Product Review of SchoolhouseTeachers.com

Did you know that you can get a Yearly Membership to SchoolhouseTeachers.com?  We haven't used all of the courses that are offered yet, but I would like to tell you about some that we are presently using so that you can get an idea of what it is like and see if you would like to try it with your children.

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About SchoolhouseTeachers.com

SchoolhouseTeachers.com is a homeschool curriculum site that has over 360 courses in a variety of styles and formats for all ages and grade levels.  They have grade level and scope and sequence suggestions so you can feel like you are doing all you can to teach your child for the year.  You could either use it as the base of your curriculum or use it to fill in gaps that your other materials may not cover.  This is not an online school with online teachers and does not align with the Common Core standards, which is what I personally love about it because I want to teach my own children and choose what I teach.

Yeah, it costs money, but what a bargain!  The Yearly Membership can be used for your entire family for one low price: $179 US yearly.  Presently, I have five children at the right ages to use it, so it's a great deal for our family!

Using Google Chrome as our internet browser, our family gets to the website on a PC with Windows 10.  Some courses include videos to watch.  Some are printable items that you will want a printer for.  I am a person who loves lists and schedules so I personally enjoy the record keeping and organizational tools on the site.  You can even make and print a transcript!

How We Use It

Here are just some of the learning opportunities we use on the site.

Preschool Playground

This is a very fun learning area that my Preschool child, Mason uses. There are hundreds of activities in the Preschool Playground area to do.  Plus, we still have things to do and learn in the grade level courses section for Preschool.  I personally don't do everything here (because there is just so much), but I love all the ideas it gives me.  I often use them to prevent boredom and mischief and to give Mason something to do while I am teaching another child.

Look at this example: Egg Carton Counting from the the NUMBERS, PATTERNS, AND COGNITIVE SKILLS section
Take an egg carton and write the numbers 1-12 in the empty openings. Fill the spaces with the
appropriate number of dried beans or buttons. As your child gets used to this activity, introduce
the concepts of “less” and “more,” that 4 beans are more than 2 beans, etc.

Mason really liked this and calls it, the “bean game”.  The first time we did this, it took a bit of my time.  Now, he gets the carton and plastic bag of beans out himself and sits down and puts the right amount of beans in each hole, then proudly comes to show me what he has done!  It keeps him busy for at least ten minutes and he is learning at the same time.  I just add five more ten minute activities from Preschool Playground and the toddler gets an hour of nap time in, the older kids have had a peaceful reading time, and I have finished a whole reading lesson with my first grader!  Everybody wins!

1st (First) Grade

Just take a look at all of the subjects available!

The Language Arts sections has “Welcome to Reading”, which is a series of 48 early readers that can be read by your child or read to your child (by you or the computer). Approximate grade levels of the readers are: Level A (Kindergarten), Levels B and C (1st grade), and Level D (2nd grade). She wears glasses so I love that they have large letters that are easy to see.  It is very easy for her to use.  My daughter, Miranda, just has to click on the arrow to turn the page.  I sit next to her and listen to her read aloud and help her sound letters out, if needed.  She loves to use the computer so to her it is fun, not work and she is more in the mood to “do school” and read with this program.

Badgers and Other Mustelids

World Book

How does a badger defend itself? Why does a sea otter carry a rock? Why is the wolverine also called the glutton? Read this book to find out! World Book’s Animals of the World provides an extensive library of books about animals for children who love animal picture books and answers questions that inquisitive older kids have about animals. Each two-page spread includes a full-page, full-color picture, map, or illustration. All animal books include instructive animal classification charts to show students where the featured animals fit into the animal kingdom. A table of contents, glossary, list of fun facts, and index help to ensure that children get the most out of each animal book.

The Video Library

My daughter, Mercedes, who is in 9th grade is an artist.  I am too, but I don't feel qualified to teach Art.  I actually feel that she has, through teaching herself, become a better artist than me and I struggle to find her new and useful curriculum that doesn't cost a lot.  I was so happy to see Art videos in the video library.  It adds more to her growing art knowledge.

We also enjoy watching Music Lesson videos from Musik at Home, LLC that are shown through the SchoolhouseTeachers.com video library in the North America section.  The only complaint I have is that you have to fill out a form before you get access to the videos, which is a little annoying when I want to hurry up and put something on so I can put away lunch food and put a load of dishes in the dishwasher, but once you get in, it is totally worth the effort!  My little kids sing the songs throughout the day and look how captivated they are!

Conclusion

To me, SchoolhouseTeachers.com is an excellent resource.  It covers so many subjects.  In the past, I have had a hard time finding materials for some subjects, like Music and Art.  Even if you are already in love with some core programs you already use with your child(ren), this program is great for the extras.  After using it, you may decided to give the core programs a try too and see what you think of them.  If you have one child and homeschool him/her nine months out of the year, at the current price, it is only $20 per month or $5 per week for all of these educational materials.  It is a great value for so many choices and can save trips to the library if it is a distance from your home.  I suggest you try something new this year and give it a chance.  Some new things I plan to try with my children are the “Electives” and “Unit Studies” sections.  It's always fun to try something new!  There are other reviews of this product that you can read as well.

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