I have to give a great big thank you to mom26kidz (Thanks Donna!) for introducing me to a great new resource.  I had read about Time4Learning.com on Donna's blog and went to check it out.  I really liked what I saw and signed up my 6 year old son James. 

Right now I "do school" with my 6 year old kindergartner, James and my 4 year old pre-schooler, Ryan.  They have very different personalities and learning styles.  When we first started to officially homeschool this past fall, James was very unenthusiastic. I had blogged about this back in September, how he found the school work boring and really did not embrace the change in his schedule.  He thankfully did get over those negative feelings and eventually liked doing his lessons, though he did find some things tedious.  He is not really a workbook type of kid.  He enjoys a lot of our phonics curriculum (Phonics Museum) and a lot of our math (Math-U-See), but when it comes time for the worksheets, he gets tired of it pretty quickly.  My son Ryan, on the other hand, would sit and do workbook pages all day long if he could.  James is very proficient on the computer and enjoys doing things on the computer, so when I heard about Time4Learning I had to go check it out immediately.

It turns out to be the perfect addition to our homeschool.  He has lessons in language arts, math and science that he does on the computer.  He alternates, working on one subject each day.  So one day he'll do language arts on the computer and we'll do his Math-U-See lesson and any other work I have planned for the day (reading, bible, storytime, etc.).  Then the next day when he does math on the computer, we'll do his Phonics Museum lesson.  I really am impressed with the content of the lessons as well.  At first I wasn't sure if it would be any more than a semi-educational game.  But I filled out a short questionnaire about his current skill level and they designed his lessons around that.  At first I wasn't sure if it would be challenging enough for him, but it really does blend the right amount of review and challenging material.  He gets a lot of practice with skills he has recently acquired, as well as working on new concepts. And any time I feel the lessons aren't at the right level, I can let them know and they'll adjust it accordingly.  Even though this is web based, they have a number to call where you get immediate assistance.  And the person who can help you is actually the person who answers the telephone.  No automated menus to go through. 

What I also like about it, is he can do it independently.  So I can work with my younger son while James does his lesson on the computer.  I used to bounce back and forth between the two, whereas now my younger son has more of my focus. 

The computer is right near our table so I see and hear what James is doing.  But another great thing is afterwards I can sign on and get reports of how much time he spent doing the lessons, exactly what he did and any quizzes he took.  It is really a nice supplement to what we were already doing.  He no longer has to wait for me to be ready to start his work and he is always very eager to do it.   And I know that even if we're having a not so good day, and the lessons get pushed aside for whatever reason, he'll always at least log on the computer to spend 30 minutes on his lessons.  It takes away some of the guilt when we have one of those days. 

So, as you can see, I am very excited about this.  I know this type of learning isn't for every family or every child, but in our situation, it really is a great asset.  So thank you again, Donna!