Saturday 8 December 2012

TOSR - Schoolhouse Teachers.com

PhotobucketDid you know that The Old Schoolhouse Magazine has a members only area called Schoolhouse Teachers.com ? I didn't either until this week when I was given my first review assignment on The Old School House review crew for 2013.

TOS magazine is open access, which means it is available for free to everyone through a FREE app on your Apple, Kindle , Android device or PC.

I've spent a delightful evening exploring the website and seeing just what is available to you when you subscribe to Schoolhouse Teachers.com.  I am impressed with the simplicity of the layout and ease of site navigation.  You don't need a degree to find your way around. The tabs at the top are arranged for ease of access.  You can search for information by specific grade ( Pre K - Elementary, Middle School, High School), Family, Dailies, Extras, Samples, Library or meet the teachers creating the content. Each tab has a drop down menu with subject specific links. 

The Cost**
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  • For a limited time you can trial Schoolhouse Teachers for the first month for $1. 
  • After your trial you have the option of a monthly subscription of  $5.95 (via Pay Pal) or you can purchase a one year discounted membership for $64.26
  • Non obligation cancellations are available at anytime.
  • Are you a HSLDA member ? You can receive a 1 year subscription for FREE.
  • FREE 1 Year membership (NEW) for Active, Retired and Reserve United States Armed Forces (Offer expires 31 December 2012) 
** All prices quoted are subject to change without notice and are stated in US $
 
What do you get with your membership ?
  1. Member only access to lesson materials in all subjects listed below
  2. A new daily activity each morning covering over 13 subject areas.
  3. The Old Schoolhouse Magazine delivered straight to your inbox.
  4. All The Old Schoolhouse Magazine digital back issues
  5. Download all five Schoolhouse Planners
  6. All TOS E Books, unit studies during your 12 month membership.
  7. All available TOS Expo-To-Go recorded sessions and future sessions for the duration of your membership.
  8. New teachers and subjects as they are added. 

Subjects (Sample pages)
Click on any of these links to meet the teacher, read a course overview and upcoming lessons. Each page has a key (PK, K, E, M, HS) in the top right hand corner corresponding with which school levels are covered. 
  1. Asia - Bonnie Rose Hudson
  2. Career Exploration - Carol Topp
  3. Chemistry - Joey Hajda
  4. Classical History - Jennifer Courtney
  5. Classics-Based Writing - Janice Campbell
  6. Economics - Mark Sims
  7. Elementary Literature Kits - Lisa Duffy
  8. Figures in History - Cathy Diez-Luckie
  9. French - Greg Shone
  10. Film-making - George Escobar
  11. Geography - Terri Johnson
  12. Beginning Guitar - Jerry Jennings
  13. History - Diana Waring
  14. Home Economics - Malia Russell
  15. Lapbooking - Kimm Bellotto
  16. Literature - Adam Andrews
  17. Logic - Lisa Duffy
  18. Elementary Math - Dr. Peter Price
  19. High School Math - David Chandler
  20. Media Socialization - Dr. Lisa Dunne
  21. Mock Trial - Deborah Burton
  22. Monthly Reading List* - Michelle Miller
  23. Music - Voice* - Joy Sikorski
  24. Reading Lessons - Matthew Glavach
  25. Special Needs / Struggling Learners - Judi Munday
  26. Worldviews - Dr Alex McFarland
  27. Writing - Kim Kautzer
  28. Weekly Science Experiments by "Mr Science" - Jason Lindsey
*Members only content.

Are you looking for a daily drill to compliment your home school ? Add these Schoolhouse Dailies to your regular curriculum or mix and match to suit your need. Under this tab you will find a full list of daily lessons available to you
  • Everyday Games
  • Everyday Astronomy
  • Copy work
  • Explorers (USA, Canada, Australia/New Zealand)
  • Schoolhouse Spelling (Pre-K/K, lower elementary, and upper elementary.,grade levels 6th through 8th & high school)
  • Writing prompts
  • Everyday Easels
  • Math
  • Shakespeare
  • Pre-K
  • This Day in History
  • This months Menu
Extra's available to Members
  • Any and ALL The Old Schoolhouse Magazines dating back to 2007
  • A monthly FREE TOS E-Book
  • Webinaar recordings
  • All five Schoolhouse Planners (US$125 value)
  • Something NEW each week.
  • If you monetise your site there is an affiliate program available
Samples
Here you can find  pdf lessons to sample in the following subject areas
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  • Schoolhouse Expo 
  • Writing Lesson
  • High School Math lesson
  • Figures in History lesson
  • Music Lesson
  • Daily Unit Study
  • Everyday Explorers history lesson
  • Summer Shakespeare lesson
  • Extras
  • Planners
My Opinion
  • I am impressed with the quality and range of materials available. Coming from Australia you don't often see subject specific areas for our area on US based websites.  I was pleased to find specific areas just for us.
  • The lessons are concise and easy to access.
  • The lessons I chose to use were short enough to fit in with my current 15 minute lesson plan as I am trying to follow a Charlotte Mason approach this year.
  • I am looking forward to using some of the archived lessons as we start up our new year after Christmas.
  • If a teacher recommended a web resource it was linked and I did not need to go looking for it.
  • Each lesson had a PDF file for me to download.
  • We had a play around the Weekly Science experiment area where we enjoyed one minute science lesson YouTube lessons. (Hooked On Science) Sir N loved watching the clips and the pdf's had an excellent step by step and concise explanation explaining the science behind the experiment.  I was impressed with how the clips were related to everyday life.
  • The library of lessons is well laid out and I am impressed that nearly ALL the lessons since the sites debut in March are archived in the library area.
  • It contains daily, weekly and monthly lessons and plans, which are all in one place making it so much easier to access and less time is spent on the net sourcing information.
  • Teachers gave multiple resources so I was not locked into one specific book which I 'had' to buy in order to follow the program.  For example in the classical history Jennifer used four different books (Classical Conversations, Kingfisher History Encyclopedia, Streams of Civilization and Victory Journey Through the Bible) in which she also referenced page numbers. 
What others are saying on the www
I was pleasantly surprised to find this membership site for The Old Schoolhouse Magazine and even more impressed with the access to some very well known names in home school circles.


Blessings


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This post is part of and linking with the Schoolhouse Review so don't forget to pop on over and read what others are saying about Schoolhouse Teachers.com.
 This post contains NO affiliate links.
Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this product through the Schoolhouse Review Crew in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way. All opinions I have expressed are my own or those of my family. I am disclosing this in accordance with the FTC Regulations.

10 comments:

  1. I loved your review. Quite comprehensive, and professional~!! :o) I felt a little nervous about doing my first one for them. Hopefully I gave enough information though.

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    1. Thank you Deborah :) You did a great job too. Sir N wanted to know what your girls were wearing on their heads :) I'm looking forward to making those with him when we start with Ancient Egypt next year!
      Looking forward to the new year ahead.

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  2. I am so glad to see that you are new on the Crew this year, too!You did a great review! :-)

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    1. Thank you Lisa :) I had so much fun. Looking forward to the year ahead with you
      PS loved your pics of the kids using Schoolhouse Teachers products.

      Delete
  3. Hi, there! I am so excited to meet another newbie. :) I enjoyed your review and I look forward to exploring your adorable blog!
    Leah
    Learning 4 Keeps

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  4. First, you have a beautiful family!! Second, your review was excellent! So thorough and informative. I'm glad to be on the Crew with you this year!!

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  5. Stopping by from the crew. I am now following you.
    It is very nice to meet you.
    I have to say, I stopped by this morning because I was reading the thread about the word count and wanted to see another review that was longish. Mine was a bit over 1500 and I was a bit nervous. Thanks for helping to ease my fears...
    But really, you have a great review here. I didn't think about the benefits of the short lessons in regards to Charlotte Mason, what a great point.
    Looking forward to getting to know you better and checking out more of your blog. So many to go visit.

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    Replies
    1. Welcome to my space :) I'm so enjoying meeting all my new followers and looking around their blogs :)

      You are welcome :)

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