Time 4 Learning - a Web Based Learning Program for Children in PK-8 Grade

When I first started homeschooling I made many of the same mistakes that homeschoolers have made before me. I went out and bought up almost everything I saw and then found out that it did not work for my family as a whole, or one or two of my children as individuals. This leaves me with a very full bookcase and a very empty wallet.

That lead me to making my own curriculum using scope and sequence that I found online, and that worked for a long time, about 6 months. I know, there is scarcasm there for ya. I was so drained from finding everything, printing out things that would be good for each child, then trying to do each lesson with everyone, lets just say I was less than pleasant.

Unschooling has been great for us since then and we have relished each learning opportunity that has fell into our laps simply living life. It has many great rewards but when your 10 year old is asking what the difference between United States and a state it is time to step it up a notch.

This leads me to keeping an unschooling style, that my children crave, but giving them more meaty substance that they need. Time4Learning is a game based option that fits for many styles with its unique aproach to learning. I let my children pick and choose what they want to do for the day although parents may choose to have them do one "lesson" from start to finish in a certain time frame. This program takes the guess work out of what to do next and what needs to be reviewed!

Knowing that homeschooled kids will eventually have to test in some states they place regular tests along the way but they still make it lighthearted and more like playing a fun game than that old black and white fill in the blank style. For those states that require more from parents than a letter of intent the reports that parents can print out are great! Even if you just want to make up your own portfolio to look back on one day you can have it all in a nice little handy binder somewhere!

I thought about it after a friend refered me and figured I had a free two week trial so I could not loose even if my kids thought it was the worst idea ever and never wanted to do it again. My two eldest loved it right away and I knew that it was going to stay. After doing it for an entire month my daughter came to me crying one day because she wanted to do her school on the same website. She told me her favorites were old, ha! So now I have 3 in Time4Learning and my kids have to be told to quit doing school and go play, other things.

If you ask me, I say it's worth it to at least check it out. Tell them R. Rose sent ya. :)