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.
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Homeschooling is not an easy task once you first decide to take the lead in your child's education. I started homeschooling many years ago to curtail germs as my youngest was prone to severe asthmatic episodes when sick with a cold. Throughout the years, I have tried many curriculum, both in book form and online classes, to no avail. I truly believe the best system is one made of different mediums which is why I gravitated towards SchoolhouseTeachers.com. We have had the Ultimate PreK-12 Annual Membership for over three years and enjoy all it offers. One of the features I like is the flexibility. I like that I can build my own curriculum for each of my children and to date, it has served us well.
The ability to access online classes and video components as well as access to downloadable and printables with over 360 courses for all ages and levels in every subject, really was what impressed me. The online electives are vast and full of great topics to those that are already interested in those subjects or to some that may not even realize they might love that direction such as drama. The best part for me is the ability to plan my children's schedules as to how I feel meets their individual needs. The fact that it's self-paced was critical as having one child with learning disabilities, I found online schools were too rigid with timelines and due dates. I have another child that is advanced, so she's not bored with waiting for these due dates to pass. This is perfect and I'm very happy to find non-common core resources.
- Navigation: As I first became aware of SchoolhouseTeachers.com, I found the ability to navigate between subjects and class levels effortless which cut down on the learning curve and allowed more time to dive into what was being offered and how I wanted to plan the new school year.
- Course Information: Upon selecting a course(s), information is readily available that discusses the course introduction, length of course, age and grade recommendations, an outline of the course, introductory video, certificate of completion as what child doesn't like to see progress achieved on paper? There are other features to each course when a student first begins but those are just a few.
- Video Library: Hundreds of videos are available to stream and most videos are available worldwide and are accessible immediately from the site.
- Planning Resources: There are an array of resources ranging from weekly schedules to even sample 9-week schedules to aid in helping you build a custom schedule. There are schoolhouse homeschool planners, ready-made calendars, printable information charts such as sign language, branches of the government, types of clouds and so much more.
- Resources: This is another great feature full of many options to choose from whether it's topics such as High School Help, Special Needs, Literacy Center, Just for Parents and much much more.
- World Book Resource Library: This resource is separated by Library, Grade and Subjects for a total of 10 libraries that holds an amazing amount of resources to aid in educating children.
Whether you are new to homeschooling or not, the resources, the set-up of SchoolhouseTeachers.com is nothing like I've used before. I would recommend this particularly to the new homeschooling parent in breaking through the nervous barrier on the decision to homeschool. I would also recommend it to the experienced homeschooling parent as it truly is a one stop website for educating all your children.
Mini Course Review
I wanted to provide an example of how robust the courses can be by providing a mini review of 250 Years of Exploration, Settlement, and Reformation: World History. This course is intended for those in 11th and 12th grade, is text based and covers 36 weeks of learning material. It's a world history course focusing on the Americas, Europe, Asia, and Africa during the time period of the 1500s through the 1700s. The course provides an intro for what will be required such as a notebook for note taking and research and there is a check off on the lesson plan.
It's a very comprehensive course that will not bog down your learner with too much information. I'm looking forward to completing the course with my student over the next several months.
Mini Course Review
I wanted to provide an example of how robust the courses can be by providing a mini review of 250 Years of Exploration, Settlement, and Reformation: World History. This course is intended for those in 11th and 12th grade, is text based and covers 36 weeks of learning material. It's a world history course focusing on the Americas, Europe, Asia, and Africa during the time period of the 1500s through the 1700s. The course provides an intro for what will be required such as a notebook for note taking and research and there is a check off on the lesson plan.
I'm hoping by reading my review, you will be able to learn about the many resources available for homeschooling your child or children. After trying too many different curriculum's and spending a lot of money, my only regret was I didn't find SchoolhouseTeachers.com before I found them years ago. The 'where to start' resource page is extremely helpful for those new to the online site. I initially felt I would need to really spend a solid month getting absorbed with everything that is offered but after jumping in, I realized that it's all very intuitive and easy to use. Since one of my children has difficulty with reading, I sought the information available at the Literacy Center. Again, I was extremely pleased with all the resources:
- Downloadable books for K-4th grade.
- Trek's Travels series of 12 early readers for PK/K which will be a great asset to my pre-K grandson.
- Welcome to Reading collection of four series of early readers for K-2nd grade. This will work perfect for my granddaughter in kindergarten.
- The Classics is a collection of nursery rhymes, songs and stories for Pre-K-2nd grade.
- Strategies in working with your child(ren).
- A Getting Started section.
- Comprehensive Skills to include a link to fun comprehensive games in World Book Early World of Learning Library.
Overall, SchoolhouseTeachers.com is a great membership filled with downloadable, printable elements as well as online classes and video components. It's a great opportunity if you are already homeschooling or if you are on the fence and are thinking about starting. It covers Elementary Homeschool Courses, Middle School Homeschool Courses and High School Homeschool Courses.
Now through January 31, 2020, there is a sale going on! The Ultimate Annual Membership is only $99 or $12 a month. If you renew, you are locked into that pricing! Use code ONLY99 for the annual membership discount or ONLY12 for the monthly discount. New members only.
Check out what the others on The Crew thought by clicking the link below:
