Disclaimer: I received a FREE copy of this product through the HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way.
One lesson we’ve discovered since starting deputation is that packing lots of school books into the van and dragging them across the country doesn’t work well. So, when I was given the opportunity to review Time4Learning, I eagerly signed up.
I received a six month subscription to the Time4Learning online curriculum for one student. After looking it over and contemplating my kids’ learning styles, I opted to sign up my eight-year-old daughter, Sydney.
Sydney is in 2nd grade, so after she got signed up, I adjusted the grade level accordingly.
What Is Time4Learning?
I first heard about Time4Learning when I was teaching in a Parent Partnership Program here in Washington State. Many of my students had a monthly subscription, and used it as a supplemental curriculum. While I never used it personally at that time, I heard very good things about it. The kids using it both enjoyed it and were progressing towards learning goals.
So, I was definitely excited to set Sydney up and see how she liked it.
Time4Learning is an online curriculum that covers Language Arts, Math, Science, Social Studies, and Foreign Language. It can be used as either a stand-alone curriculum or as a supplement. All instruction is delivered online, which makes it a very convenient option for families schooling on the road.
How Did We Use Time4Learning?
Once we got Sydney set up, I was able to log into the Parent Dashboard.
From there, I was able to adjust Sydney’s grade level. I appreciate that this could be done by each individual subject. So, if I wanted to have her work at a higher or lower grade level in a subject area to meet her needs, I could.
Time4Learning also provides access to one level above and one level below for students. So, for any activity Sydney did, she could access Grade 1 and Grade 3 since she was signed up for Grade 2. That was a great feature!
Before we dive into the student side of things, I wanted to point out all of the features in the Parent Dashboard. You can set up lesson plans, create a student planner, and view reports. These allow you to set customized requirements for your students, and to really make it fit for you and your family.
The reports are in-depth. Here’s a screenshot of one that I ran today, showing a running log of what activities my daughter has done.
The only thing I didn’t like was that the activities were not sorted by date. I think I definitely need to keep playing with the settings to figure it all out. But, the reports are a good way to make sure the work is actually being done, and that the kids are getting decent grades on the activities.
Sydney’s Experience with Time4Learning
Each day, I logged into the Student Dashboard for Sydney. Then she sat down and did at least one lesson in each core subject area.
The lessons often included a teaching component, via a short video. Then, students had a quick activity to do to help reinforce what they learned.
Here’s Sydney doing a math lesson on place value:
We did have a problem with the science. I don’t know if it was our slow internet, or what, but we could never get the science to load. We could access the Science4Us, so I had Sydney do that instead.
What We Thought About Time4Learning:
Both of us enjoyed the opportunity to try out Time4Learning. It was nice to see what an online curriculum option could look like, and how that might work for our family as we transition to full-time deputation.
Here’s what Sydney had to say:
I like doing the lessons. They don’t take forever. I am learning a lot. I like the social studies the best.
I appreciated that everything was directly done for the student. The instructional videos were kid friendly, and used language speaking directly to the child.
The activities following the lessons made sense, and were age appropriate. They reinforced the material.
Sydney rarely needed help with any of this, which was nice. She was able to be a little more independent with her school, and we just connected each day so she could share what she learned. I also kept tabs on her progress through the reports.
Science was the only subject we had trouble with. As mentioned above, we couldn’t make any of the lessons load for the plain “science” option. But, Science4Us worked well, and Sydney enjoyed learning about physical science.
The lessons were well done, and meant to guide students sequentially through the material.
All in all, I recommend Time4Learning, especially if you’re looking for an online option for your homeschool.
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