Time 4 Learning Review

Hi Everyone!  I'm here today with my review for Time 4 Learning.

Time 4 Learning is an online educational website that offers courses for PreK-High School.  It covers the core subjects of math, language arts, social studies, and science. This curriculum is web-based... meaning as long as you have access to the internet, you will have access to all of your curriculum. To access the curriculum all you have to do is login to your account. No toting books and curriculum around, especially if you go on vacation!


Registration and Fees:

The registration process for this curriculum was quick and effortless!  All you have to do is visit their home page and click on the yellow "Sign Up" box on the upper right hand corner.  You are then directed to fill in parental information.  Upon completion of this step, you then register your students, providing Time 4 Learning with their grade levels.  The price for this program is paid monthly and for PreK-8th Grade you pay $19.95 per month for the first child and $14.95 per month for each additional child.  For High School the fee is $30 per month for core classes, plus an additional $5 per month for each extra course. Time 4 Learning offers a 14 day money back guarantee if you decide that you don't like the curriculum and you are able to cancel at anytime if the program isn't working for you.

Parental Effort:

If you are looking for a curriculum that doesn't require too much planning and involvement on your part, then this would be a great program for you! There is a separate login for parents where they can login and create lesson plans and assignments.  Parent also can track records and print off scores as needed for their own record keeping.  Parents are also able to go in and set up specialized classes for their child.  For example, if you child is a Third Grader, but is on a Fourth Grade level in Language Arts, you are able to bump up your child in just that subject. This is a great way to help your child learn and advance at their own pace. Since the lessons are all from the website parents won't have to spend hours creating and coming up with lesson plans.

Curriculum:

Time 4 Learning uses Compass Learning Odyssey, an online educational system that has been used by public schools for years. That being said, Time 4 Learning is a secular curricula and is based on National Standards.  If you have chosen to leave the public school system due to concerns about the curriculum, then this website is not for you.  If you have issues with your children being taught evolution as a fact instead of a theory I would steer clear of this program.

Our Experience With Time 4 Learning:

My children were so excited to get started with this program.  I slowly began introducing Time 4 Learning in the beginning of August to get them back into school mode.  I couldn't believe how excited they were and how they began asking me if it was their turn to logon to "the learning website".  Initially I was thrilled that my children were so excited for learning!  The animation and excitement of the website made learning fun.  I liked that I could just "let them loose" on the website while I attended to my newborn baby. It was a fabulous way to get them excited for the school year.  My oldest son loved the Language Arts section and had fun learning new vocabulary and spelling...a subject he has always struggled in. Plus, I was excited that Time 4 Learning did all the record keeping for me!  Less work for a busy Momma!

As I paid closer attention to what my children were doing, I began to notice some things that made me a little uneasy.  Some of the animation seemed very crude, and while my 5th Grader thought it was hilarious, I did not.  Sometimes the lessons seemed a little too "cutesy" and more time was spent on the theatrics of the lesson, rather than the core learning. We have tried to go with a more Classical Education model in our home and some of the curriculum just seemed like it was goofy, silly, and immature. I do not feel like some of the themes being taught through the animation reflected the higher standards we have set for our children.

Also, since Time 4 Learning is aligned with National Standards, it is basically public school online.  Last year we left public school over concerns with the curriculum.  We also wanted the freedom to teach our children to have a Biblical world view and to teach them the character qualities we felt are important for life. Time 4 Learning doesn't allow for that. Some of the animations are crude and rude, something I don't want my children being exposed to daily.

I also became concerned with the amount of screen time my children were getting.  I don't believe that all learning should be done online and there is a lot of learning that should be done with a good old fashioned pencil and paper.  Also, I am the type of parent that loves to get my kids outdoors and exploring for themselves-- touching real things and doing real experiments and observations-- not just seeing things on a screen.

Final Takeaway:

 I would definitely recommend using this curriculum if you want your child to have more of a world view, you want less parental effort in lesson planning, you like the record keeping features, and you like the ease of being able to have your curriculum with you anywhere you have internet. For a parent trying to juggle homeschooling multiple children, this could be a great option. Also, this would also work well as a supplemental curriculum and would be a great resource to use when your children become bored with their other schoolwork. 

I would not recommend this curriculum if you want your child to have a more Biblical based view, you love to be involved in the learning process, and you are concerned about public school curriculum, and you are concerned about the amount of screen time.

Disclosure: For my review and time, Time 4 Learning compensated me with a one month trial of their curriculum for my children. All opinions are 100% my own.