K5 Learning Online Reading & Math Program Review ~ Great for Homeschool, Summer Learning and more!

Kaelyn is not yet in preschool, however I do still try to incorporate fun educational experiences into our daily routine in the form of activities, games, etc. With today's technology, she can easily do this with a computer, especially when there's great, age-appropriate programs like K5 Learning.

K5 Learning is an online reading and math program for kids K-5. With the mission to help kids build reading, math and study skills through independent study, K5 Learning is designed for use at home, after-school, on weekends and during the summer by children in this age range. It could also be a fantastic used in conjunction with homeschooling!

Kids complete an online assessment of 8 key reading and math skills, and then work independently and at their own pace through over 3,000 lessons and activities. Wow, that's a lot of learning going on!! The lessons are animated, interactive and simple enough that even a 4 year old can use them independently. The system helps to choose lessons for students (based on assessment and past lessons), tracks progress and provides reports to parents.

Just hearing how much fun this program was, I knew we needed to try it out with Kaelyn. Thanks to K5 Learning, we received a 6 week free trial period to do just that on this great educational website!!

Setting up our account and getting everything ready to go was super easy and took no time at all. Once we were all set, we logged and in and found that there were 4 modules: K5 Reading and K5 Math, K5 Math Facts and K5 Spelling with Kaelyn's name in the upper right corner (This made her day, by the way! She loved that it was tailored just to her!)

This menu screen was very simple for her to use. She knew that she simply needed to click on one to get started. And, even though she can read many words yet, the images gave her a good idea of what was what.

I will admit, since this is a K5 program, I was a little worried that it would be way above Kaelyn's head. She is 4 1/2, and although she is really smart for her age, I didn't know how much of this program would be geared towards her. To my surprise though, there was a lot she could do! It made me realize just how valuable K5 Learning can be, even for preschoolers!

Once she was more familiar with the system, we completed some of the free online placement assessments in reading and math. The point in doing this is to gauge skill levels in different areas (phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, site words, numbers/operations, etc) and cue the lessons at an appropriate starting point. Once this was done...she had a lot of fun checking out the program and lessons.

She loves to try and sound out words, so we played around with the Spelling Tutor some. This was geared toward children who are a little bit older, however...working together she and I had a lot of fun and I believe she learned a lot too!

There were several math activities for her to do. Some of them she was able to do independently, while others she and I did together. It was a great way for her to practice some of the math skills she already knows, while challenging herself to learn more advanced things as well! I also enjoyed the bonding time it offered she and I. Just take a look at this example of the great skills some of these lessons teach....this is why it's also a great program for preschoolers as well! Kaelyn loves patterns!!

Her favorite activities would definitely have to be those focusing on basic sight words. I've been working a lot with her on this exact topic before she heads off to school, so she really thought this was a lot of fun...and she was great at it as well!

Not only were the words simple, but the game itself was simple too. For instance, in one it asked her to click on a word when it was said. So when the game said to click on the word up, she would do just that. I wasn't sure how she'd do with this, but I saw her sounding out and using the skills she and I have been practicing. It was really neat to watch. Not just that, but to see her excited about learning, having fun and not wanting to stop was even better!!

In the times we were able to use the K5 Online Reading & Math Program, I can tell that Kaelyn learned a lot! I love that this program focuses on curricula based education and not games and entertainment. It is also great for kids of all ages because the online assessment part of it actually places kids at appropriate skill levels. It is also nice that it gives kids the ability to work independently at their own pace, as this really seems to make learning very meaningful. Kaelyn sure enjoyed it and I know it's something that could easily grow with her.

Overall I've been really impressed with K5 Learning and would definitely recommend other parents check it out. I especially feel it would be a wonderful asset to any homeschool setting or classroom.  If you'd like to learn more, be sure to head over to K5Learning.com! They have lots of info, including sample lessons you and your children can check, a 14 day free trial offer and the option to subscribe and start using their great program.

K5 is available on a subscription basis for $25/month or $199/year with deep discounts for siblings. Each subscription includes a free math and reading assessment and unlimited use of each of K5's four programs.

You can also connect with K5 Learning on Twitter and Facebook

**I was provided a 6 week trial to test out K5 Learning with my preschooler. All opinions are my own and were not influenced in any way.**