Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Great Homeschool Curriculum!


This is now the 2nd year that we have been homeschooling Mariah.  The first year was more of a time to get Mariah back to wanting to learn.  She had been so set back by her 2nd grade experience in public school that going to school every day started with a huge battle and ended with tears.  This year, she is ready to go back to purposeful learning and we're starting with third grade classes.  We've tried lapbooks, different curriculums that we've purchased through schools, and several other recommended methods.  All of them have been good, but not enough for her.  Since Mariah is autistic with severe ADHD she has a very short attention span and really struggles with math.  In addition, if I'm working, Daddy doesn't always make her do her schoolwork because he has trouble with it as well.  So then I come home after work and have to help her with schoolwork and then do my own schoolwork since I am a student as well.

She loves the website Spelling City so I've been getting 3rd grade spelling lists online and loading them in.  Recently, while I was setting up a new list, I noticed an ad for a website called Time4Learning.  Being curious, I checked it out.  Wow, was I ever impressed with the sample lessons. 

Time4Learning is an online curriculum that can be used for a supplement to a regular school or as the main curriculum for homeschooling.  The cost for 1 child is only $19.95 a month.  One of the online schools that we looked at was $1600 for the year in addition to books!  With Time4Learning, you don't have to purchase anything additional, the $19.95 a month is your total cost!  It's very easy to set up and there is even a parent forum where you can get help from other parents if you need it.  The program gives you test results on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis that you can print out and keep in a file if you need to.  You can see every day just how well your child has learned a subject and whether they need additional review or can go on to the next lesson.

Lessons are fun, more like games than school work.  For instance, today Mariah is working on learning Place Values in math.  She struggles with these as she doesn't understand that you don't have to put zeroes everywhere.  In one of the lessons, a bank manager locks himself inside the safe.  The student must type in the correct combinations in order to release him.   She had a hard time with the first combination, but by the time the lesson was over she understood Place Values so well that she ended up with an 88%! 

Mariah loves seeing the 'rewards' and 'kudos' that the program gives her when she does a lesson well.  Positive reinforcement is great for any child and Time4Learning has plenty of it!

If you are homeschooling your child and want something new, thinking about homeschooling but aren't quite sure that you can do it, or your child just needs some additional help with subjects that he or she has trouble with, then Time4Learning is definitely for you!  Take a look, let your child try the sample lessons.  I can pretty much guarantee that you will be just as impressed as I am.

www.time4learning.com

As a member of Time4Learning, I have been asked to review their online education program and share my experiences. While I was compensated, this review was not written or edited by Time4Learning and my opinion is entirely my own. Write your own curriculum review or learn how to use their curriculum for homeschool, after school study or summer learning.

Saturday, December 1, 2012

Stitching the Night Away Blog Hop #6

Some of us have a favorite chair that we sit in to stitch, others prefer to enjoy a steaming mug of tea while they stitch. Maybe you need to get comfortable and put on your pajamas before you pick up your needle or you simply must rearrange all the sofa pillows before you sit down. Sometimes the ritual is in the clean up when we’re done and everything must go in a certain place. What sort of stitching rituals do you have when you sit down to work on your projects?

I sit down in my comfy chair with a cup of tea or coffee, whichever happens to strike my fancy at the moment.  I put either a series marathon or a good movie on tv and enjoy!

Visit all the blogs in this round of the <a href="http://www.stitchingthenightaway.com" target="_blank">Stitching the Night Away</a> Stitching Blogger Blog Hop: <script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.simply-linked.com/listwidget.aspx?l=c56666a0-4fa7-4128-869e-b7bca86ee55b" ></script><br />Find the instructions on how to participate in this round by <a href="http://www.stitchingthenightaway.com/2948/stitching-bloggers-blog-hop-6-stitching-rituals" target="_blank">clicking here</a>.

Blog Hop #5

<a href="http://www.stitchingthenightaway.com/category/stitching-bloggers/"><img src="http://www.stitchingthenightaway.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/StitchingBloggersBlogHop.jpg" alt="Stitching the Night Away Stitching Bloggers Blog Hop" title="StitchingBloggersBlogHop" width="468" height="100" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-2655" /></a><br />
Somehow, I forgot to save #4 so I will simply proceed to #5!

Do you find yourself stitching seasonally or do you just stitch what moves you at the moment? What’s your favorite holiday or season to stitch for?

I love stitching for Christmas.  Halloween, too.  I stitch ornaments all year long both for our tree and for gifts.  I have piles of things to stitch for Christmas.  Some day, I might get them all done!

Visit all the blogs in this round of the <a href="http://www.stitchingthenightaway.com" target="_blank">Stitching the Night Away</a> Stitching Blogger Blog Hop: <script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.simply-linked.com/listwidget.aspx?l=0bec9c19-c494-4bf7-b96b-9be47eded621" ></script><br />Find the instructions on how to participate in this round by <a href="http://www.stitchingthenightaway.com/2904/stitching-bloggers-blog-hop-5-holiday-stitching/" target="_blank">clicking here</a>.