I have been cruising through the forums lately on home schooling, and I've come across the subject of curriculum. It is hard to know what is the best ones for our children. To help answer this question, I have decided to review a few that I have found. So here we go.
1. abcmouse.com (www.abcmouse.com)
You may have seen the commercials on this if you have a child that watches Disney. This is a site designed for younger kids in mind. From ages 2 to 6. It offers a wide variety of games in reading, math, science, art, and music. Personally, I haven't tried this site yet. That is meanly because my daughters are a little older than what the site is recommended for. I do have a four year old, but she likes to use the same sites my older girls do. With that said, i am basing my opinion on the reviews and knowledge I have gleaned for this site. With that said, here we goooo.
The site looks very interactive (a common pro for most reviews). With colorful characters and good animation. I feel it would be of interest to the target audience. As I said earlier, it offers a large variety of games that engage young minds. The layout of the site is easy to follow, making it simple for younger kids to use. You will have to help the toddlers with this site (but, that is with every site). The price is very resemble. It is $7.95 a month. You can add up to three children and one adult for that price (please check the site for current pricing. Things do change.). It is a great dill for the price. I my even us it for my kids after all. The only con I can see this that it doesn't go above kindergarten level.
1. abcmouse.com (www.abcmouse.com)
You may have seen the commercials on this if you have a child that watches Disney. This is a site designed for younger kids in mind. From ages 2 to 6. It offers a wide variety of games in reading, math, science, art, and music. Personally, I haven't tried this site yet. That is meanly because my daughters are a little older than what the site is recommended for. I do have a four year old, but she likes to use the same sites my older girls do. With that said, i am basing my opinion on the reviews and knowledge I have gleaned for this site. With that said, here we goooo.
The site looks very interactive (a common pro for most reviews). With colorful characters and good animation. I feel it would be of interest to the target audience. As I said earlier, it offers a large variety of games that engage young minds. The layout of the site is easy to follow, making it simple for younger kids to use. You will have to help the toddlers with this site (but, that is with every site). The price is very resemble. It is $7.95 a month. You can add up to three children and one adult for that price (please check the site for current pricing. Things do change.). It is a great dill for the price. I my even us it for my kids after all. The only con I can see this that it doesn't go above kindergarten level.
2. Global Student Network (www.globalstudentnetwork.com)
This curriculum I discovered just the other day, so I do not know much about it. I will review what I’ve learned. This seems to be a very comprehensive platform for learning. It offers multiple curriculum’s such a secular or christian based (depending on needs). It also offers adult education, GED, and SAT/ACT prep courses. Overall the reviews are pretty positive for this curriculum. It offers a K-12 program. All required materials will be provided.
The cost for this curriculum is $395 per year per student. They also offer an online school with teachers option. Check out there website for more details
3. K12 (www.k12.com)
K12 is an online public school option. It is the option that my girls use. They love this environment. It is run with state teachers that oversee the progress of the students. The lessons are both online and offline based. All materials are provided. Because it is a public school, the students are required to take the same standardized test that all public students do. It has a program from K-12. It does require attendance. It is run much like a regular public school, with holidays, attendance, grades, summer vacation extra.
The cost involved is nothing (if you have a public school option in your area). If the public school option is not available in your area there is a private school option or you can buy the course directly form k12. Check out there website for more information on these options.
4. Oak Meadow (www.oakmeadow.com)
This is another curriculum I discovered just the other day, so again, I do not know much about it. I will review what I’ve learned. The difference between the curriculum any many other (except the K12 public school option) is that it is accredited. It has a full K-12 program and offers a sample lesson for each grade level. I recommend going through the lesson to see if it is a match for you.
The cost for this program is high K-4 is $1725 a year per student, 5-8 is $2130 a year per student. High School is $975 a year per course.
5. Time 4 Learning (www.timeforlearning.com)
This is a popular learning platform for home schoolers. They offer a free demo for there courses. The animation is cute, but a little lacking. The program is interactive. It seems easy to navigate. It has both positive and negative reviews. Based on my review this program would be better as a supplemental learning platform rather them a core curriculum.
The cost is resemble at $19.95 per month for the first student and 14.95 per month for each additional student. The high school is $30 per month for 4 courses.
I have reviewed five popular home school curriculum, and now I will conclude with my opinion on which once are the best. Note: I am not affiliated in anyway with any of these curriculum and have no financial gain in recommending a particular platform. Also, these are my opinions, so feel free to agree or disagree with me.
1. This I would say is a tie between Oak Meadow and K12. The main reason I chose them as number one is that they are accredited. This signal thing will help your child the most in getting into college or heaven forbid :) transferring into a public school. Schools like accreditation and these two are.
2. Global Student Network. This seems like a good platform for learning. It is much more affordable them the top two choices (expect k12 public school option, but that is not available in all areas). The only draw back is that it is not accredited. This my make it harder for college acceptance.
3. Time 4 Learning. This one in my opinion is not a curriculum, it is more like a supplemental learning site.
4. abcmouse.com. This one is also a supplemental learning site. I had to rank it below Time 4 Learning because it only geared for younger children.
Stack books photo found at http://www.hunter.cuny.edu/ieli/repository/images/Stacked%20books.jpg
K12, Time 4 Learning, Global Student Network, Oak Meadow, and abcmouse logos are owned by there respective copyright owners all rights reserved.