mom4knights Posted May 25, 2010 Share Posted May 25, 2010 I am going back and forth between the Homeschool Tracker Plus and Homeschool Skedtrack for my planning and scheduling.:confused: Tracker + is $49 for a one-time fee. Skedtrack is free. But . . . Tracker + has yahoo groups that you can join to have access to tons of lesson plans that others have put together. Has anyone chosen Tracker + solely b/c you also had access to all the lesson plans??? Are they worth it?? Or did you just choose the Tracker+ b/c of what it does and the lesson plans are just an added benefit? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pretty in Pink Posted May 25, 2010 Share Posted May 25, 2010 Nope. I'd rather spend $49.00 on books! LOL Your kids are still really little. Do you really need access to those lesson plans? There are plenty of people here that would love to talk lesson plans with you for free... :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cindyz Posted May 25, 2010 Share Posted May 25, 2010 I purchased Home School Tracker and really like it. There are some things about it that I wish were different, but overall I think it's a good program. I also took advantage of several of the premade lesson plans from the yahoo groups. While I appreciated the sharing of the plans, I found that I usually still had to go in and make various changes to suit my own needs and overall hst "design". Also, the lesson plans are really easy to create yourself. I don't find the need to go in and put the exact topic of each lesson. I just looked to see how many lessons are in the curriculum, decide how long we will be doing it, how I want to split it up on the schedule, and tell it to start with lesson one and count up until the final lesson. I can then submit them to my child's agenda as I see fit...that process takes maybe 5 minutes...if that. When I print out the to do list for the day, I have it set to tell me which course, which book and which lesson and that's enough for me. In short I guess what I'm saying is that knowing what I know now, the premade lesson plans would not be a reason for me to purchase the program. However, I'm very happy to have it for other reasons. Be aware that there is a bit of a learning curve with it. I dd quite a bit of reading the manual, watching videos, reading the forum and an email or two to the author to get it all figured out. Once you have it going, you're golden. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momof1plustwins Posted May 25, 2010 Share Posted May 25, 2010 I wouldn't buy it for the premade plans either but it is very nice to have. Especially since you never ever have to buy anything like updates. To me, it's 50 bucks well spent. It does take some time to learn hstracker +. Just take it slow and don't give up. It's really very easy to use once you get the hang of it. I don't know of any software that doesn't take time to learn how to use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tina D Posted May 25, 2010 Share Posted May 25, 2010 I would say that after using HST for many years that it is 100% worth every penny. Next year I will be hs five and I am thankful that most of my lesson plans are already done for the year. HST has a learning curve, but once you get past that it is smooth sailing. Also, once you type up a lesson plan it is there for the rest of your children to use. For the younger grades I like using HST in the weekly format. Once they hit about 6th grade we start with a daily schedule print out. Tina Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jen_white Posted May 25, 2010 Share Posted May 25, 2010 I have homeschool tracker plus for 8 years. i wouldn't trade it for the world. the lesson plan option is invaluable to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suzannah Posted May 25, 2010 Share Posted May 25, 2010 I did all of my lesson planning on paper until DS was in 6th grade and DD started 1st. I decided that a program would be invaluable once I had one in high school and was trying to manage assignments and grades for multiple students. I used the free version of HST for a year before deciding it was worth it to upgrade to the PLUS version. I have never visited a Yahoo group for it or taken advantage fo the lesson plans. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irishmommy Posted May 25, 2010 Share Posted May 25, 2010 I recently purchased it and am loving it. I don't have it all figured out yet, but I've already been able to generate reports that I was hand writing every week. So, the plans are a bonus, but not the reason I purchased it. I love to be organized and this has really helped me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elfinbaby Posted May 25, 2010 Share Posted May 25, 2010 I definitely wouldn't purchase just for lesson plans. Have you used the free version of HST yet? I jumped in and bought HST, got frustrated, and haven't touched it in a year. I don't have a single doubt that it's a great tool. It just has a steep learning curve. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supertechmom Posted May 25, 2010 Share Posted May 25, 2010 (edited) Having one entering high school and three more spread out behind him, HST+ is a must have for us. 1. lesson plans are in the computer ready for use today, tomorrow or in 12 years with the baby. I'm not a curriculum hopper, am through my second round of the same elementary stuff and still like it, so I am sticking with what works for my gang. 2. I can create one lesson plan and key each item to certain subjects. Like our math book has computer key in pages. Those are in the math lesson plan since they are in that book but the credit goes to computer programming as he is creating the key in in another programming language. History is the same. I can give him credit for a history paper as in the content while creating a copy of that item to give credit to english for grammar technicalities. 3. I can import tons of lesson plans and teak them. Thus, I'm not retyping everything under the sun. 4. It allows me to lay out our subjects according to what my state demands, then add courses under that. I can write program descriptions, detailed info concerning each book used, and then pull a report to show. No struggling to recreate info for a college because if I take the time to fill in all the blanks in tracker, the info is there. 5. HST has the best customer service on the planet. Have question, email her. She will respond. She will walk you through whatever how ever many times you need it until you get it. Make enough suggestions and if it seems to be a recurring theme, they try their best to work it into to the program. I've never waited more than a day for a response and normally get one within minutes (we seem to work on the computer at about the same time every night LoL!) It has to be one of the best customer service deals around. Downside, it does have a steep learning curve. I take one thing and get good at it and then move to the next feature.:001_smile: Edited May 25, 2010 by servin forgot a reason Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom4knights Posted May 25, 2010 Author Share Posted May 25, 2010 Thank you all for all of your responses. :) I am glad to see so many of you really like it without having to have the lesson plans. Definitely will have to talk with dh ~ maybe play with both Skedtrack and HST over the summer to see what would work best. I really like the idea of setting up lesson plans and being able to use them again with the next kiddo in line!:) Your kids are still really little. Do you really need access to those lesson plans? There are plenty of people here that would love to talk lesson plans with you for free... :D Now, I just may have to take you up on that offer!!:D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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