Tuesday, January 10, 2017

Review of SchoolhouseTeachers.com




I have had a membership to SchoolhouseTeachers.com for well over a year. It was one of those things I thought sounded wonderful, so I signed up for. Then I kept meaning to go check out what they offered and I never did. I didn't want to cancel because the monthly price was so great.  When I was preparing school this year I made myself go and look around the site. I really only looked at the electives because I needed one for my daughter that is a freshman. I found the Logic class and decided to go with that. She was insistent that she wouldn't like the class and it turned out to be her favorite last semester. It was the class she did first every day. I recently was invited to review the  Yearly Membership of  SchoolhouseTeachers.com for a period of time. I was very excited because I realized that now I would make myself spend more time on the site. Previously it had been one of those things on my list to do, but just kept not being a priority. I am so thankful for the chance to review the site because it's truly full of hidden gems!

I decided that I would try to find several things on the site that I would spend some time reviewing. My first thought was to go back and pick another elective for my daughter. Since she enjoyed the Logic class so much I figured I'd go back for a second elective.  After looking around a bit I chose the Social Justice class. It seemed to me to go along a bit with the Logic class she just finished.  I read the class description and watched the introductory video. I was immediately interested myself.  The teacher, Kurt Hoffman, wrote a book titled Young Heroes that he uses for the class.  Mr. Hoffman has set the class up in a very interactive way.  He's included videos, pdf files from his book and well as lots of activities for the student to learn more about themselves. He's very encouraging and wants the students to learn about their world and most importantly themselves.  He is very open about himself and starts the class off telling the students that he didn't do well in school.  He struggled when he was younger, but now has three separate degrees.  If I had anything negative to say about this class is the price of the book. I personally wanted to purchase the book because I felt the entire family would benefit from owning the book.  The price just wasn't affordable at this time. That doesn't stop anyone from taking the class since he's included all pdf files that are needed. I'm reading the pdf's and doing the work alongside with my daughter. I think it's giving us a chance to learn more about each other.

I also spent some time with the High School Planner and printed quite a few things from it.  We have a child graduating this year that has already started at a local technical college. Our middle child, the one that is a freshman, may go on an entirely different path. I want to make sure I'm planning for everything with her, so that our bases are covered. I printed the following papers: College Planning & Prep, Possible Future Plans, Interest & Career Ideas, Financial Aid & Schoolerships, Sample Course Schedule for College Bound Students, High School Plan, Community Service Record & Books Read This Year. This is just a fraction of what they have. I believe there were 400+ pages in the High School Planner Alone. I plan on having a notebook just for our freshman and keeping these pages in there. That way I can always know what classes she's taken and what she still needs to take.

One of the things that I really, really love is the Monthly Menu Plan that is on the website.  I know I often make the same things because they are quick, easy and cheap. I look on websites to get ideas, but often end up not bothering because it just seems so simple to continue to make the same meals. On the monthly menu plan there are meals planned for every day of the month. You can click on the link and it will open up and show you the directions.  Here is a sample from January 12th What I really love is that you can pick and choose. You have access to the meals from every month, so you don't have to just use the ones from January.

I also checked out Schoolhouse Expo Video Recordings which has always been a favorite of mine. Several years ago I attended my first Schoolhouse Expo and I was hooked then. There is always a specific topic and you receive lots of wonderful information on just that topic.  It really helps when you are struggling in a specific area and you get to attend and listen with so many other moms that are in the same place you are. There are quite a few topics to choose from: marriage, reading, homeschooling high schoolers, etc.


In mid-January,  SchoolhouseTeachers.com is having a price increase. The promotion is to LOCK IN NOW at the $9.95/month rate so that you save 50% on the NEW prices. In about a week and a half this same monthly service will be $19.95/month--approximately twice as much!  Join during SchoolhouseTeachers.com's Super Christmas Sale and Save!
Use Code:CHRISTMAS for $9.95/month or CHRISTMASYEAR for $90/year.
50% discount on upcoming price increase ends: 15 January 2017.  I highly recommend you check it out: Sale

There are tons of reviews over at Schoolhousereviewcrew.com so I would highly recommend you heading over and checking them out.  It's always nice to be able to read what other parents feel about a curriculum after they've used it.
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2 comments:

  1. Sounds like something good to check out, thanks for sharing your review and thoughts

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks for the support Pat! I appreciate you always being there for me. Now I just have to work on growing the blog :) I just love that you are homeschooling the grands!! :)

    ReplyDelete

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