This is a review of an online Christian curriculum resource, Schoolhouse Teachers. If you are secular you can skip this and stay tuned for my upcoming review of Moving Beyond the Page.
Let’s start with the Pro’s.
So many resources, not only classes, but also articles, access to certain vidoes (like Drive Through History), organization planners and tips, and access to World Book Online.
You can have this membership for years and not know everything that it has to offer.
The creators are working to try and make it easy to find what you need with different learning centers and curriculum guides.
Low cost for access to so many resources, you can’t use them all, but you don’t need to. Compared to boxed curriculum’s you will be saving a bundle even if you still buy a few items on the side that you already use and love.
Being able to switch when something isn’t working without any additional cost: Priceless! That may sound cliché’ but I think it is one of the best things about SchoolhouseTeachers, there are so many class options, often several per subject per grade and you can switch it up whenever you need to.
Whenever I think I need something in my homeschool, I go to SchoolhouseTeachers and shop what I already have! They often have a class that is just what I want.
Now for the Con’s
If you want an open and go curriculum, this might not be the best option for you. You need to be able to spend time choosing which classes you want to use and planning out a schedule and possible supplies you may need. However, the site is continually working on ways to make use easier and many classes now have schedules you can use.
To get to your lesson you often need to click through several pages, this can be annoying. Again, I will say the developers are constantly working on making the site easier to use and this may become a problem of the past.
Some classes are not forever guaranteed, what this means is that a class you start using could be cancelled and disappear. This is do to licensing deals with outside resources and teachers. The staff always announces such changes and encourages users of the class to download materials before the cancellation date so they can finish the class. This seems like it would be a big pain to me, but we have never had a class we were using get cancelled. This only happens with a small percentage of the classes they have available.
The last con would be the difference in the quality of classes. Some classes are amazing and others a bit mediocre. I think the number of high quality classes makes this a mute point for me, although sometimes when I am searching for a class I wish there were ratings and reviews for classes to help me find the great ones faster.
I have been a member for 3 years and have always found it to be well worth the cost. If you are looking for a low cost alternative for some of materials, or want to add some elective options to your resources, follow the links to see specifics about what classes are available and the cost/payment options.
Questions?
I would love to answer any questions you have about SchoolhouseTeachers, just ask in the comments below.
