Time 4 Learning Review

This year I have been working on doing some research for what programs and curriculum I want to use for my kids next year when we start doing homeschool. I love it when I can see what the curriculum actually offers or when there is a free trial. That way I can really see if it is something I want to spend our time and money on. I have heard a lot of great things about the Time4Learning program so I checked it out. As I was looking around I found that I could try it out for a month for FREE if I posted an honest review for it on my blog. So of course I said yes! So here we go...

First I have to admit that trying this out during the holiday season was probably not the best idea. We started out strong doing it 3-4 times a week, but then life got insane and we only kept it up 1-2 a week. But even that was helpful enough in seeing how my kids responded to it and what it had to offer us. I have 2 kids that I had test it out. My pre-k loved the the "My Colors" section. Every time she logged on, she went there first. It was easy and intuitive for her. Other things were a little more challenging for her like the syllable drum and the counting bubbles. These were challenging for her and she didn't quite get them at first, but then after sitting with her and helping her through it, she understood it a little better. With time and practice, I'm certain she would have been able to do it without help. There were a couple of things that she didn't get at all, and I personally feel are a bit to complex for pre-k. that is the word counter and sentence slopes. The concept is more advance than beginning pre-k. They are just learning letters and numbers so counting words feels and putting them in order seems a bit to advance. But there are so many other options and things for them to learn and play with that not being able to do those 2 things aren't a problem at all. 

My kindergartner also really enjoyed using Time4Learning. The science section was his favorite. It was a bit more interactive and fun for him compared the the language arts. He knows how to read really well already, but I wanted him to focus on more of the basic rules to make sure he has a good foundation. Because of that I think it was a little less fun for him, but he did enjoy it. I felt like it taught the concepts well. We only tried it for the short time so I don't know if it does this more, but I do wish there were a few more activities to master the concepts. What they have is good, but I felt like we would have had to repeat them a couple of times to master them. Without a variety, I think my son would have gotten bored with it easier. Having said that, I still think it is good at introducing the concepts and giving us a starting point. He absolutely loved the playground games. Some were a bit complex, but I don't think it is broken down into learning groups, I think everyone has access to the same page. In one way that is good because it forces him to expand his abilities, but at the same time can cause a lot of frustration. I would have liked to see the playground broken down into smaller groups, ( example: pre-k, k, 1st grade together, 1st, 2nd, 3rd together, etc.).

As far as the parent tools, I feel like that did a great job with the resources and help available. Everything is easy to figure out. They have a lot of options to chose from. Where we live we don't have a lot of restrictions and requirements for homeschooling so I didn't fiddle around too much with these. When I needed to adjust what level my kids were on, that was very easy, as well as managing how long they could be in the play ground area, or  if I wanted to check their progress for the week or month was also very easy. Like I said I think their parent area is a great resource and a definite winner.

Overall, I think Time 4 Learning is a great asset to any home whether you homeschool or do public school. It's fun, it's easy to navigate, there are a lot of helpful and useful resources. This was a great experience for us. Feel free to leave questions if you have any, I'd be happy to answer them. If you are interested in trying Time 4 Learning, Click Here for link where I went to get the free trial.