Eagles Peak Charter School

Eagles Peak Charter School of California Provides Time4Learning to Elementary & MIddleSchool !

Time4Learning was requested by some homeschool parents in California and Eagles Peak Charter School can now provide Time4Learning.com to their students as part of their overall homeschool program.

But, for the 2005-2006 school year, the deadline to add them to your program is March 31, 2006.

For further info on adding Time4Learning to your Eagles Peak Charter School Program.

Would you like to Review Time4Learning?

Would you like to be a Reviewer?
Attention Bloggers & Aspiring Journalists

Time4Learning is a new online educational program. I am inviting you to review our system in your blogs, in your parent or church forums, in group newsletters, or in homeschool support groups.

Terms & Methods
For participation, you get a free one month membership (no credit card or payment required) for up to four children. If you are interested, please send us an email saying where Time4Learning will be reviewed (URL), your full name, phone, and address, and we will provide you details and a free month to Time4Learning.

Review Suggestions
We would ask that you focus your review on something of importance and relevent to you. For instance, if you have a fourth grader struggling with reading comprehension, a kindergartener ready for more advanced math, or a homeschooled child with special needs, please write the review from that point of view. If you are busy and you are looking for help organizing the lives
and education of of four children, talk about how it affects your situation. This keeps the reviews from being too general.

Why are we doing this?
We are doing this as a way to help get the word out about Time4Learning to the homeschooling community without resorting to big budget marketing (which frankly, we do not have the budget for anyway). Much of our growth has been due to word-of-mouth and this seems the best way to build on it. We are a small family-owned business and would be interested in working with others if possible. Also, we are very proud of our service and interested in feedback

Contact info:
reviews@Time4Learning.com 954 781-7723
http://www.time4learning.com/

I just did some work on MSN search to find personal sites' links to Time4Learning. Here is the start of a list...http://www.iKeepBookmarks.com/OnlineKidsLearning

Parent Discussion Forum

Time4Learning is pleased to announce that it has opened an online discussion forum open to all parents interested in home education and online learning for their children from preschool through middle school. Here are a few comments from this week:

debbie24 wrote:
Where can I find information on the FCAT (Florida)? Does my child need to take it?
Fort Lauderdale Homeschool mom in need.


The FCAT (Florida Comprehensive Achievement Test) is required of all public school students in FL as part of the NCLB mandate. Florida private school students and homeschool students are not required to take the FCAT.

"Home education" families in Florida have three ways to meet the State's legal requirements:
1 Establish and maintain a Home Education Program;
2 Enroll in a non-campus based Private School (sometimes referred to as a "cover" or "umbrella" or "600" school);
3 Hire a Private Tutor.

What's the Difference? In all three cases you can educate your children at home, using the materials and methods you select. The key difference between enrolling in a private school and registering as a home educator is this: Private school students are overseen by administrators you select. Identifying data about the student and samples of the student's work are never shared with anyone outside of the private school (other than at your request). Home education students are overseen by government employees at the school district. Parents must file annual evaluations with the district and are be required to show their record-keeping and samples of the student's work upon demand by the Superintendent. by enrolling them in a "homeschool private school".

Quoted from and for further details: http://www.southcountyhomeschoolers.org/SCHS/How%20to%20Homeschool.htm#_Choices

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I recently joined Time4Learning to help out my 1st grader.

I initially thought Time4Learning would just be computer games. Now that I see how great and substantative it is, I would like to use it differently next year.

This year, I am just using it for reinforcement (so I pick the lessons out that she needs) and frankly, as a good learning tool that she can be on while I'm doing other things for 45 minutes before lunch every day. I would like to put her on Time4Learning next year as the primary curriculum for math. When she doesn't do well on a unit (as measured by the test at the end of each unit), I plan to do additional instruction using a text book.

Here are my questions: - Have any of you tried using Time4Learning this way? - Has anyone organized the 2nd grade math lesson plans on a calender (we go Labor Day to Memorial Day with a winter special studies unit from Thanksgiving to Jan 1? - Any thoughts on what the best math textbook and source of worksheets are to do indepth work in areas where she needs it? I will keep using it for the other subjects but as the secondary curriculum.

Los Angeles, Homeschool mother of 1st grade student
For the answer to this question on Getting Started Homeschooling
John Edelson It's Time 4 Learning. And Fun!

CompassLearning for home education

Time4Learning provides CompassLearning Odyssey® - the premier online learning system - to home users for homeschool or enrichment use.

CompassLearning's Elementary & MiddleSchool Programs are still available!

Time4Learning provides to individual homeschool users the complete PreK to 8th grade interactive curriculum including language arts, math, science, and social studies. The CompassLearning® Odyssey program, known to some as ChildU, was previously provided directly to homeschoolers directly or through some websites such as Homeschool.com .

The good needs for users of the Odyssey Program is that it is available, with great customer support, from Time4Learning. For more info and to sign up online, just click on CompassLearning

Home School Curriculum Reviews

Here are some recent home-school curriculum reviews that I liked:

Many children, especially otherwise reluctant learners, love to use computers. My children are no exception and my children absolutely LOVED Time4learning.com. There were many things about this program that impressed me.The first was that my children begged, I mean literally begged, to do “school on the computer”. The program was easy enough for the non-reader to navigate and provided challenging topics of study for the proficient reader.
by Meg Grooms - BellaOnline "Voice of Woman" Homeschooling Editor

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First, I need to mention that I am new to homeschooling; this is my first
year. I have five children; but as a start, I decided to homeschool only three
of them: a twelve year old, an eleven year old, and a five year old.

For weeks I searched the internet looking for an online homeschooling
curriculum that would meet my needs for simplicity, ease of use, and low
cost—Time4Learning was the answer I was looking for! My children and I
have been using the Time4Learning Homeschool Online for the past couple
weeks and we are extremely satisfied....Time4Learning Review by Christine Rissew

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My son absolutely loved the site. He would work on a lesson and often ignore the timer, going beyond the 30 minutes until it would be finished before going to the playground. I was gone for a couple days after he had been on the site for a week or so and he went to some friends during the daytime, another homeschool family. The first day when he worked on the site, their daughter watched everything intently. She was so interested her mom signed her up for the two-week trial and then went to monthly subscription despite limited finances. She absolutely loves it as well..... by Nancy Wagner - Old SchoolHouse Magazine Homeschool Families
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....The Math area was very helpful to both of us. We had to miss a Prealgebra class the week after my surgery, but were able to review the material we missed using Time4Learning. Speaking of my surgery, having educational activities that KJ could do alone while I recovered was very helpful. KJ enjoyed the Science sections the most and will be continuing through those for sure. ...Time4Learning has a parent login where I can see what he has completed and how well he did on the quizzes so I can keep up with what he is doing. Overall, I think Time4Learning is an excellent supplement to our homeschool curriculum.

by Rebel Hart 3/15/06 - http://www.mindspring.com/~rebel_hart/
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I was excited to learn that Time4Learning had expanded their online curriculum to include all subjects and now through eighth grade. So I decided to take a new look at this site, thinking of my fifth grader who loves to learn online.
With permission from the owner, John Edelson, I signed in and took a peek at the middle-school level courses. The topics are greatly enlarged from the former math and language arts with just a sampling of science and social studies. Now the subjects include Brain Buzzers (art, music, and health), Thematic Projects, and algebra, for a total of seven full curriculum subjects.
http://www.theoldhomeschoolhouse.com/reviews/reviews.php?rid=1183

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Since Kaitlin is a highly visual learner/kinesthetic learner, her ability to interact with the subject matter made learning come alive ... Second Grade Software - Time4Learning
Looking for second grade software? Time4Learning is a comprehensive educational learning system that offers second grade worksheets, activities and games geared to help 2nd graders develop a solid reading and math foundation. ... through examples of the reading. Second graders have challenging worksheets and reading exercises, and should be ... Audio Books for Kids. Homeschool Curriculum. Kids Typing Tutor ... http://www.time4learning.com/second-grade.shtml

Second Grade Worth Seek
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Time4Learning is an online curriculum. Actually, its more than that since it has a system for playing games but only after you do your work. Focusing on the math, I have experience with my kids at the preschool, 2nd, and 5th grade levels.

The preschool is a systematic set of learning exercises which does patterns, quantity, numerals, features, greater/less than, shapes, etc etc. There are animated exercises and printable worksheets.

The second grade lesson plan is more formal with each unit organized around a skill with lessons, interactive exercises, worksheets, and an assessment. Its a broad curriculum whose strength is covering the entire curriculum (arithmetic, measurement, data analysis, algebra, probability etc). In some places, I would like more repetition and depth as in the math facts.

The fifth grade lessons still has elements of the fun and playful but not all of the lessons are truly animated, many are text-based with interactive exercises at this level. Again, the programs strength is that it is a self-running system which takes the kids from lesson to exercise to reinforcement to quiz. And it is a broad thorough curriculum.
http://www.homeschoolmath.net/curriculum_reviews/time4learning.php

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For more reviews...

Title: Homeschool CurriculumURL: http://www.homeschool-curriculum-4u.com/Description: A good source of homeschool teaching articles, teaching athome resources, and educational curriculum information.

http://www.homeschool-curriculum-review.com/

Special Needs Learning

Did you know that more than 20% of the K-12 students in the U.S. are now classified as "exceptional"? Special need parents often ask if a child with learning difficulties requiring special education should use Time4Learning? While each parent must determine what is best for their child, Time4Learning can say that many children with special education needs are blossoming with Time4Learning.

When evaluating learning software for special education and needs, you should make sure that it:

• Proceeds at the students own special needs pace.
  
• Builds on existing reading, writing and math skills.
  
• Allows placement and progress for eachchild at independent levels for math and language arts
  
• Encourages kids to become active learners through exploration and discovery.
  
• Introduces new learning opportunities in a safe, supportive environment.
  
• Balances learning with fun!
  

Here are what some parents have said about Time4Learning and their special needs children:

Both of my boys really enjoy the Time4Learning program. Of course, their favorite part was the play time but they enjoyed the lessons as well. Thank you Penny - Mother of twins with Learning Difficulties in Reading.

I just wanted to say thank you for Time4Learning...a great tool for Zac through the summer. He was asking yesterday to do "his work". I would definitely recommend this program to other families. I think it offers great characters and fun learning activities. It also gives you a chance to monitor the progress, and you can even print out reports and activity pages that your child completed what more could you ask for. Also this is very kid friendly. Theresa - Mother of a five year old with autism.

The content was varied and was able to keep Benjamin engaged without frustration. It also moved him gradually through the skills and once mastered was appropriately quized. The timer was also beneficial as Benjamin learned that once it got to "0" he was free to go to the playground. I also feel that the "Magic Hand" was instrumental in aiding Benjamin in how to proceed with the lessons. Ann - mother of a six year old with development delay, speech language impairment, ADHD.

Elizabeth really enjoys the website. She especially liked the language sections (stories, family trees, etc). She also found it easy to use. It is very good for children with Aspergers, as they are such visual learners and the computer gives prompt feedback. Marianne - Mother of a fourth grade girl with asperger syndrome.

Lena and I both found it to be age appropriate and interesting. I LOVED the fact that I could start Lena and she was able to continue at her own pace. Ninety-five percent of the time the language level was appropriate as well as the assignments. Initially, she rushed through to get to the "Playground", but as she became used to the lesson structure, she forgot about the time and "Playground". The graphics and sound were awesome. Both, Lena and I enjoyed all the adorable characters and narrator's voices. I would highly recommend this program as a support system during the school year, and SPECIFICALLY, during the summer months (especially if your child is not receiving any services.) Mother of daughter with ADHD and Tourette's Syndrome.

Time4Learning was the first online curriculum which help my sons attention. My son has attention issues and reading and learning difficulty and after difficulties in school, we find that homeschool works well for him. Time4Learning has made our days much easier and more productive. Mother of eight year old boy. homeschool Texas.

Time4Learningis a great homeschool and after school partner because it offers each child their own learning path, with animated lessons, interactive activities, unit assessments, and integrated printable worksheets for reinforcement.

Time4Learning's comprehensive Pre-K to 8th Grade language arts and math curriculum can enrich your children's educational programs, whether they are special needs, mainstream, or gifted.

Time4Learning has helped thousands of children, why not try it today? There is no long-term contract and it makes learning fun.

SPD - Sensory Processing Dysfunction

Quote from yahoo group private: sensoryhomeschool 1/16/06
Sensory Processing Dysfunction (SPD) or Sensory Integration Disorder (SID)

To those that are not familiar with me my name is Terri. We have been homeschooling now for 5 years. My husband John and I have 2 beautiful girls. Our youngest is now 5y/o and was diagnosed with SPD at age 3. At age 4 she was diagnosed as gifted and expressive speech delay.

I have been keeping up with the posts but I have not really had time to reply until now. I know that sometime back some of you were talking about ways to home-school and ideas as to what to do. There are so many ways that you can home-school but I think sometimes that it is a little more challenging with a child with SPD. My oldest child now 11y/o seemed to be a breeze but I have had such a time trying to just "grab" the youngest's attention and spark her interest in any way possible.

I have spent many hours looking around trying to find something that would help me and my children so that we might attempt to get the best of both worlds. LOL


We have started a program called Time4learning. We found it at http://www.time4learning.com/ it is on-line learning program that goes up to 8th grade. It has been absolutely wonderful. We are starting our 3rd week this week and both my children love it. Instead of fighting with the youngest to attempt to do anything at all, she asks first thing in the morning to do her "school work" and I have to make her take a break. It is so animated and tells the child what to do with each step. They have it set up so that as each lesson is finished the icon, which is a star, twirls as she has completed it. This has increased her self esteem which had been lacking. I can not say that it will be this way with all children and to be honest I was a little sceptic about it working for her. They had a 2 wk trial period so I thought what the heck it is worth a try. We plan on keeping it because it is grabbing her attention and keeping it. She is learning academically and her expressive speech has been improving as well. Her eye hand coordination has gotten better from using the mouse and her listening skills have also improved because the program tells her what to do and then shows her how to do it. I do stay near her so that I can see what she is doing and sometime throw in my own stuff but it has helped me to not have so much scheduling, grading, and logging. I am really excited about the program and all that it entails.If I have a question and send them a quick email my question is answered relatively fast and they have even called me afterward to see if my issue was resolved. I am now finding more time to do some of those things that we always say we want to do in home school but never seem to find the time. I am also interested in how it might work for other children with SPD issues.

Some of the things I have set up for her while doing her lessons is I allow her to swivel the chair back and forth and she always has a stress ball in her hand. As long as she fidgets she seems to do much better. They do sell fidgets at some of the on-line stores but I find that most anything can be a fidget it you think about it.

Homeschooling - Getting Started

Welcome to the Homeschool world. Getting Started Homeschooling.

About half of Time4Learning's members (and the more vocal half) are homeschool families. Many parents often ask for our advice on getting started on homeschooling. So here are our thoughts based on our experiences:


Overall, we hear that families who choose to homeschool usually find it to be one of the best decisions that they've ever made. But, this does not mean that it is easy to get started, that it is for everyone, or that you should do it forever. It does mean that for parents who have become convinced that their child would benefit from a change and who have soberly considered the alternatives, finally making the plunge into homeschooling is a fun exhilarating experience. Note that many parents who have homeschooled a child for a few years also talk about the decision to put the child back into school as another great decision. My conclusion: many parents have the right instincts for their child but they tend to postpone making some of these life changes so that when they do make them, they feel very right.

1. Plan to speak to at least half a dozen homeschoolers as you get started. The reason is that the homeschooling community is broad, diverse, and passionate. You will find some people with whom you do agree and others that you do not. Expect to be compatible with maybe about half the people that you speak to and if you start with half a dozen, the odds are strong that you'll find a few that you like. Ask them what they do and what they recommend. Try to find local families who you can share ideas & activities with on an ongoing basis. These groups of homeschool families are a key to success. As over two percent of the population homeschools, you become part of a large, dynamic and diverse community. Try to find people that you are comfortable with. If you don't have personal contacts, try asking locally or searching online for local groups (try google - your city name - homeschool support groups) or look at of the top homeschooling sites . Again, don't be put off that some of these groups are a poor fit for you. Homeschool groups come in all shapes and sizes: large or small, formal or informal, religious or not, special needs oriented or not, conformist or not, etc etc. Pick the ones that you are comfortable with: you will have to search through several groups. Also, you'll find that alot of the online guides are somewhat out-out-of date and full of dead links and emails or phone numbers that don't answer.

2. There are fantastic websites with oodles of articles, recommendations, forums. I would recommend blogs as also a great way to get information and to meet people. To find ones, you can type into the Google search engine: "blog homeschool yourstate". I just typed in "homeschool blog iowa" and found dozens of people from all over the state with children of all different ages and approaches (Christian, non-religious, special needs). You might also type in a special interest such as: "homeschool blog dyslexia" and find a group of people with a specific interest that you could discuss common issues with. You can also look on the big web sites such as http://homeschooling.gomilpitas.com/, http://www.homeschool.com/, and http://www.thehomeschoolmagazine.com/. They are rich with information but you will probably find them overwhelming at first so don't get discouraged. There are also conventions and get togethers which are definitely overwhelming but can be very exciting and informative.

3. . Be sure to check out your State's legal requirements. http://www.hslda.org/laws/default.asp is a great guide with links to local sites and to local support groups.

4. Decide on a basic approach. There are many ways to think or go about adopting a basic approach. While there is alot of literature and sites on this subject, Time4Learning suggests including some thoughts about the most immediate and mundane: the organization of the day. Most children do best with a day that has a predictable schedule with diverse activites and which provides for time when you are totally attentive to them and time when they have some separation from you and some freedom. For instance, the morning might be:

8:30-8:45 Opening of Day - Perhaps some rituals and a review of the day's schedule
8:45-9:15 Parent & One Child Working together in core curriculum, ex Reading or handwriting
9:15 - 945 Child working independently - perhaps art
9:45-10:15 Break & Snack

10:15 - 10:45 Time4Learning Math
10:00 - 11:15 Time4Learning Playground
11:15 - 12:00 Educational Play with manipulatives

5. Accept that you will need to integrate the right materials for your children. One of the challenges of homeschooling education is selecting a curriculum that meets the needs of each child. Many families find that what fits one child, may not fit another, or that what worked well one semester, may feel stale and stop working the next. Or in some cases, what works for one child in one subject, does not work for the same child in another subject. Well, nobody said it was going to be easy. What most families discover is that their children's educational needs cannot be met by a single curriculum or medium. And that blending several homeschool programs and approaches can increase effectiveness. Some parents use Time4Learning as supplementary, others use Time4Learning is the primary homeschooling curriculum. Time4Learning has curriculum for homeschool children from Preschool through eighth grade. Time4Learning provides a comprehensive language arts and math curriculum.

We suggest being skeptical about any program which claims to be THE COMPLETE RESOURCE for all children. Each child's needs are different. And program, either online, video, or text-based should be the entire homeschool program, especially for younger children. Its important that young children have daily work with:
- writing and drawing to develop fine muscle skills
- maniplatives
- arts program
- speech development
- socialization
and other areas that the computer or video or workbooks cannot address.

6. Special Needs - All children are special needs. Period. Of course, if you have decided to pull your children from school, you are probably wrestling with this question in one of its many forms. Stay tuned for the next article which helps parents understand more about their child's own special strengths, needs, learning styles, and issues.

7. Learn about learning. As the teacher & curriculum specialist for your child, you should understand the basics of learning to read, a solid math education, how children learn

Parenting Teens Online

New article in the works:

Check out my thoughts on younger kids internet safety.

I'm writing a similiar article for publication on preteens and teens. The issues start with safety but also include work habits and productivity.

Example: most children share homework help at age 15 thru IM with their classmates. While common, this needs some management and thought. Starting with the fact that most IM discussions cross back and forth from gossip and drivel, but to homework, and back to silliness. Meanwhile, the homework's not done & the hour is getting late.

I believe in some discussions with the kids (not in the heat of the moment), lots of understanding of what they feel (I was impressed by "How to talk so children will listen" which says you need to start acknowledging and accepting that people have feelings. They turn-off the instant you tell them what they should feel. Our feelings are not for others to tell us about: they are ours.), some basic behavioral self-monitoring tools for them, and in many cases, parental monitoring (guide to tools to be included....

Send me your thoughts (which I will use in my article) -

HomeSchool Parent Curriculum Review

"We have been home schooling for 5 years now. I started with my oldest daughter who is now 11 years old and is on a 6th grad level when she was 5 years old and in the 1st grade. My youngest daughter who has just recently turned 5 is just now showing signs of interest in learning to read etc.She begs me from the second her eyes are open to do her "school work" , which of course is Time4 Learning. She ,however, is what the school system would label a special needs child. She is gifted and has borderline ADHD, and Sensory processing dysfunction. The fact that it keeps her attention and allows her to go at her own pace is wonderful.

I have sat on the board of our local home-school support group ...

I have searched the world over looking for that perfect curriculum or program that fits my child and now children individually. Ok so maybe not the world but I have searched for 5 years now relentlessly. I can tell you that this program alone has been what I have been looking for. I realize that it has been less than a week since we started using Time4Learning but it has been wonderful for both of my children who have two very different learning styles. I am so thankful that I found you and that you go up to 8th grade. I am excited that you are going to offer a forum or blog in any sort of fashion as I can see that too really taking off. I think it is going to be great and can not wait to start using it.
One thing that I have learned in home-schooling my children is that you need support and help in many different areas. ...

Parenting Help - Whats the root problem? How can you help?

In some ways, children are strikingly direct. What parent hasn't heard their child in a voice too loud: "Look at that very fat man"?

In contrast, children with anxiety or emotional needs generally "act out" rather than directly ask for help. And, any child can feel anxious if they don't get some regular attention fromt their parent. And while parents know that being rushed is part of life, many children find the morning rush to be a source of anxiety.

Most parents find the mornings to be tough. Children are woken at a fixed hour, by a knock, yell, or alarm. Children are then expected to rush out of bed, rush thru dressing, rush thru breakfast, and rush to get to school on time. Once they sit down in class, many misbehave and "act out". Oddly, these children can often be expressing their need for attention.

Could this solve the problem? Try going in to your child 30 minutes before they have to get up. Lie down with them and talk with no agenda other than to listen to whats on their mind. Did they have dreams? Whats today going to be like? With 20 minutes of pure attention from a parent, many children who act out at school are now equipped for an entirely different sort of day.

This message sponsored by Time4Learning - A great Homeschool Resource
and Homeschool Curriculum. Time4Learning provides interactive math lessons and teaches reading from teaching phonics through reading comprehension.

Learning Games

Two great new learning game sites:

Learning Games for Kids - Great Games
Parenting in an Electronic Age

Teaching Writing

There's a new focus on WRITING--just ask your kids!

Writing was always a part of the 3 R's--Reading, 'Riting, and 'Rithmetic--but when you were in 4th grade, did you know the difference between narrative, informative and persuasive forms of writing? Could you write in all three forms? Todays 4th graders are expected to master this and will demonstrate their mastery of these skills on standardized tests.

How important is writing?
Writing is a vitally important life skill. The link between writing skills and academic success is clear and most standardized tests assess writing. Employers care more about writing skills today, as most jobs now require some writing. There's no doubt--writing is a skill your children must master. Time4Learning's K-8 writing curriculum can help.

A Writing Curriculum Proven to Work
Correlated to federal and state standards and field-tested nationally in thousands of schools, Time4Learning uses the best, most current methods of teaching writing. Your children will learn and practice each stage of the writing process, from pre-writing strategies to drafting, revising, editing, and publishing. Each lesson ends with a quiz and kids can check their own work with self-assessments. Progress is recognized every step of the way--motivating kids and reassuring parents.

A Kid-Friendly Approach to Writing
Time4Learning's writing curriculum isn't cut and dry. It's designed to bring out the writer in every student. Age-appropriate animated characters present each lesson in a highly interactive format that promotes self-expression. Children have the opportunity to learn and try different forms of fiction and nonfiction writing, from short story narratives to informational reports. As early as the kindergarten level, Time4Learning engages children in telling their own stories. Try Time4Learning's Story Creator exercise to see how young children are introduced to writing.

How to encourage writing at home
Encourage your children to write regularly, whether it's about their favorite video, a poem, or keeping a journal. When you review your child's writing, be entirely positive and focus on the elements that were the most effective: "I really liked reading about your friends..." or "your description of the garden made me feel like I could see the garden." Your goal is to help your child establish a writing habit and a comfort level with expression.

At other times, shift your focus to the rigors of writing. This approach should be kept distince from the expressive non-critical mode. With this approach, you can help your child develop critical thinking skills and the ability to write clear prose. Time4Learning's writing curriculum provides a full menu of pre-writing tools, such as electronic note cards and graphic organizers, which promote clarity and organization of ideas. Time4Learning also covers grammar and punctuation, as well as vocabulary and spelling, so that your child learns and practices the fundamentals. Check out Time4Learning demo lessons such as "Punctuation: Comma Confusion" and "Homonyms".

Improve Your Child's Writing
This K-8 Writing Curriculum is a component of Time4Learning's comprehensive reading and language arts program. You can have full access on your home computer to this comprehensive learning system for only $19.95 a month. Let Time4Learning help the young writers in your home! Sign up today!


It's Time 4 Learning! And Fun!

Video Games, Electronic Entertainment, Kids and Parenting

Heres my theory.

1. TRY LIVING WITH NO TV. It's actually easier than it might seem. I have often lived without a TV for between three months and once for two years. Following my most recent move, I just did not put a TV in my new house. When the kids asked, I just "Hadn't bought a TV yet". This meant no cable, no videos, and no game machine. Actually, we did occasionally watch videos by putting DVDs in the computer and turning the monitor around towards a couch. This meant huddling together to watch on a smallish screen. The no-TV hiatus lasted 13 months (read how it ended below).

2. CONTROL THE SELECTION of VIDEOs. One day, I was humiliated into getting a TV. It involved one evening when I had a dozen people over sponteneously after a neighborhood block party got a little wild for those of us withchildren under ten. It turned out to be a night when a World Series game was on, our home team (Marlins) was in it, and my house was the one spot in town from which they could not follow the game! Woops, major social gaffe. I bought a TV the next day and signed up for cable so I would be prepared if such a thing happened again. For my own family, I stocked up on DVDs. I got classic musicals (Grease, Annie, Oliver, Music Man, Mary Poppins, Pirates of Penzance, Sound of Music ,etc), the best animated films, some other kids films (Spy Kids is a favorite, we're big Harry Potter fans), and some classic animations (my son particuarly likes the original ThunderBirds). The kids accept that this selection although there is always pressure with the new releases. This past year, there have been some great ones (Incredibles and Sky High, both working the family-centric SpyKids theme) . I control the watching so the kids need to ask permission to watch: we tend to watch one or two videos over a weekend. Also, I will often break the watching of video up into several sessions. We will start it before dinner...finish it afterwards. I'm also big on discussing the videos. I'll ask about characters and they whether they think the character did the right thing, what would they have doneetc etc. My idea is that watching does not have to be mindless: I try to exercise "reading comprehension-like skills" (major idea, details, sequence, character etc) The kids don't get access to cable or broadcast in my house. Not at all.

3. Video games - Limit the Selection and Focus on Multiplayer Games. Parents, stay involved! I only stock games that can be played as a group and which have no real violence. We play alot of bomberman (its like pacman but its multiplayer - up to 6 at the same time) for instance, there is a Mario Race game, a Mario Smash brothers, and a few others. I have both Nintendo and an old Playstation to play "Croc, Legend of the Gobos". This is the only single player game that we allow in the house but we take turns playing and among Croc's many virtues as a game, its fun to watch!

4. LIMIT THE HOURS of VIDEO GAMES. When the kids get too difficult, I put the power cable away for usually two weeks. Period. I keep TV & Video games as a privilege that they get only if they are good and do their chores / reading / homework. In addition, I stress that too much electronic entertainment (like too much candy) is bad for them. It over-excites and makes it hard to concentrate and to remain calm. The kids believe this (either because I've said it alot or because they can feel how it affects them). We try to not to eat too much candy at a time or to play more than an hour of video games. Do we ever go on a binge? You bet we do but playing two hours of video games when its a rare treat is alot more fun than having that as a normal. Also, sometimes, I make a whole tray of fudge and we eat it all too. .

5. NOTHING ANTI-SOCIAL, no Walkmans (or Ipods - did I just date myself?) or mobile games. I flatly refuse to allow a GameBoy (or other portable single player game machine) in the house since it aggressively attacks community time. Also, no Ipod or other headphones with music. These are sore points. I recently took away my daughter's phone for the weekend since she was using it to play games on. But I find a person in headsets to be shut-off in a way that I'm not allowing.

6. USE TECHNOLOGY CREATIVELY - We listen to audio books in the car. ALOT. Sometimes we bring them into the house to finish a chapter but somehow, thats never as good as sitting in the car, even if its parked in the driveway. I have a whole theory on audio books for kids and reading comprehension. We've listened to Dr Suess (Yurtle the Turtle) and all the existing Harry Potter books. We just listened to The Golden Compass (yes, the kids are growing...)

7. PEA - An important aspect of Parenting is that we are Parenting in an Electronic Age. This is the subject of my upcoming essay which will develop many of these thoughts further. Input welcome.

But, I need to evolve with fast-changing kids and world. Other than Online Learning Games with Time4Learning, the kids like alot of online computer stuff with Neopets becoming the particular favorite. There are some great learning games that I try to steer them towards with moderate success and some two player games (these are all part of Time4Learning). And how to manage IM and all this other stuff? Well, online safety first. My daughter's school forced her to get her own computer (a good thing) and so far, it has been benign. Her grandparents have given her a cell phone which so far, has been convenient and fun. But my oldest ( a girl) is a young teen so I know that the big challenges are ahead.....

One of our word games for the car is that I'll mention a technology (the web, remote controls for TVs, cell phones, fax machines, trains, radio, telegraph, printing, electric lights, flush toilets) and the kids guess whether this was new:
- when they were born (since 1990)
- when I was young (1970s-80s)
- when I was born
- when my parents were young or born (1920-40s)
- when our grandparents were born
etc
It gives them a real albeit rough sense how much the world that they live in is in flux from a techological materials point of view

Internet Safety

"As parents, we understand the risks that come with our children's growing independence and we know how to protect and advise them. I remember when my young daughter wanted to ride her bike around the block on her own. I was anxious but I let her go. I understood the risks and where the boundaries should be set. "

This is how Mr. Doug Fodeman, a nationally recognized expert on keeping our children safe online, who runs Children Online, a site educating parents on Internet risks and a Time4Learning Educational Advisory Board starts his talks with advice for parents. He continues:

"Unfortunately, this same intuitive understanding of risks is not true for most parent with the internet. Most parents are unaware of the risks and dangers that await children on the Internet. As wonderful a tool as the Internet is, it has many sites that are not age-appropriate for our children, sites with opportunities for our children to interact with strangers of all ages, and places that put children at risk for harm such as bullying, personal encounters, and addictive behavior." Strange though it may seem, a child can be very influenced by a stranger or group of strangers over the net and can make terrible lapses in judgement in giving out personal information

First recommendation, young children should be supervised at all times on the computer and net. This is to protect the computer and the children. Many parents place the computer screen so that they can easily see it while they are working or cooking. Put the computer with the screen facing the inside of the room (so its easy to see) and perhaps in the parents home office or kitchen but not in the children's own bedroom. This is a great policy into the early teen years.
Second recommendation, get and stay informed about safety on the net. Good sites to look at are: Children Online, Get NetWise, and Parenting In an Electronic Age. And since the net and technology is evolving rapdily, plan on an annual update of your knowledge. Many schools host an annual evening helping parents to understand the risks from the evolving electronic media (remember, a cell phone can now also include email, chat, and web surfing!). If you need speakers, contact us and we might be able to suggest one.

Share your information about the risks with the children. We recommend that you reach an agreement with your child about the what they will and will not do on the net. There are a number of templates for this but essentially, the agreement helps you and your children communicate about the risks and how the child has to take responsibility for not disclosing any personal information. We recommend that the signed agreement be taped to the wall by the computer.

Third recommendation, purchase and install web filtering software for all children under the age of 16. Web filtering software acts as a barrier between your child and the Internet. It attempts to filter out bad/inappropriate content before your child sees it. Filters help support the boundaries you set such as the hours of usage, the sites that they can visit, and their usage of email or instant messaging. We recommend Cyberpatrol for the PC and Content Barrier for the Mac. Also, parents should look at all electronic media and find a trusted source of family-friendly info on electronic media.

Lastly, while it's important that you understand and manage the risks of your children using the Internet, we believe that you should make efforts to have your children take advantage of the Internet. Just like bicycles and cars and sports, there are risks. But these risks are manageable.

Time4Learning is a great example of an online learning program for homeschool or enrichment. Time4Learning has helped thousands of children with a curriculua covering from PreSchool thru Middle School. Each child gets their own individual learning path full of lessons, learning games, printable worksheets, and assessments.