Review of SchoolhouseTeachers.com

Guess what!  I'm back on the Schoolhouse Review Crew!  That's right.  I get to try out all those cool homeschool related products you've been wondering about, and maybe even a few you've never heard of yet, and tell you all about them.

The first product of 2016 is a Yearly Membership to SchoolhouseTeachers.com and it is A. Ma. Zing.  I've had a membership off and on for years (like since The Old Schoolhouse Magazine ceased to be a print magazine in 2011) and now I'm all set for another year.


Q. What is SchoolhouseTeachers.com?
A. SchoolhouseTeachers.com is a vast depository of classes utilizing printable PDFs and videos.

That sounds all official, doesn't it?  SchoolhouseTeacchers can seem pretty overwhelming at first.  I recommend that you start with the New Members Hub under the Start Here tab.  It's tempting to jump right into the course lists, but this is where you'll find the FAQs and tutorials to help you navigate the website.

SchoolhouseTeachers has made and is continuing to make lots of updates and additions to the site since I last reviewed it in December 2013.  One of the nicest new features is called Quick Links.  Instead of searching for your class by grade or subject and requiring several more clicks for the lesson you want, you go straight to quick links and select "lessons."  From there, you simply choose which lesson to open.  If you want to learn more about a class, there is a Quick Link for that, as well.

SchoolhouseTeachers also has a new chat feature.  If you ever have a question, just click and chat with a representative

There are some terrific teachers on this site.  I've worked with Diana Waring, Amy Puetz, Scott Turansky, and Bonnie Rose Hudson personally online before.  There are scads of other names you'll recognize from homeschooling blogs and businesses.  The quality of instructors pays off in the quality of courses.

You'll want to check out the Focused Learning Centers where SchoolhouseTeachers has compiled loads of related resources in one neat, tidy location.  You might find classes, webinars, ebooks, worksheets, and articles.

A membership to RightNow Media is included with your SchoolhouseTeachers.com membership.  We have all of the What's in the Bible? series of videos, but if you don't own them, you can see the videos on RightNow Media.  This is a fantastic bonus anyway, but I'm mentioning it because I have *planned* (had good intentions *ahem*) to create worksheets from the What's in the Bible? lessons and had just never done it.  That is exactly what one of the courses consists of.  All I will need to do is collect the vocabulary from the episodes for the boys to add to their personal dictionaries.

Watching What's in the Bible? and working on the worksheet questions.  A first lesson in note taking.  Merrick is pretending to be "like Daddy" with his pencil in his mouth and a hand selected sheet of "drawing paper."  I love that he doesn't care if the paper has a chunk cut out of it.  It's all good.

We are afternoon homeschoolers, but I've been wondering how to make more intentional use of our mornings without making it seem like just an extension of our afternoons.  I recently started putting together ideas for daily morning family time.  I plan to add several courses to those school mornings.  Not all at once and not to overwhelm us, but one or two days each week.  I think the archived Tinkers Club is right up our alley and will put a spark of fun in our mornings.  Another day, we'll probably add Everyday Explorers: USA.

I always find plenty for the older boys to do and Merrick always wants to "do school."  I've introduced him to the Character Training for Young Princes lessons now that we've worked through our internet troubles and can watch videos easily.  Bonus!  The big boys enjoy those stories, too.

If the courses at SchoolhouseTeachers.com aren't enough to sell you on the site, there are various resources available.

• Each month of your SchoolhouseTeachers membership, you'll gain access to bonus ebooks.
• Access all six of the MEGA HUGE Schoolhouse Planners; Special Learners, High School, Big Mama, etc.
• The Old Schoolhouse Magazine back issues to 2007.
• A certificate gallery.
• The silver plan for AppleCore online Record Keeping.
• Forms for tracking the courses taken and skills learned.
• And don't forget RightNow Media.

You'll find classes for every family member from toddler to adult. Every subject is represented from Art to Science and Bible to Math.  Learn a new language with your kids (choose from French, Spanish, Hebrew, Latvian, or ASL) or take a class just for parents.

Use the code CREWFOLLOWER for a half price one year subscription.  This coupon is valid through 1/31/2016.

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