Will It Be Time4Learning?

I've written about how we've had changes in the last month. I'll be needing to pull in more income. Fortunately, I was able to add two more companies to my list of writing jobs. There are two distinct challenges, though. First, I need to carve out a good amount of time almost every day to write and meet deadlines. Second, we need to figure out if this will indeed be enough income.

One of the things I'm considering using to help me carve out that writing time is an online homeschool curriculum. I've heavily pulled from two curricula so far this year (and dozens of supplemental educational opportunities) and I've loved both of them. If Xander can run with an online program, though, he will feel more in control of his schooling and I will have some extra time. That's the way it works in my imagination, at least.

We are going to try Time4Learning for free for 30 days, in exchange for an honest review of the program at the end of that time. I will see if both kids can do it, because the curriculum goes from PreK to 8th grade. Here is the official notice I need to put on my blog before we start our free trial:

Over the next 30 days, I will be reviewing Time4Learning. It can be used forhomeschool study, an afterschool curriculum or for summer learning. My opinion will be entirely my own, so be sure to come back and read about my experience. You can write your own curriculum review, too!

I'm not sure that Xander will like doing a lot of activities on the computer, not to mention the program worksheets, but that's why we're giving it a trial run. I'm not sure that Nick will be able to interact with the program successfully, but I have a feeling he will do great. And the last thing I'm not sure about is whether it will save me any time (or whether I will feel good about it even if it does save time). In 30 days, I'll post my findings here.

In the back of my head, I have always kept open the possibility of homeschooling all summer to make sure I feel Xander is ready for second grade by the fall. We will probably do at least some schooling all the way through - but so far I believe he is on track in the sense of being ahead in some areas, behind in a couple, and at average skill level in many.