K&Rs Mom Posted February 28, 2013 Share Posted February 28, 2013 I came across a link while looking for something else, and chased the rabbit down the trail for a while. Apparently it's web-based, semi-complete curric, for a decent yearly subscription cost, run by the same company as Old Schoolhouse magazine. I'm not a huge fan of the magazine, and a little wary of video-school (we have friends who do Abeka video full program and the kids are SO bored). Yet for some reason this is sticking in my head as maybe worth a try, to cover some areas that I otherwise wouldn't, as an add-on to what we're doing, not to replace anything at this time. Has anyone used this? Considered it? Know anything pro or con about it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Classically Minded Posted February 28, 2013 Share Posted February 28, 2013 We got the free one-year subscription that comes with being an HSLDA member. I've gone through the different categories and there are a lot of useful things but some of the things weren't something I would pay for. I did however love the planners! You get those free just for joining and you can download them all and keep them. I haven't used it enough yet to say whether it is worth it to purchase. They are adding some new classes/teachers soon - chemistry, keyboarding and Hebrew. I think the high school section has a lot of useful things from looking around so far. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K&Rs Mom Posted March 1, 2013 Author Share Posted March 1, 2013 Thanks to both of you. I didn't know they were affiliated with hslda, but probably should have guessed. The randomness of topics was actually one of the things that was a draw to me - we're pretty structured, and a few of their monthly courses were either things that we'd not get to otherwise or things that we're about to come up to in another subject. The point about instructors having other products makes sense too, as I know I've heard of some of them in other contexts. Did your kids watch the videos? Were they at all interested? Maybe I should just look harder for netflix documentaries. I am looking for a planner, because the one I like costs more in shipping than the purchase price, but not sure this would be the one (I may just design my own, right now using one from the dollar section of Target). Did you use the kid-planners at all? Their outside stuff just goes on our refrigerator calendar now, but I can see my older getting into more elaborate assignments where it might be helpful for her to plan some of her multi-day schoolwork before long. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Classically Minded Posted March 1, 2013 Share Posted March 1, 2013 Did your kids watch the videos? Were they at all interested? Did you use the kid-planners at all? I haven't had my dd9 do anything yet, I'm still going through and looking at things but not sure what videos you are talking about? I like how it lets you have access to the archives, so you can go back and save everything that has already been taught and then each lesson that is given out for the current week. I think it is definitely worth it to pay $1 for the first month and download all the planners! That way you have a month to check things out, get the free planners (they are digital, so you print what you want) and cancel if you don't like it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K&Rs Mom Posted March 1, 2013 Author Share Posted March 1, 2013 I haven't had my dd9 do anything yet, I'm still going through and looking at things but not sure what videos you are talking about? Maybe I misread it. I had the impression that the lessons that are in the "course checklist" for each month were a video teacher. If you hover over the elementary or middle school title, then click on a course, and get "January's lesson" in something, what do you get? I agree it's worth the $1 to check it out, but my credit card has been hacked several times and citibank gets itchy about small charges, so I want to be sure it's worth the time to deal with them and convince them it's really me.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mama27 Posted March 1, 2013 Share Posted March 1, 2013 I have it free for the next 3 months but having looked through it a few times the only thing I really like are the planners. The rest is...eh... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruthie in MS Posted March 1, 2013 Share Posted March 1, 2013 I have a chance to get 3 months free. I may come back and update later on my experience. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Classically Minded Posted March 1, 2013 Share Posted March 1, 2013 Maybe I misread it. I had the impression that the lessons that are in the "course checklist" for each month were a video teacher. If you hover over the elementary or middle school title, then click on a course, and get "January's lesson" in something, what do you get? There are only a few of the subjects that I've come across that have a video, but most of them are a lesson in print that you can download in PDF form or just read on the page there. The math has videos but from the few I've looked at, they are just teaching tips for the teacher on how to teach the lesson and then it gives you the free student worksheets for that lesson. I did see that the new keyboarding course has videos but haven't watched those yet. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Classically Minded Posted March 1, 2013 Share Posted March 1, 2013 Are the planners available in the first month? Not all the freebies were available to monthly subscribers when I signed on. You had to have 2 months of membership to get x and three months to get y. They changed it recently I think because from what I read it said you get the 2012-2013 planners for free with the $1 for the first month access and if you want the 2013-2014 planners, you have to stay a member for 9 months or buy the 1-year membership. The e-books however do require so many days membership before they are available to you but you get one free at first. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cbollin Posted March 1, 2013 Share Posted March 1, 2013 Maybe I misread it. I had the impression that the lessons that are in the "course checklist" for each month were a video teacher. If you hover over the elementary or middle school title, then click on a course, and get "January's lesson" in something, what do you get? I'm one who got it for free when I attended a Great Homeschool Convention last year and went to TOS booth with my email. So, sounds like there are lots of ways to get it for free not just one group out there... on the course checklist. you get a pdf file that is a check list. subjects down the left side... and numbers on bottom for the days in month. broken by week 1, 2, 3, 4,.. some of them have title of subtopic the course checklist is a checklist to mark progress in the stuff on the site. overall... not been impressed enough to pay for subscription. didn't even realize mine hadn't expired yet...... but I guess it's not been a full year since convention, eh? Lot of work for downloading stuff. I'd rather just buy packages. overall, I have the feel it is a different form of ad space for the vendors and authors who post there. It's like you get to learn about some less known stuff.. and use pieces.. I hoped the Home Ec was going to be a little bit better. like others are experience.. not seeing a lot of videos. but the one on the keyboarding... the guy sounds like he is an airline pilot or flight attendant. I just keep expecting at any moment he'll say to return the try to the upright and locked position LOL LOL for free access for a year... it's been nice to look at it. the planners are nice. other stuff? I don't know.... if I were just starting out in homeschooling it might be nice. but at this point in the journey, feels like something to fill in while looking for something real to use. fluff isn't the right word, but it's like appetizers or a snack and then you go somewhere else for main course. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cbollin Posted March 1, 2013 Share Posted March 1, 2013 ps. I was working with the keyboarding class.... that can be accessed without SchoolHouse Teacher. (didn't want to work in Firefox, but came up easy in explorer) http://www.moscertif.../view.php?id=6# it's the same thing. not even sure if it is good or not.... just saying if anyone wanted that but didn't want to sign up for schoolhouse teacher... or if you do subscribe to schoolhouse teacher, you still need that link to get to the program... it wasn't showing up when I was logged in, so i have to search for it.... hth someone 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mama27 Posted March 1, 2013 Share Posted March 1, 2013 Are the planners available in the first month? Not all the freebies were available to monthly subscribers when I signed on. You had to have 2 months of membership to get x and three months to get y. I got the 3 months free because I bought a lapbook through HOAC during a birthday sale thingie. I don't know about any of the other subscriptions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K&Rs Mom Posted March 2, 2013 Author Share Posted March 2, 2013 Wow, I had a totally different idea in my head than what is really out there! Thanks, everyone for all the details. It sounds like it's more of a worksheet gathering/sampler, maybe like Teacher FileBox? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruthie in MS Posted March 22, 2016 Share Posted March 22, 2016 I'd thought I'd revive this old thread since I promised to come back and share my thoughts on Schoolhouse Teachers. It's a long post, but I hope someone finds this helpful. I've been a subscriber since July 2015 and I joined because of the special they were running. My monthly subscription is only $5.95 a month for as long as I keep my subscription up. The regular monthly fee is $12.95 a month. I was definitely not impressed with it at first. SHT didn't seem to offer a lot and you had to go through so many pages/links to get to the course you're looking for. Trust me, if you're going to be visiting that page regularly, BOOKMARK IT. As time has passed and I've had to actually look at it for the things that I need, I have found it to be nice to have. No, it's not like a worksheet gathering/sampler thing like Teacher File Box. There are actual courses for different age groups (not by grade level- yay!) and some span for multiple age groups. There are now over 200 courses offered. While some I wouldn't consider paying for there are also others I have come to reply on. Not all classes have video courses but you do see one every now and again that feature video lectures and classes. Most classes are permanent courses while a few others are temporary. if it is a temporary course, they will post how long the course will be offered. I have used SHT with my 18 y/o brother that I am currently homeschooling and with my two older dds. I have been able to find things for supplementing lessons that needed beefing up and being a replacement for curriculum that was no longer working for us. As with anything else, not all of their courses follow our educational methods. They seem to have offerings for all different homeschool methods. They don't strictly follow one method. We're eclectic homeschoolers, so that's not a bad thing. They do make it easy to look for a course by being able to search by subject or by grade level (group). In the course descriptions they break down how many lessons, course length and outline. For high school courses they even include transcription information. I appreciate the detail put into the introductory information BEFORE spending time going through the material to see if it's right for my child. The lessons are neatly organized and easy to use (for most courses). The lessons will be on PDF files that you can download and save (if you want to save it). Of course, this means lots of printing out of pages and lessons. I've never liked that but I can't read it off the computer screen either. Depending on the age group and the teacher (mostly the teacher) the lessons may be more teacher dependent or student independent. That info will be in the course info and it's definitely something to consider when looking at a course. A new feature they have added is a subscription to RightNow Media. It's a Christian video website with thousands of video content for kids, teens and adults. There are even documentaries and other cool stuff. SHT is working on linking specific courses on their courses offered and making worksheets to go along with the videos. I'm excited about being able to use it. Oh, and you also have access to the Old Schoolhouse planners after being a subscriber for two months. That is a huge plus to me. The planners are on PDF and on some pages you can type on them! :hurray: Overall, I give it a 4.5 rating (out of 5). The more I use it, the more I appreciate being a subscriber and having such a large homeschool resource whenever I need it. Would I become a member when it is regular price? Probably not. That would make it out of my budget no matter how wonderful it is. Wait and watch for a sale. That's my advice. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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