Happily Homeschooling

The cost of Time4Learning is $19.95 per month for the first child and $14.95 for each additional child. You can watch a demo here.

What do I think of this site?

What I like - I can honestly say that both my 3rd grader & 9th grader asked to get on so they can play. There are time allotments for the lessons and the playground that can be adjusted by me. For my son (3rd grader), he was required to do so much lesson work before getting on to the playground. My daughter (9th grade), she was able to go directly to the playground but usually did some Algebra first. I was so impressed that they wanted to do their work. Knowing that they only had to work so long before playing a game was the motivation, I know. But I was happy anyhow. I also like the layout of the kids section. It’s fairly self explanatory and easy to use. There is no software needed that can get lost or scratched either. It’s all web based. I like that I can look at the lesson plans and progress report. It is also a safe and clean way for the kids to play games on the computer. The playground has games appropriate for children and does not give the opportunity to play questionable games. This program can be used by homeschoolers as well as public school kids and can be used as a supplement or full curriculum. It can be used for special needs students as well as gifted ones. Time4Learning can fill a broad range of needs for families.

What I didn’t like – Many of the aspects of Time4Learning were good, but there are a few not so good points. The first for me is that this is secular. Our curriculum is Christian based and, therefore, with a Biblical view (or young earth view) of Creation. My children know about Evolution and know that in the secular realm, this is taught. They do not believe it or have any reservations about believing the Biblical view. That said - I prefer not to have them learning about it in their lesson. Time4Learning is secular and thus, has references to such. Though I did not see any in the work we did, other members of the TOS Crew did. There was also ill humor and even vulgar humor that was seen by other members. Again, I did not see this but I want you, my reader, to know it is there. The second aspect of this site that I do not like is that the student does not have to actually be doing the lesson for the timer to count down. He can essentially sit there until time runs out and then go to the playground. If you do not have time to watch and participate in the program with your kids, this could happen. Also, my daughters screen allowed her to log on to the playground without doing any lesson even though it was set for her to complete 15 minutes of a lesson first. Lastly, since this program is secular and used by many people from all over, there are comments in the parent forum that some will have concern about. This is a personal issue and should be handled individually.

Other reviews by members of the TOS Crew can be found and read at the TOS Crew’s page for Time4Learning. I encourage you to read them to make a properly informed decision on using this site. Overall I believe this is a good site for educational fun. I would not use it as a sole curriculum because I like hands-on for the kids and to be an active participant in their education. The price is a little more for our family than I am willing to pay at this time, too.