My Review for Head Of The Class

Some of you may have remembered I posted about us beginning to use Head of the Class. Well we have been using it since January, and I thought I would share my thoughts so anyone else who has thought about using it, could get some feedback.

First off I am no way being paid for this, nor was I asked to do it. I found Head of the Class over Christmas break. Because it was free, I thought we would try it when we started back to school. Even though we were already halfway through our school year, and other curriculum lessons, we started it anyways. DJ stopped using it after about two months. Not because I didn't like the program, but because it was too much for him with his other lessons. So he won't be doing it at all anymore. Caitlin however, has finished 30% of the first grade lessons. Now that her regular school lessons are over, that were planned by me, she will focus on finishing first grade over the summer. She does about an hour a day, four days a week. At this pace she should have it done by the start of the second grade school year in September. That means she will have completed two full first grade curriculums this school year. Whew! She will be using Head of the Class second grade, as her main curriculum for next year. Head of the Class states that it is a six month program to complete, so she will have plenty of time.

Now for the meat of the program. At first it seemed too easy, and not a challenge at all. However, now I can say that is not true. The first grade math especially is a challenge, and I could even say hard. However, Caitlin and I are working through it, and she is doing quite well. They do not do sight words, which is OK, because you can copy them to flash cards from other sights, and do them with your child. Caitlin has already mastered first grade sight words. For first grade a lot of the lessons so far have covered spelling. Not sight word spelling though. Spelling of various phonics like blends, vowels, etc. This has expanded her reading vocabulary a lot, and I am very pleased with the results. They also cover Science, Reading, Social Studies, Art, Music, and even some Spanish. I am very very please so far with Head of the Class.

Not only is Head of the Class free, but there is a forum where you can make suggestions, or ask questions. There are links to the resources they use to make their lessons. Also of importance is the fact that the website works smoothly every time we use it, and has never been down even one day. Your child learns at their own pace, and you can repeat lessons, or skip lessons if you choose to do so. It has both printable lessons as well as online interactive lessons. There are skills assessments for your child to take and I believe you can print them for your records. I have not done that yet, because we have not completed all the lessons yet.

For those of you who want religious type lessons, this may not be for you, however I do not find any lessons thus far that would be offensive to any particular religion. So far their lessons cover up to fifth grade, but they are going to be releasing sixth grade soon. If you need an elementary homeschool curriculum, or even extra work to public school lessons, check out Head of the Class.

Swimming Fun!

I really hate it when there is a holiday on a Monday, now I feel like I don't know what day it is. But, it is Tuesday, and on Tuesdays we have our playdates. Since it is already scorching hot here in sunny Florida, playdates mean swim dates. Over the weekend my husband, the kids, and even Lucky enjoyed the nice cool pool. Biscuit is 80 pounds so she only gets in once in a while, though she does love it. It is too hard to get her safely in and out of the pool, to let her swim every time. Lucky only weighs like 8 pounds.

Over the weekend, DJ and I also discussed his math. He has been using Saxon 54 all year. It was given to me after we could not find a math program that really suited his wants and needs. He likes it, so I will stick with Saxon. However, I did not realize what the 54 numbers actually meant. They mean the end of fourth grade and beginning to halfway through fifth grade. Not exactly what I intended, so starting yesterday we went ahead and decided to begin Saxon 65. That way he is at the end of fifth grade and beginning to middle of sixth grade by the end of next year. It is kind of confusing, but I know I used the Saxon textbooks when I went to school and didn't have any problems on Math standardized tests. I have gotten all the books through Algebra, so we are sticking with it.

Next week is the end of our regular school year. Caitlin will continue with Head of the Class through the summer months. I want her to complete first grade, and begin second grade on time in the Fall. She has actually done double curriculum for first grade by the time she finishes, because she completed the other one already. Head of the Class is going to be her main curriculum next year for Second Grade. Because we didn't find Head of the Class until January, that is why she is finishing up First Grade over the summer.

Cell Biology, The Seasons, 1st Grade Sight Words

It seems like we are constantly learning about the seasons, from one grade to the next, LOL. So here is yet another seasons video for my kids to enjoy. DJ is just starting to get into the nitty gritty of Biology, and is learning about cells. The first grade sight words are for anyone who cares to use them. We use flash cards every day, but some kids find watching the video daily more helpful. This school year is almost over, and we will begin reviewing soon. I constantly evaluate and re-evaluate what is working and what is not. So, DJ will no longer be doing Head of the Class. We started it halfway through the year, and it is just adding to much to his work load. Caitlin will continue her Head of the Class lessons, and will be a major part of her curriculum for next year. It is a free service, so check it out.

Different Learning This Week

This week is going to be a little different for us. Because we are going on our next trip to Seaworld on Wednesday, I don't want too much book work this week. DJ did extra math assignments, and History assignments in his books last week, so we won't be behind. We have a Netflix account, had it for many years now. With their play now feature, you can watch videos right on your TV or computer, without a disk. Since we have been learning about ecosystems, weather, ancient Egypt, and many other great topics, I will be using Netflix this week for educational purposes. I have saved tons of documentaries and movies for the kids to enjoy. I hope I get to the Liberty Kids series, but that one may have to wait until next time. Caitlin will also be doing Head of the Class, and Mightybookjr since she doesn't really like to sit and watch anything for too long.

Head Of the Class, and Elementary Advantage

I want to share a couple of things with my readers today. I blogged a couple weeks back about wanting to get away from traditional textbook teaching to more hands on, and online teaching. I am unsure how I found Head of the Class, but I am so glad I did. It is completely free online, with some printable worksheets. They just released fifth grade, and are planning on releasing sixth through eighth all in 2011. I am not sure if they will do high school or not. Anyways I set it up on Saturday, and it was a bit confusing at first. But today Caitlin flew threw her lessons with no problems, once we understood how the system works. Their customer service was very fast when I sent them a question I had, and as I stated it is free. They keep records of all lessons completed and you can then keep them for your evaluation. You could always just have your evaluator log onto the site to see completed activities. Caitlin's was smooth, DJ tries his after lunch, so we will see how fifth grade goes. They also have certificates of achievements you can print. Each grade is set to be 180 days, so if you start midway through the school year, like I did, you either have to do more lessons each day, or go longer into your school year to complete it. This will be supplemental for us, until I am certain of the completeness of the lessons. So far I love it!

The other thing I wanted to mention is Elementary Advantage. I bought this two years ago, and the kids used it briefly at the end of last year. They like it, and can move through it easily. I do not care for the Science section as it freezes all the time, and does not appear to work correctly most of the time. It is affordable however, and all the other parts are good. Caitlin and DJ will be doing online and computer software activities mostly on Monday and Friday, plus if time permits on the other days.

Lesson Plans For 02/07/11:

Chutes and Ladders board game
DJ blog post Fishy Monday: Bicolor parrot fish
Advantage Elementary computer software
Head of the Class first and fifth grade lessons
Discovery Atlas Uncovering Earth: Great Rift Valley, only DJ watched this 43 minutes long