K5 Learning Review

For the last six weeks we were given the opportunity to review a new program geared toward young students Kindergarten to Fifth grade.  K5 Learning is an online program to help strengthen math and reading skills; it was created as a supplement for students as an after school program, but as a home schooling family it also fit into our schedule well for enrichment and further learning.


The program has assessments to see where your child is at on the learning scale between Kindergarten and Fifth Grade, or where there are problem areas that need to be strengthened. The lessons are created to build on what was learned previously and the students are able to do the work on their own at their own pace without a lot of overseeing. The program keeps a record of how each student is progressing, so you know what subjects need extra attention. 


We had two of our children on the trial program and it was enjoyable for both of them. We had the 4 year old and 6 year old working on the program. They both really enjoyed the time they spent working on the programs. The 4 year old caught on quick and was able to work through the Alphabet introduction, and simple math skills with very little help. Sometimes I had to limit the time he spent working on the computer. My main reason for testing it was the 6 year old. He is having a difficult time with reading and I thought that this might help him to get past his troubles. He also picked it up really easily and jumped right in. His lessons were more difficult, but the way the program was set up allowed him to progress through the lessons and give him confidence to continue even though they were tough to begin with. Over all we really enjoyed the program and I am considering a subscription at least for the 6 year old, especially right now because of the difficulties he is having with reading.


One thing that I do have to point out especially for other homeschool families, the program, although enjoyable, can be noisy because of the cartoon-ish nature of it. It gives a lot of positive feedback during each exercise, but if you have other children studying is can be frustrating. It is best to use the program at a time that is not designated as "school time" for homeschool families. (Note: It was suggested that headphones be used to alleviate the noise issue and that it would have helped with some concentration...wish I would have thought of that.)


So to conclude we truly enjoyed this program, I would highly recommend it to other parents with children in this age group. My boys were very disappointed that their "computer homework" was no longer working and I am pretty sure that they would recommend it also. It is a great tool for families that want extra enrichment, those who have struggling students, and those that have little minds eager to know more.  It is fun for kids, but the program is more about education than entertainment, and that is why I would recommend it highly.