K5 Learning (A Homeschool Crew Review)

With today's technology, many homeschool families find that their students do better with subjects such as language arts and math with online programs then with classic texts.  Combining graphics, sounds and a more interactive factor to their learning helps to engage many students more than black and white font on a paper page.

For the last few weeks, Garrett and Ashleigh have been using an online program from K5 Learning to help reinforce many of the skills they have already learned as well as learning new skills that they haven't yet covered.

What is K5 Learning

K5 Learning is a browser based reading and math program aimed for students grades Kindergarten through 5th grade.  Included in the subscription is unlimited access to both Language Art and

Mathematics lessons as well as printable handouts for extra practice to help reinforce the skills learned.  Parents and students are given their own login and access to their individual portals; the student portal gives students easy access to both the Reading and Math lessons as well as spelling practice for words that the parent wishes them to work with while the parent portal allows the parent access to reports showing what their child has completed, how they have done on the lessons they have completed and how much time they have spent on the program.

Before starting the program, students are advised to take an online assessment to place the student in the proper reading and  math levels.  The assessment takes roughly 20-30 minutes to complete.

Here's an example of the results of Garrett and Ashleigh's Reading Assessment.

And here is the results of their Math Assessment

How We Used It

This is a harder review for me to write. Because, like most reviews, I really do like the program itself.

However, with that said, this particular program just didn't work for us.

Sample of the Reading Portion for Garrett

Unfortunately, it just wasn't right for Garrett and Ashleigh.  For us, it just didn't seem like any of the lessons built upon each other but instead were given at random. For example, while Garrett, who scored lower in mathematics on the assessment than Ashleigh, he was given multiplication and division skills and making change from purchases to work on, Ashleigh was given How to Read a Calendar and Temperatures or figuring out which item was longer or thinner, things that she learned back in 1st grade. I'm sure this is because on the assessment, Ashleigh scored at a "Low 3rd Grade" level on Measurements, but because of this, Garrett, who was over his head, at times got frustrated while Ashleigh was extremely bored.  (Her problem with measurement is remembering how many quarts in a gallon, how many ounces in a cup, not with remembering the months or temperatures).

Garrett using K5 Learning 

Another issue we had with the program was that the kids have to finish an entire series of lessons before their progress shows up on the reports.  Ashleigh would typically do three to four sections a day, three days a week and it wouldn't show any progress for her.  There was confusion as to what actually constitutes the end of the lesson - whether it would be when the happy face shows up or when the traffic signal came up.  It took me a bit to figure it out, especially when I would watch the kids work on the computer for 15-30 minutes and nothing to show for it on the report.

Ashleigh using K5 Learning - She told me afterwards she purposely missed November lol

Sample Worksheet from K5 Learning

To K5's defense, they do allow for parents to contact them to adjust the level at which their child starts the program at if parents feel that the level assigned based on the assessment isn't working. We just opted not to do this as I honestly didn't feel it would make much difference, especially with Garrett.  Neither kids seemed to get excited about working with this program.  That's not to say it's not a good program, but it wasn't a good fit for my two and since there's really no way for a parent to tweak it to be a better fit, it just isn't something I feel my kids would get much from.  My kids have found very few online programs they do like, so this is more about them then it is about a fault of the program.  I do think it's a good program overall and would be a great fit for many other families, especially those who have students who do better with animated lessons and online instructions.

Just because K5 Learning didn't work for us, doesn't mean that it won't work for you, especially if you have students who enjoy online learning.  Be sure to read the reviews from the other Crew Members and see how K5 worked for them, especially before allowing my review to sway you away from what might be a valuable tool for your student's learning.

To learn more about K5 Learning and their Online Program, visit their website or one of their following Social Media sites:

• Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/k5learning    Tag:   @k5learning   
• Twitter:  https://twitter.com/K5Learning    Tag: @K5Learning   
• Pinterest:  https://www.pinterest.com/k5learning/            Tag:   @k5learning   
• Google+:  https://plus.google.com/+K5learning