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Why I Chose Skwirk For Homeschooling



Over the years we've used a few different online learning resources but I'm particularly excited about trying something NEW for 2015.

Skwirk has had a make-over and quite frankly, it's awesome. There is nothing quite like it around at the moment and it has some great functions that work well with homeschooling. It provides animation based lessons for younger ones as well as great options for independent learning for older kids all the way up to year 10.

As an educational tool it is aligned with the Australian curriculum so if that's important to you, or you just like to occasionally see where your kids sit in relation to their peers (like I do) this is a good thing.

The subjects it includes are maths, English, science, geography and history.

My plan was to use this for my 5 year old who is 'technically' in his first year of school next year. However, once I learnt all the features of the program I'm thinking it will be a great resource for encouraging some independent learning for my older boys who are nearly 9 and 7.



And here's why.....

You can use the new teacher tool and set lessons even to the detail of date and time. But they aren't just set lessons. You can add YouTube clips or other videos and images making it a more exciting and complete lesson. It also gives YOU control over the lesson as you can add to the information, change it around, cut and paste and highlight important bits. You can also print out or set worksheets if you so desire and even create your own quiz to test knowledge of the topic. I feel this element of control over the information presented makes it appealing for us homeschoolers as one of the benefits of homeschooling is flexibility.

The way that we use online resources in our homeschool is as a supplement to our lessons. I also use it for one child while I work with another. However, this new Skwirk opens up a whole new way to use these resources. You can set lessons for each child for them to complete each. You can also keep online records of their progress to show your local friendly homeschool inspector (that's what we call him) when he pops by.

If you are looking for something new for 2015 or hunting for an online learning tool that is different to the other online programs out there then Skwirk is worth a look.

So, what's the deal?

The price per year is usually $350 per family they are offering 50% discount for homeschoolers. Just click on this link - 50% off deal 
and use the code: mummedia

 There is also a homeschool tutorial available for more info!


Disclaimer: I recieved a subscription to Skwirk in exchange for this review.  As with all reviews, I only share my true and honest opinion. 
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Comments

  1. UnknownDecember 18, 2014 at 2:59 PM

    Hi Tara,

    Skwirk looks fabulous :) I've clicked on the link for the 50% off deal but it is still coming up as being $350....is there a discount code I should be popping in?

    Thanks :) x

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. TaraDecember 18, 2014 at 10:00 PM

      This comment has been removed by the author.

      Delete
    2. TaraDecember 18, 2014 at 10:05 PM

      No it's not.....the code is: mummedia
      Sorry!!!

      Delete
  2. AnonymousDecember 19, 2014 at 1:33 PM

    Hi Tara,
    Looks great from the samples I can see. Just wondering if you can tell me the difference between this and studyladder?? We use studyladder at the moment and it's only $80 a year for all of my kids... it does all the strands of the curriculum and is linked with the australian curriculum as well. You can set tasks for each child and monitor their progress... Is this the same sort of thing?? I'm always looking for new stuff that will enhance my boys learning etc...
    Hope you and your fam are doing well :-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. TaraDecember 22, 2014 at 12:39 AM

      Hey Reb, We use studyladder too and love it. This is completely different though - a little bit more complex to learn how to use. With skwirk you set up a lesson so they'll click on it and they will read through a text, click on a youtube clip, do a quiz etc.. But you put the lesson together unlike study ladder where the lessons are already put together for you. So the lessons can be a bit more in depth than on study ladder and you have control over the content. The content is all on there, you just search and copy/paste but you can add stuff from the web, your own images or your own thoughts. It's completely different to studyladder. Maybe have a look at a demo before taking the plunge to make sure it's something that will work for you and your kids. Love to you all xo

      Delete

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