Our family was given a free subscription to the Home School Navigator Reading and Language Arts Curriculum to try out for a time. That's a bit of a mouthful, so I'll break it down for you.
Home school Navigator offers six different levels of curriculum, based on the age and reading ability of your child. They provide 36 weeks of lessons, with a TON of instruction that is included.
Included in your subscription are:
-Teaching guides broken down for daily, weekly, and yearly use.
-Handouts and corresponding answer keys
-Review games
-Word Studies
-Vocabulary words
-Interactive book studies
-Video libraries
Getting started is a breeze, as the instructors have created many mini videos that take you through the basics of this course. To begin, there is both a parent video, and then a student video that provide a quick orientation.
The material is organized well, and the teachers offer practical tips to categorize and put in order the many printable pages. You will need at least one, preferably two notebooks, and a binder.
Each component of the lesson, whether it's grammar, writing, independent reading, or other categories, will have a short instructional video to get your student going. I am so impressed at the amount of work that has gone into this program. They make it very easy to implement. Grab your materials and get to work! I also want to mention that there is so much here, but remember, you are the teacher, so you decide which parts that you would like to complete in your home school. I appreciate that the instructors make a point to reiterate that as well throughout the activities. Select what you need, leave out what doesn't work. Their goal is to offer an outline with a variety of activities to choose from. After seeing all of the choices, there were few that I would leave out.
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| Student Intro Video |
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Parent Intro Video
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The highest level offered here is Indigo, which is where we settled. That would equate to about a fifth grade reading level. My girls are in 7th and 8th grade, so 2 and 3 grades higher, and their reading skills are above that, but we still found value in using this program. The first month focuses on fairy tales and folk tales, and the books and materials were at an earlier learning level, so those were a snap to look over. The second month found some more interesting lessons, as the focus turned to the book, Holes. That has been interesting, because they break down the book and provide activities that branch out, using the various themes from their reading selections. These include learning the author's style, conflicts, inferences, short research projects, identifying roots, and more.
By the time that this course is completed, your student will have studied genres in, mythology, historical fiction, persuasive text, biographies and autobiographies, author's, poetry, and realistic fiction. I only wish that they offered options for junior high and high school, as it covers so many areas.
My girls worked on this most weekdays. They do well with many aspects of a traditional schooling approach, so the videos, worksheets, journals, and binders were a good fit with their learning styles and personalities. I wish that we had been aware of this in some of their earlier grades, as they have moved beyond much of the work. I hope that parents with younger students will take a close look at Home School Navigator as they choose a Language Arts program. I know we would have enjoyed and benefited from it.
What we found challenging:
Next to nothing, actually. There was only one thing that I might improve, and it didn't have to do with the lessons, but with the site itself. Once subscribed and registered, it isn't immediately obvious where to click to get to the lessons. The first few times that I visited took me a while to remember how to access my material, but once I figured it out, all was fine. Apart from that very small issue, this course is put together beautifully.
Our final thoughts about this program:
There are so many fantastic components to this Language Arts curriculum. The amount of material is overwhelming, in a most positive way. When I consider how much time and energy was put into creating the various activities, guides, charts, diagrams, vocabulary...and on and on it goes. Even the printable sheets themselves are attractive in their design. There are colorful, cute illustrations and designs that make them visually appealing to students and teachers alike. If you need it, it's in there! I do believe that Home School Navigator has thought of everything. This is a great option for families that are looking for help in planning Language Arts lessons, because they've done all the work for you. All you need to do is grab the accompanying books, and get started. The fact that this is a digital product can also be great for families that want to save some space. Print only what you need, as you need them. Has this review piqued your interest? If so, then follow the links and download a sample lesson today!
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