Disclaimer: I received a FREE copy of this product through the HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way.
We recently had the opportunity to review the 5th Grade Entire School Year Curriculum from Homeschool Easy. This program is definitely a blessing to families to those who need help planning out their year studies.
Homeschool Easy is a downloadable curriculum for grades 1 - 5. It is a complete curriculum, meaning that it covers all of the Core subjects including science, math, grammar, writing, reading, and even history. Each one of these subjects could cost a little over 50.00 per student, so finding a budget friendly option for families is very necessary. Homeschool Easy has created a program that provides the entire year for only $100.00 for the entire year worth of curriculum.
I will admit I was really skeptical. It seemed to "easy". This seemed like there was a catch. So I was excited to dig in. The downloads were very easy to do. Each subject is separated out into a separate download, so for those without fast internet, downloading will not be overwhelming.
As I opened each subject, it is broken down into weekly and monthly files (depending on the subject). For Grammar, I simply printed out the worksheets for each week. I would staple the sheets together, since Caty seems to lose every single sheet of paper I give her. If this was a subject she needed extra help on, I would sit down with her and work with her through the samples on the page and then have her work on the next ones. If she needed more practice, I would print the worksheet again.
Science and History use the Britannica Kids program for research. Also included are links for videos on YouTube that include using the Crash Course program for reference. These are all materials that do not require extra funds to use.
Most of the subject include items on vocabulary usage, which I really like since this is a weak area for Caty.
Planning using Homeschool Easy is .... well.....easy. All you need to do is make your list of subjects. Print your materials for the month, because the example above from science has what you need to accomplish for the month listed and then you print the weekly worksheets that you will need to cover. Every subject is completely broken down. Very little planning!!! Your biggest planning will be if you want to do a hands-on experiment in science to make sure you have the simple materials required or the library books for reading.
Homeschool Easy does provide suggestions on how to get started. These include, that in some subjects children may not be able to work completely independent. Parent involvement is required to help students understand any new topic that will be worked on that week. I do like that at these grade levels, teaching the subjects is pretty easy. The answers are provided for families, so that you can quickly check the materials your child has done independently, especially in Math. This can be a subject that is difficult for parents, but easily researched if you are struggling to teach. The worksheets are a great way to help your student become stronger.
Caty used the Chapter book reading program during the review period also. I liked the addition of vocabulary for the books that she was reading. This made her stop and think Caty likes to read through a book very quickly and does not always stop and really look at what she is reading. So this can make her struggle. And best of all, I was able to grab the book off of our shelf, print the pages, and her reading was handled for the month. I simply assigned out to her what chapters to complete each week.
The downside of Homeschool Easy, you will use a lot of paper. But there is not a bunch of wasted paper with printing unnecessary teacher instructions. Any of those pages, I simply left open on my laptop. I was able to download all of the materials and store them easily on my laptop to bring up as I needed them each week.
I would definitely recommend Homeschool Easy to parents who are just starting to homeschool. There is an ease of use that can really help struggling parents. There is not unnecessary busy material involved with these subjects. Everything is exactly what students are needing to accomplish to further their education. The fact that students are learning research skills for subjects such as history and science also really prepares them as they start getting into middle school and high school when they need to be really mastering the skill of research. The websites you are using for the research are child-friendly and also easy to use. Depending on the level, your school work can easily be accomplished in just a couple hours a day, leaving the rest of the day for the ever important play learning and exploring of specific interest of your child.
We are going to continue using the Grammar, Math, Reading, and Spelling program after the review period. These are areas that Caty does struggle in and at a lower grade level in, the materials that I can easily print to work with her on are excellent and well-laid out. So even if you are looking for extra supplemental materials for students who are struggling with learning disabilities, Homeschool Easy is definitely a program for you to look into. You can purchase several of the subject independently. You do not need to purchase the entire year.
My hats off to the creator of Homeschool Easy! I wish I would have known about you years ago. I would have been a loyal customer for a lot longer with my other children!
Several members of the Homeschool Review Crew were given the opportunity to review the various grade levels of Homeschool Easy. Please click on the link below to see how they used this program in their homes and what they thought of it.
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