It's really hard to keep up with school on a daily basis if you are teaching multiple grade levels. Calvert Homeschool Online from Calvert Homeschool has opened my eyes to an easy way to let students work on their way to a more independent structured learning style.
Calvert Homeschool has been creating award winning curriculum for many years. We have enjoyed using this materials. Calvert Homeschool materials are very informative and provide so much information for students. We have used their geography, science, and even history materials of various grade levels throughout our 11 years of homeschooling. The materials have always had plenty of colorful illustrations and photographs that kept our kids attention with just the right amount of material on each page to keep them from feeling overwhelmed.
Calvert Homeschool Online did not disappoint me. Calvert Homeschool Online has materials from Grades 3 through Grades 12. You will need internet connection to use this program. There are options for both individual student plans or family plans. Each grant you access to 45 courses in subjects of history, geography, language arts, math, science, and spelling across all the grade levels. I felt this was awesome. Since not all students are at "grade level" in all their subjects, this flexibility allowed me to have the kids work at the levels they were on in various subjects. Most online programs force you to only have access to materials at a specified grade level.
During our review period, we were working across the board with three of our kids. Brayden is actually a senior in high school. But that level, which is obviously grade level appropriate for a child without learning disabilities, was a bit much for him. Also he had already finished some of those credits, since he's almost done with his high school credits. So I was able to assign him a science class he had not completed to work through. Also matched up his history to what he was already going through at the current time.
Another benefit of using Calvert Homeschool Online was having the ability to have the lesson read to the student. When a student struggles with comprehension and reading issues, this makes the material so much less overwhelming. All three of our kids struggle in this area. A simple click and instead of me needing to stand over them and help them to understand, they were able to work independently on lessons assigned to them.
Like I mentioned earlier, you do need internet to use the Calvert Homeschool Online program. That can be a drawback, but we are fortunate to have a hotspot that we can use regularly for schoolwork. We were also able to do lessons on the road using the browser on my iPad which also had hotspot access. This allowed us to be able to get assignments done without worrying about just sitting around the table. And if you are curious, we did use very little data when working on our assignments on the road.
Caty is across the board on grade level materials. She is ahead in history and science, but struggles with spelling and language arts. This is all due to her learning disabilities. I really liked the way materials were presented with spelling. She made progress through the lower levels and got closer to her actual grade level. The Language Arts program presented more of a challenge for her as she worked to create appropriate sentences. Caty worked in programs from the 3rd grade level through the 8th grade level of Calvert Homeschool Online. She liked using the program, but said she prefers written language arts programs over using the online program. This is her preference though. She struggles with typing, unlike our other kids.
Lydia worked at a 7th grade through 9th grade level on various programs. She did struggle a bit with writing sentences in the Language Arts area, but this was a great area where they were allowed to write whatever they wanted and create their own paragraphs. This is a weakness area for her, but showed her the need to push herself a little harder.
You might ask about how a parent can keep track of so many grade levels. There is a great parent portal area. And you are not left in the dark on how to keep your students information graded and organized. In the Parent portal, parents can add their student information and create their logins. They can also assign them the subjects at whatever grade level they feel is appropriate. And you can also create assignments with due dates here. Unless there is some type of essay involved, questions and materials are graded instantly in most cases. And a grade is assigned in the student area, which parents also see in their own logins. But if there is an essay involved, then you will need to read through and provide correction and guidance for the student in the areas that they need to improve. There are even notes sent to you if a student has a problem, you are alerted through your email.
There are tutorials that you can watch if you need help and guidance through the various set-ups and also even grading information. Calvert Homeschool Online helped alleviate some stress I was feeling about planning lessons. A few simple clicks and I had their school materials planned out for the week. If you are homeschooling multiple grade levels with students on multiple learning levels, Calvert Homeschool Online is a program to definitely check out. You can actually try the program out for 30 days free to see how it is a fit for your child.
I have found Calvert Homeschool Online to be a great homeschooling resource that I didn't know existed. And it is also a more budget friendly option for families than others programs I have seen in the past. Click on the link below to see how other families from the Homeschool Review Crew were able to use Calvert Homeschool Online in their homes.
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