What a motivator!  It works because Time4Learning is fun learning.  I love that the children have the same characters teaching them so they can easily talk about them and what they are learning.  Often, one child will ask a sibling to come watch something entertaining.  Seriously?  They are watching someone else’s schooling – WITHOUT complaint!!

Time4Learning has been such a blessing in our lives, but there are some things I am not wild about.  For example, the lesson plans are awesome, but since children can work at their own pace there is no outline for what the child should be accomplishing in a day.  So, I have to watch what the child is doing to see just how long each lesson is to get an idea of how many activities are appropriate in a day.  Of course, the parent forum has suggestions and information on this -that is helpful.

The other part I would change is the way the worksheets are presented.  They should be more clearly marked with what lesson it goes to so if you print out a week’s work ahead of time you do not get confused.  The other thing I would love, is for there to be one button to press and be able to print out all the worksheets at once.  I have six children using the curriculum and going through and printing each worksheet individually is time consuming.  But in the long run it is something I can deal with since it simplifies so many other parts of homeschooling for me.

Once signed in to Time4Learning you gain access to these resources:

There is more to the program than just the online lessons.  For example, in the 5th grade curriculum if you click on the Language Arts Reading List, there is a three page pdf listing all of the books suggested to complete the Language Arts Extension activities.   All required materials are available online, but the suggested items are offline.  This is great since I have multiple children schooling at once – there is always something for them to be doing even when they are not logged into Time4Learning on the computer.

Grade appropriate lists of spelling words and supply lists for science – Time4Learning really saves time by offering those time-consuming tasks already laid out for the parent.   Also, being able to quickly check your child’s recent work with just one click.  And even better – the work is already graded – wahoo!  Here is a sample of Chloe’s recent work.

Another huge time saver is printable reports – you can do attendance or grades by subject.  Then you are quickly shown what lessons are done, the date, the time it was completed and how long the child spent on the activity.

 Here is the same report generated as a pdf – again – just one click of a button.  How wonderful is this to throw in a portfolio?

One last thing I love about Time4Learning is that it can be used as a homeschooling curriculum, but it can also be used as a supplement for homeschoolers, for kids during the summertime or for afterschool exercises to help children succeed.

Disclaimer:  I was asked to write this article on behalf of DenSchool, as I am a paying member of Time4Learning. I have received no compensation or benefits from Time4Learning in return for this article.