A few years ago, I had the privilege of doing some work for SchoolhouseTeachers.com. I was able to see first hand the fantastic and broad range of classes and resources offered.
This year, I began to realize what a truly wonderful resource something like Schoolhouse Teachers is for people who have adopted a more relaxed or delight directed approach to learning.
I try hard at the beginning of each school year to have my spine, my core in place. We use Math U See for math. One aspect of delight directed teaching is knowing your weaknesses. I have never been strong in math. I do not feel confident to teach it apart from a solid curriculum. We chose Math U See quite a while ago and it has worked for our family. This year I also chose to use language arts from The Good and The Beautiful. I actually do feel pretty confident in Language Arts, but my two older girls are experiencing some trouble (for various reasons) and I wanted to give them something consistent. And bonus… levels 1-5 of language arts are available for free as a PDF download!
Top Five Reasons for Delight Directed Homeschooling with Schoolhouse Teachers
# 1 Schoolhouse Teachers is Self- Paced.
Onto Schoolhouse Teachers. My oldest knows that we have adopted this delight directed approach to school and also knows that there are certain requirements to graduate from highschool and be college ready. The way we compromised this year was to sit down and look at what his options could be for language arts, science, history, etc. He is a self motivated learner. He is bright and scores college level on most areas of his yearly standardized testing. Because of this, I really want to give him the freedom to direct his learning (while also providing boundaries and setting him up for success). This is my kid who gets up in the morning and starts school right away. He gets it done so he can move on to what I consider the real school of his day- drawing, animating, and music.
# 2 Schoolhouse Teachers has a wide variety and tons of bonuses!
Schoolhouse Teachers offers a Christian worldview, self paced, online courses with customizeable curriculum. It is the curriculum branch of The Old Schoolhouse Magazine. The offer over 400 courses from preschool- highschool as well as help for parents such as a curriculum planning guide. The website is easy to navigate and there is a chat feature for online support. There is a membership fee to pay that covers the entire family for a year (or you can pay monthly). There are no hidden fees like textbooks, etc. Some classes will have a materials list, but usually the materials are items you already have in your home. In addition to the courses offered, you also get access to World Book Encyclopedia online and Right Now Streaming Media. It really is a fantastic deal!
# 3 I do not feel buyer’s remorse.
For my youngest girls, I am using the Schoolhouse Spelling course. It is a simple, daily spelling lesson. Each week, they have a list of spelling words focused on a certain spelling rule or pattern and complete engaging activities to practice daily.
I was also able to look through the many options for elementary Science and find a course that I could use with all three of my girls (1st, 3rd, and 6th grades). And the great thing for someone like me who gets really excited about curriculum for a minute and then overwhelmed by it or bored by it or realizes that it was not the right fit afterall… if a course doesn’t work for us, we can just move on and try a different one without losing money.
# 4 My kids can be involved in building their homeschool year.
My oldest and I sat down and the beginning of the year. I told him that he needed to help me pick a language arts course and science course for the year. I also told him that he was welcome to look through the electives and see if anything interested him. He chose Elements of Literature, Biology, Tinkers Club, and Intro to Architecture. Each course has a description and for upper level courses, transcript information.
#5 No hidden fees and one membership covers the entire family!
We have been so pleased with Schoolhouse Teachers. I cannot recommend it enough. Courses are self paced. Some courses go through the entire year and some are just a few weeks long. You could purchase a membership with Schoolhouse Teachers and build your entire year for all of your children. Right now! Again, there are no hidden fees. Most courses have a recommended materials list, but there are no textbooks to purchase. All curriculum is accessible through the website. Through the end of January, you can join and save big $$$… you can get an entire year for just $90!!!
I am an affiliate for Schoolhouse Teachers. If you click through the links on this blog and decide to purchase a membership, our family will receive a small commission. For that, we thank you. I will say, however, even if I was not an affiliate, I would still endorse this program!