Time 4 Learning Review!

Recently we were able to review Time 4 Learning.  I was pretty excited because I had been hearing good things about it in the homeschool world.  We were given a one month membership for 4 children

Student Feedback-I asked the kids their views, these are their answers
Anne used it first.  She liked the ease of use for upper grades.  She likes the set up too.  The math is too easy at first, but you can easily adjust it, up to 8th grade math for her at the 7th grade level.  You can also adjust it to a lower level if needed. She really likes the language arts.  In fact, she has been singing songs from it without realizing it.

Emma was very resistant.  Once she tried it though, it was difficult to get her off the computer.  She loves the playground.  There are plenty of games and safe links.  Time 4 learning can track how long kids play. Parents can even set limits on how long kids can play at the playground, which is great. She has also been singing songs, and she and Annie will start quoting certain games.  Its awesome to have her excited about anything school related.

The interface is fun, with colorful graphics, fun voices and interesting games.  The lessons are formatted well.  Its almost like they are not doing school, its that fun. 

 

 Sarah has learned to rhyme and she thinks the playground is awesome.

Laura loves that she has her own school on the computer.  She always wants to do her schoolwork.She particularly loves the farm section, but she will work on any topic. She likes the coloring too.

We are mid-move, so I love that we had access to school even while our main curriculum is packed up.  I love that the kids are eager to do school.

I will admit to not trying to set anything up for the kids.  If I had, I would have gone to a page similar to this:

I really like that there are so many areas to keep track of.  Time 4 learning can be used as a stand alone homeschool curriculum, so the progress reports would be good for those who have to report to their state at specific intervals. It can also be used as a supplement or as a substitute for summer school.  I would have loved this as summer school as a kid.

Operating system requirements: It can run on a PC or Mac, with minor adjustments needed for Linux.  I used a PC, on both Windows Vista and Windows 7.   There are no cds to install, its all online. It is Flash based, so you need a Flash player.

Downsides to this program:  Its hard for a lower elementary kid to log in.  They have to type in their first and last names and password.  Also, there isn't a home page for the lower elementary kids like the upper levels.  Having upper and lower kids, the lower kids want what the older kids have.  Also, the cost is prohibitive, at least for our family.  It is $19.95/month for the first child, $14.95/month for the second child.  For our family, that would work out to $777.60 per year.  The upside to that is that it is month to month, so you could cancel at any time.

I am thinking of getting it a month at a time for Emma when she reaches the the refusing-to-do-anything-school-related point during the school year.

Disclaimer: I received Time 4 Learning free of charge in exchange for an honest review.  

All the opinions expressed herein are my own.