We have been homeschooling for about 5 months now and we have been through various online curriculum from ABCMouse.com to Time4Learning.com to ClickNKids.com and although they work some times, we are still on the lookout for an online math and reading core curriculum that can be used by both kids. My little boy works with ABCMouse but I find that he’s more and more distracted by the tickets and the room and does not actually spend enough time on his lessons, my girl however uses Time4Learning mostly and just occasionally uses ABCMouse because she finds the lessons too easy and boring and only use it for the tickets so that she can customize her character. Time4Learning works for both kids most of the time, but my boy who has mild ADHD can only use it 10minutes or less at a time and does not really concentrate on it especially on the lessons that require him to read. He does not like the quizzes because according to him it is boring. My girl however thrives on the structured environment.
Our ideal core curriculum would be something that will keep them entertained but not too entertained, something that is not just edutainment because they get that most of the time from Dora, Diego, Backyardigans, Leap Frog etc. It needs to have some form of structure that will adapt to each of my kid’s needs, must allow the kids to have some fun time in between lessons without deviating too much from the lesson at hand. Must allow them to work at their own pace and most of all must allow us to monitor their progress. And of course, price is always a factor.
I was introduced to this new online math and reading program from kindergarten through grade 5, it’s called K5 Learning (www.k5learning.com). It’s a very promising site and seems to fit quite well with the criteria I’ve outlined above. They also have a 14-day free trial – there’s no need to add a credit card which is always a big plus for me. What’s good about it is that it assesses the child first before giving them access to the actual lessons, this allows for customization of each lesson according to the needs of the child.
We just finished the reading and math assessment and both kids love it. Bear in mind though that for the Math assessment, kids will need to have knowledge of US currency. We are from the Philippines and although they are familiar with the currency, they don’t really know it well enough to answer correctly. But all in all, the assessments are really great, kids who are not readers yet (or those who just doesn’t want to read) will benefit from the fact that they can just roll over the speaker icon to hear the questions and choices. We will be starting the actual lessons tomorrow, but I’m very impressed with the Parent’s dashboard and the reporting features of the site, I can also assign Math and reading lessons to each child and also assign spelling words as well! I have high hopes for this program, if both kids decide to stay with it we just might have found a winner here. Will keep you guys updated after we fully test it out. Below are the actual assessment reports of both my kids:
Khleomi Helen – Grade 1
Khleomi's Reading Assessment
Khleomi's Math Assessment
Xanth Reign – Kindergarten
Xanth's Reading Assessment
Xanth's Math Assessment
