We received Sparketh’s for our honest review. This review may contain affiliate links at no additional charge to you.
Online art classes for kids have become increasingly popular in recent years. Sparketh online art lessons provide children with the opportunity to explore their creativity and develop their artistic skills from the comfort of their own homes. With various lessons available, children can learn everything from basic drawing and painting techniques to more advanced skills like sculpture and digital art.
Sparketh’s self-paced art lessons are a great addition to any homeschool curriculum. Not only do they offer flexibility in terms of scheduling, but they also allow students to work at their own pace and explore their creativity.
When choosing self-paced art classes for your homeschool, it’s essential to consider the level of instruction provided as well as the materials needed. The materials for the lessons we completed were basic art supplies. All of the Sparketh provide a list of required materials for the lessons. Sparketh online art lessons offer video tutorials and step-by-step instructions, making it easy for students to follow along and learn new techniques. My son was able to do the lessons unassisted, but I like doing art with him so we did them together.
Sparketh offers 1000+ video lessons for kids as young as 6-18. There are lessons for sculpting, watercolors, cooking, drawing, and so much more. The video lessons started with an introduction that included our list of supplies. The video lessons are short and will hold your student’s attention. As you work through the lessons you work through a checklist to help you complete each lesson instruction.
Sparketh online art lessons are taught by professional artists who can provide valuable guidance. We were super excited when we noticed that many of the instructors were from Kennesaw State University a local college to us. I love that my son was learning from student artists, I feel it made lessons more relatable. The instructors were well-spoken and did the lessons at a steady pace. We can pause instructions and work then restart the lesson. In addition, there are lessons available for children/teens of all ages and skill levels, making it easy to find a lesson that is right for your child.
For this review, we completed two lessons and I have a few more scheduled this month and next. We did a study on ancient Africa in our history curriculum and we decided to do the elephant silhouette. For our music studies, we studied the Harlem Renaissance and we did the Harlem Renaissance portrait. Students can also submit their completed works to Sparketh gallery.
Overall, Sparketh self-paced art lessons were a fun and engaging way for my homeschooled student to explore his creativity and develop his artistic skills. With Sparketh instructors, students can learn new techniques and create beautiful works of art at their own pace. Sparketh is reasonably priced and offers monthly and yearly plan options. One parent account includes two student accounts, which is a great value for homeschoolers.
If you are like me art tends to take the back burner in our homeschool, but I really enjoyed Sparketh and I have marked off some favorite lessons I would like us to try. My son also liked the platform he said it had a lot of different lessons that work well for him. I highly recommend that you check out Sparketh online art classes for kids and teens.
We received MyTek Lab for our honest review. This review may contain affiliate links at no additional charge to you.
In today’s digital age, children are being exposed to technology earlier than ever. They must learn how to use technology responsibly and safely. Parents can encourage their children to explore technology by providing them with age-appropriate devices and software and monitoring their use.
One way to teach kids about technology is through educational games and apps. These can help children learn basic skills such as reading, writing, and math, as well as more advanced skills like coding and problem-solving. Parents can also enroll their children in technology classes or camps like MyTek Lab to further develop their skills.
My son is working his way through the Computer Technology introductory course for ages 8-12 offered on Tuesday afternoons. In the Computer Technology course students will learn programming. This class is designed to be easy to understand and fun to follow. They cover a wide range of topics, including computer skills, coding, web design tools, video game design, and so much more.
Mr. and Mrs. MyTek Lab as well as Little MyTek help students learn to navigate the world of computer technology by creating a positive, encouraging environment for learning. What I really like about this course is that the facilitators understand that kids need time to learn all this information and they continue to encourage the kids to keep pushing through and ask questions in the chat. Mr. MyTek walks the students step by step with in-depth explanations and interactive lessons that students can work alongside him as he moves through the lesson.
MyTek Lab offers flex-paced online computer technology classes for kids. These courses are a great way to introduce children to the world of technology.
Flex Pace is a highly adaptable course alternative designed to cater to students’ varying schedules. This learning approach involves weekly recorded videos and lesson releases, allowing students the convenience to engage with the course content according to their own timelines. Given the rapid and frequent evolution of technology, the potential for outdated material is a concern for learners. However, Flex Pace proactively addresses this issue by continuously updating our content, ensuring that all students have access to the most current material and instructional modules. Recordings will be released each Monday.
MyTek Lab
There is a parent and student dashboard, but the majority of the time you really don’t need to log into the parent dashboard. My son is capable of getting himself in and out of the platform on his own. After the first class, he was a pro maneuvering and he was teaching me because I was so confused about just getting him into the class. MyTek Lab in my honest opinion speaks to children, because I was listening to the class during the session and I wasn’t sure if my son understood everything. When I asked him he said he understood everything and that he in fact loved the class.
At the time of the review we are wrapping up week 3 of live classes and so far my son has learned how to create a pixel avatar, program a game, and program character movement. Each week students learn the lesson, practice, and complete assignments. I really like that the classes are both live and flex pace, my son was a little under the weather in week two and did the flex pace option so he could get caught up with the live class.
I like MyTek Lab because the teachers are friendly and they really want us kids to learn about technology. I don’t feel rushed when we are doing the lesson and Mr. Tek Lab explains a lot in a way kids understand.
Jai 10
MyTek Lab also has superior customer service I was having trouble logging in they were swift about helping me troubleshoot. I appreciate that MyTek Lab is a family family-operated business. I can really tell the owners care about their students and have created exceptional courses to keep children advancing in technology. If you are looking for quality computer courses I highly recommend MyTek Lab they offer five classes in which some of the classes are two parts. The classes schedules for live classes are offered at convenient times. The flex-paces classes are a game changer because give your student the flexibility to go at their own pace.
If you would like to try out MyTek Lab, I highly recommend that you do. New families can contact Jacky (Mrs. MYTEK) at jsouders@myteklab.com for a discounted monthly rate of $15 dollars off of the monthly rate.
When you are married to a music producer life is different. Being woken up to the sounds and music in the middle of the night is normal. Having in-home listening parties is a weekly event for your small family. My son and his dad speak a musical language I do not know, but I am trying to learn. I have learned a lot of terminology and software, but I don’t have a connection to music production like they do. At least once or twice a week I hear them bickering over which DAW system is better or how to work on projects. Then there is the butting of heads over the learning process of music production. My son wants the end results right now and my husband needs to learn the basics and background. Thank goodness for Mr. D newest course Digital Music Production with Brent Daniels it has brought calm to my house. If you have a student who wants to step into the music arena you have to try this course.
What is Music Production?
Music production is the creation of music. A music producer’s job is to compose various sounds into an entire composition. Then there is the engineering or (mixing ) is making the sound cohesive. The last component is mastering when you take the mixed product and make it commercial quality. I know what you are thinking that is a lot of knowledge and work that goes into music production. Lucky for you Mr. D Digital Music Production with Brent Daniels course has built a fantastic course that takes some producers years to learn.
Using Digital Music Production with Brent Daniels
Brent Daniels is a successful music producer with projects with Marvel Studios, Netflix, and Epic Records just to name a few. Students will have their own platform on the Mr. D Math dashboard, that lists all the lessons and tracks their graded process. Digital Music Production with Brent Daniels provides your student with a deep dive into sixteen lessons on digital music production. Within each lesson, students watch on average 25-35 minute videos. He teaches this course from his personal studio, these are pre-recorded self-paced video lessons. As you journey through lessons your student will want to learn more and get excited.
Mr. Daniel walks students through music production hardware and software, and so much more. He also explains the different career paths for music production and shares snippets of his own projects. There is homework assigned so students can have a hands-on learning experience. The homework assignments allow students to apply what they have learned and explore. Along with videos and homework, students also take quizzes that cover 100% of the lesson’s material.
If you aren’t familiar with a DAW ( Digital Audio Workstation) this is the software that is used to produce music. He mentions several DAW software that work with various operation systems. From the primary DAW to the more complex your student will find something that works for them and their budget. Fortunately for my son, he has experience working with Ableton, FL Studio, Logic Pro, and music production equipment. Remember the earlier mention about the DAW system battle in my house my son prefers Ableton and my husband is a die-hard FL Studio/ Studio One user. There are included embedded links to Youtube, websites, and other resources for your student.
The Review
Over the course of the last few weeks, my husband and son took on the course. My husband conveyed to me that he really enjoyed how the course was laid out and presented in a real studio and Mr. Daniels has powerful sounds and visuals. The course gives the viewer the feel they are sitting in the studio or “lab” (producer language).
Digital Music Production with Brent Daniels is not a course for a student who has not shown an interest in music production. The course is for those students who have shown significant interest. He gives the students a complete breakdown of the basics and takes them through to the end of laying down a track using all knowledge they have gained over the course. What we all noticed is this isn’t a course you want to fast forward through because you will miss valuable information. So take your time and enjoy.
I really like this course because it answers questions that I may have about creating music. My dad has taught me a lot and I have a better understanding of what he has been teaching me. It was nice to meet the person that help creat some some the music for Black Panther.
The homework assignments given offer the students the opportunity to try out what they have learned and research. Fortunately for our home, we have an in-house studio so my son has the opportunity to use many of the types of equipment suggested in the course thus far. At the time of this review, my husband and son were finishing up week 6. My husband said this course was a great refresher for him and he did learn about a few programs he didn’t know existed. He further said that it offered our son a fully laid out course that will help him develop his music production skills.
What I wish I had learned earlier is the characteristics of sound such as pitch, timber, and volume that this course teaches. All of these topics are imperative for rising music producers to learn on their journey.
Obscure Shakur -dad
Digital Music Production with Brent Daniels course is also a great referencing course for upcoming music producers. The course will equip students with the knowledge they need to produce music. I feel like this course helped settle some of the frustration my son was having because while he understands how to use the DAW, he now understands the why and the foundation. I also have noticed that it has provided new talking points for him and his dad. He now sees the value behind why he sees his dad going through the steps of putting beats together and as a greater appreciation for the creation process.
Do you need to run out and buy any special music equipment in order to complete this course? I would say no not at this time, but is it helpful to have a USB Midi keyboard which is mentioned in lesson 1. I wouldn’t suggest investing in music equipment unless you are 100% this is something your student will continue down the path to music production.
My husband is a self-taught music producer with 20+ years experience, he is very talented and has a gift for music. My son has picked up a lot from his dad and stays in our home studio. My husband has said many times he wished that he could have had a course like this when he was my son’s age to walk him through music production because it could have saved him some time.
We highly recommend Mr. D newest course Digital Music Production with Brent Daniels for students or adults looking to get a feel for music production. This self-paced course is detailed and a wealth of information. We will continue to use this course this year and I know my son will refer to it often and is looking forward to completing the final project.
There is no secret that we love a good unit study. I have been putting together unit studies since my son was a preschooler and we have loved every last one. Planning a unit study is a lot of work and sometimes this mom just wants it just laid out for me already. Well, we aren’t strangers to Jessica Waldock’s Instagram The Waldock Way, we have loved all her wonderful blog posts, YouTube videos, and homeschool hauls. We are super excited to see she released the Who Would Mini Unit studies that go along with the Who Would Win books.
My son was the first one to run to tell me she had a new release; you see he follows her channel and all her hauls. I can always tell when she has dropped a new haul because my Amazon cart magically gets some extra additions. I am really happy to see this newest release because every summer I plan an elaborate Shark Week unit study and I wasn’t sure about which direction I was going to go in.
We decided to check out the book Who Would Win Hammerhead vs Bull Shark from the library and I grabbed the accompanying unit study from the Waldock Way. What is great about all of The Waldock Way unit studies is that she thinks of everything. The Hammerhead vs Bull Shark unit study included:
Required Book
Supplement Books about both sharks
Informative playlist for both sharks
Additional resource links
Along with this perfectly she includes animal profile sheets for your student to complete, geographic locator, comparison, and comparison sheet. She also includes writing prompts for the children so they can write about their predictions and alternative ending to the story. The Who Would Win series has been a long-loved series in our home and my son has read several of the books. The Who Would Win Mini Unit gives students a chance to interact with the story while learning some facts.
Meet the Animals Notebooking Page Animal Habitat Map Work Animal Advantage Checklist Compare & Contrast Worksheet Alternate Ending Writing True or False Fact Sorting Game
The Waldock Way
I have always been a fan of the coloring sheets every time we have done any of the Waldock Way units I have always printed extra copies for myself to color and my son. Our entire family has enjoyed her units we especially loved the Who Was the Tuskegee Airmen.
I highly recommend Who Would Mini Unit there are 15+ units you can choose from. Each unit is $5.00 and you can also grab her animal add-on pack that works for all the mini units for $2.50. If you are interested in reading our review on the Human Body Unit you can check it out here.
Take 30% off your entire purchase at The Waldock Way with coupon code: Waldock2023 valid through August 31st, 2023.
We received Elephango for our honest review. This review may contain affiliate links at no additional charge to you.
Have you ever wanted a companion to help you lesson plan or just a place you could go when you weren’t sure how to present a lesson or concept? Well, Elephango is my new favorite go-to for my planning and resource management for my homeschool. Elephango is an online supplemental learning platform that offers thousands of resources for parents and students.
The Layout
Elephango provides parents and students with their own dashboards. The parent dashboard allows parents to explore the resources, but at the time of setting things up, you will be able to customize the resources that populate on your homepage. You will find resources for K-12, parenting, and adult learning. You can also choose from these categories:
Subject Matter
Grade
Learning or Personality Style
Content-Type
Lesson or Time Length
There were several features I found beneficial on the platform. I really like that they had an assessment under the Discover Your Style tab. These assessments allowed both my son and I to answer questions that would tell us our learning and personality styles. I discovered some things about my son that I didn’t know, but it gave me insight into his learning styles. This breakdown was really helpful it will help me pick activities that would work for him and better understand his personality. The other great feature was the state standards list. You select your state and they come up on the screen and within each standard, there are hyperlinked resources to help you teach or assign to your student.
So far, I have favored resources for writing, history, science, and math. My son was working on exponents, and I did a search, and fantastic resources came up. One of the resources I selected had interactive games and a Cyberchase video link. That’s another thing about Elephango they have trusted resources and links for children to access. Parents can rest assured that their students can explore in freedom. We saw a few of our favorite resources and platforms link in activities. I almost forgot that every day when you log in there is a lead resource on your dashboard, it is always something really good and you will also see featured, popular, and new lessons. So here is my confession I solely was using Elephango the last few weeks so I could get the hang of it before I introduced it to my son. I have been having so much fun planning and reading resources I almost forgot I needed to share Elephango. You know it’s kind of like my new BFF and you don’t want to share, but you have to.
The resources will sometimes have activities and a supply list handy for you on the right side. Students can read or have it read to them. Then there is the testing of what they learn with resources where students will answer questions to demonstrate what they have learned. Students can also earn badges as they research and learn, I like this form of positive encouragement.
My son is a huge researcher and I know he is going to love Elephango and the jumpstart badges are going to be perfect for him to help get started with Elephango. I have gradually assigned things for him to do, but I want him to still be free to explore on his own.
Who Would Benefit
New and Veteran Homeschoolers
Teachers
Students and Parents
Students who show I high interest in research-based learning
There are resources about homeschooling on Elephango which I think all homeschoolers can benefit from looking at and bookmarking.
Overall thoughts, this is my new homeschool companion, when I saw all the writing resources available, I wanted to hug the screen. Then I started to really go through Elephango and realized I struck gold with this platform, and I couldn’t wait to tell my followers. I have told everyone I talked to they have to try this program out. Google Chrome user Elephango has an extension.
For my followers, Elephango was generous enough to provide an exclusive 3-month free trial by using our special discount code: 3monthfreeblog11
So, if you haven’t guessed it yet I love Elephango! I highly recommend you check out this fabulous all-around curriculum companion and independent learner platform. You will not be disappointed.
Don’t forget to use our special discount code: 3monthfreeblog11 so you can sign up for your 3-month free trial and love on Elephango.
Timberdoodle Co, finally unveiled the highly anticipated new 2023 curriculum kits and secular homeschoolers got a brand-new science offering this year. Science came at the right time for us because my son loves all things science and loves science curricula. The new science is Discover! Science Grade 6 and let me just tell you my rising middle schooler was very happy with Discover! Science Grade 6. Discover! Science is also available in grades 1 through 6 and Timberdoodle Co has them all!
Discover Science 6
Discover! Science Grade 6 is a secular curriculum designed with homeschoolers in mind. A full year’s curriculum is divided into two books with one instructor’s guide. Book 6A has six chapters and 6B has seven chapters. Chapters consist of 6 -10 lesson that includes a chapter review. The instructor guide includes the lesson layout for all the chapters. Each lesson is divided into sections:
Lesson Objective
Explore (connection to real-world interactive activities)
Vocabulary
Reading (lecture)
Practice
Take A Closer Look (experiment)
Show What You Know (Q &A about the lessons)
What is unique about Discover! Science Grade 6 is that it is colorful and appeals to all learning styles. The instructor manual offers suggestions for auditory, visual, and kinesthetic learners. There are in-depth but not overwhelming instructions for instructors, along with research suggestions for you to offer your students. The student text is nicely laid out with real-life photos, detailed diagrams, and writing exercises that are not overly excessive. Students’ experiments and lab reports are also included in the lessons.
How we plan to use it!
What I like about Discover! Science Grade 6 is that it’s not overwhelming for those students who may not be science kids. The colorful pages make the lessons more interesting and encourage the students to want to continue to learn. Discover! Science Grade 6 also encourages critical and logical thinking skills. Lesson average 2-3 days a week which is about 150 days of instruction. It is encouraged that students complete 3 pages on the first day and 2 pages on the second day. You can see complete sample pages on Discover! Science Grade 6 Timberdoodle Co landing page. Discover! Science Grade 6 is a part of the 2023 6th grade non-religious curriculum kit.
Lesson 1 Scientific Process
We do have a spine curriculum that we love and will use, but because my son really loves science I always add a supplement to our science curriculum. Discover! Science Grade 6 lessons are interactive which will be a great supplement for him, and he can do them on his own. Discover! Science Grade 6 lessons are quick and short for him and will act as an opener to what we are learning. They will also help enhance what he is learning and give him extra practice.
The Middle Schooler
Hey, everyone, it’s me and I am happy to co-author this review with my mom. I love science and I like to research and learn as much science as possible. I helped my mom look over Discover! Science Grade 6 and I really like what we noticed in the lessons. Almost all the lessons match up with my spine curriculum. I like the pictures and the experiments in the book. The experiments give me more things I can do to explore the lessons. I also like that the book has really nice diagrams. I also like that they include talking points for me to think about. As a middle schooler, I think it’s important that books still look like they are fun and not just a bunch of words and things for you to learn.
I also like that in the second book, there are four chapters dedicated to the human body topics. There are also topics in the books that aren’t like typical science books. I think if you are a 6th grader, and you don’t want to do boring science, Discover! Science Grade 6 is a great pick for a middle schooler. I am looking forward to using Discover! Science Grade 6 this school year and I am trying to persuade my mom to let me start it sooner than September
In Closing
We both highly recommend Discover! Science Grade 6, I feel like even if you have no experience with teaching science this curriculum will work for your family. I also think if your student is a visual learner or if you want to change things up Discover! Science Grade 6 would be a great fit. The price point is affordable and experiment supplies cost is minimal. Stay tuned for our upcoming review of Discover! Social Studies 6.
It’s that time of the year and Back to School shopping is amongst us. Rather you are a homeschooler, a traditional schooler, or continuing your education at some point you may have had to buy some sort of coloring utensil. Our friends over at Timberdoodle Co. sent us Mideer 36 pcs Colored Pencils that are available in 2023 Kindergarten Curriculum Kits.
From an early age, I can remember my son despised crayons, I don’t know what it was about crayons that were so off-putting to him. I bought him every type of crayon you could think of he wanted nothing to do with them. Markers he would tolerate, but here comes 4th grade and he finally tells me why I don’t like crayons. I finally found out he didn’t like that they didn’t move across the page smoothly and didn’t like how they looked on the page. I of course was shocked by this revelation, but I totally understood his plight. So, we finally invested in better-quality markers and colored pencils, and he fell in love with coloring and drawing.
Here we are now entering middle school and he still loves using his colored pencils and markers and he loves trying out new colored pencils and testing their quality and texture. Over the summer we have been doing some video game detox which has left us more time to do art and other activities. We have been coloring away using Mideer 36 pcs Colored Pencils and we have been having a great time.
Mideer Colored Pencils
Mideer 36 pcs Colored Pencils come in a beautifully crafted sturdy storage box unsharpened. Inside the box, you will find a color palette for each color. The pencils are triangular and round in shape, to sharpen the pencils I picked up a hand sharpener with a larger pencil insert. We sharpened pencils as we used them because we didn’t want to sharpen them all at once. The vibrant colors offer you and your child a variety of color selections. The color of the pencil is on the opposite tip of the sharpened end. Mideer 36 pcs. Colored Pencils glide across the paper, we tried several different paper textures. The ergonomic grip allows for a comfortable natural fit for young hands. These pencils are not the traditional skinny colored pencils, but they aren’t thick and chunky. The shape of the pencil prevents the pencils from rolling off the surface so no more pencils on the floor and the storage makes for quick clean up.
We used the Mideer 36 pcs. Colored Pencils to color some of his human body anatomy coloring book pages and we also use them to color and outline some of the art projects we did. My son also used them with his science curriculum diagramming. I received no complaints from my color pencils critic, he likes them and is currently holding them, hostage.
We are entering middle school this year and one of my concerns is ensuring my son has a solid foundation in mathematical concepts. One of the resources we are using this year is Mr. D Math Preparing for Pre-Algebra. Mr. D Math is an online self-paced full math curriculum. The company has an entire course catalog of other courses that include thirteen other topics and live classes.
Before you start your course the guided videos provide you with valuable information for being successful and grading. Also, included is the option to be able to print out your student’s resource pages or homework pages either in one PDF. You also have the option to print per chapter including the answer key. The instructor encourages the student to take notes and work alongside them as they are presenting the lesson. Mr. D Math Preparing for Pre-Algebra has eight chapters that are divided into multiple lessons. Within those lessons, you will also find spiral reviews and quizzes. There are two-semester exams, the first between chapter four and the last at the end of chapter eight.
Lessons
Mr. D Math Preparing for Pre-Algebra videos move at a steady pace that ensures that your student will not get lost along the way. Lessons are short but informative and provide the student with just enough instruction to complete the lesson. Each lesson gives your student an intro about what they’re going to learn it also reminds them about previous lesson skills. Once the lesson starts students will receive math vocabulary, lectures, and examples. During lesson instruction, I reminded my son that he needs to check his worksheets for notes. The instructor provides information in the video for the notes on worksheets. My student take his time and listen to the lecture and then he would continuously pause to make sure that he wasn’t missing the notes.
Mr. D Math Preparing for Pre-Algebra quizzes are only five questions. Keep in mind at the time of this review we are on chapter three of our course. The has two attempts to score a passing grade. I know what you’re thinking only five questions how does that really show if a student really understands the lesson. Let me assure you those five questions have been carefully curated so they cover almost 100% of what was in the lesson. If your student needs the quiz attempt reset just send a quick email to customer service. The other wonderful thing about Mr. D Math’s online platform is the free tutoring session. If your student is struggling there are live tutoring sessions that meet 2 days a week.
His unique and effective approach allows students to understand math as a language, raising their test scores on SAT/ACT/FCAT and other standardized tests.
Mr. D Math
On average each lesson takes about 20-30 minutes. To be honest with you it really depends on your student because they work at their own pace. Some of the lessons are divided into multiple parts. If you’re doing Mr. D Math as your spine curriculum then I would recommend that you do one part each day. For us, we averaged doing two to three lessons a week. We are also still finishing our spine curriculum and Mr. D Math is our supplement. I have noticed my son is covering concepts in Mr. D Math that are in his spine curriculum. I can honestly say having Mr. D’s Math alongside our spine curriculum has really made a difference in my son’s math lessons.
Let’s talk about spiral reviews. The spiral reviews are just that reviews of previously learned concepts along with new ones. It helps demonstrate he can incorporate both old and new information and still be able to continue through the course without frustration and gaps.
Can be used as a stand-alone curriculum or supplemental
I highly recommend Mr. D Math Preparing for Pre-Algebra, we will be investing in the Pre-Algebra when my son has finished this course. The student dashboard provides lesson tracking, grade book, messages, and complete transcripts. The company also has contests and fun opportunities for the kids to interact in the Mr. D Community. I recently purchased his book called Teach: Creating Independently Responsible Learners. Be on the lookout for our upcoming review of the Digital Music Production course.
Hey, guys, I’m jumping on right now to bring you a review that’s probably not like our typical reviews. We were given the opportunity to review the new Khan Academy Khanmigo. If you aren’t familiar with Khanmigo it is Khan Academy’s new AI teacher assistant and learner tutor. I’m gonna be totally honest with you I was a little bit skeptical about the whole AI technology being used in my homeschool. Like many families, we do have several Alexa devices in our home. and So when we were given an opportunity to try out the new Khan Academy Khanmigo AI resource I jumped at the chance to just check it out.
As of right now, the Khanmigo is not available to the general public but you can eagerly put your name on a waitlist. The platform that we were using was the beta platform. We shared the teacher dashboard but there is an area for learners. Once fully launched Khanmigo will be available to students on their dashboards. Khanmigo’s goal is to be an assistant teacher to help you plan creative lessons. For the student, it is used to be a progressive tutor in which the student facilitates the learning and Khanmigo adapts and tutors.
Khanmigo is a wonderful resource from what I can tell right now. There are lots of prompts and details to tell you how the system works. The AI is very responsive, honestly, I didn’t run into any problems using Khanmigo. I was really impressed at how thoroughly the system works.
Teacher Dashboard
The teacher dashboard has and on the left-hand side of ten activities to choose from:
Chat with GPT-4 (Your AI buddy)
Class Snapshot ( Lets you see what going on in your classes)
Summarize student chat history ( lets you see how your students have been chatting with Khanmigo)
Refresh my knowledge ( Lets you pick topics and grade levels you need refreshing on)
Create a lesson hook and write exit ticket questions
Options for creating lesson plans
Write learning objectives
Co-create a rubric
The dialogue box is to the right of the activities and this is where you will see your interactions. How I tested Khanmigo’s lesson planning skills is I asked for the AI to create a lesson plan for Meso- America. I was completely blown away. AI the system gave me a complete breakdown of:
Objectives/Standards
Essential Questions
Materials
Lesson Hook
Lesson Activities
Assessment
Higher-Order Thinking Questions
Extensions Activities
Differentiation
Take your teaching to the next level with AI-guided lesson planning and insightful student feedback. Khanmigo frees up our educators’ most limited resource—time.
Khan Academy
Fellow educators let me just tell you, I WAS SHOCKED !!! I want to take this time and thank Khan Academy for saving me HOURS of research and agony. The systems even referenced activities to use within Khan Academy. I then further tested the learning objectives activity on the same topic and the AI helped me come up with and pinpoint my personal own objectives for this topic for my son.
For Learners
The learner’s section of the dashboard also includes a welcome screen and on the left side there were twenty activities that included:
Brainstorm admissions essay
Grammar and Mechanic check
Tutoring Math, Science, Humanities
Ignite your curiosity
Practice general subjects
Practice for Elementary, Middle School, High School, AP Exams, College
Debate topics for Elementary, Middle School, and High School
Chat with Historical and Literary characters
Story writing and writing prompts
Vocabulary
College and academic and career growth
My son took his turn at Khanmigo and so far he has studied Indigenous Tribes, Civil War, Juneteenth, and Indigenous mounds. He has also used writing prompts and debate topics for middle schoolers. He has also used Khanmigo to help him dig deeper into his physics and history lessons.
Khanmigo mimics a writing coach by giving prompts and suggestions to move students forward as they write, debate, and collaborate in exciting new ways.
Khan Academy
Now I know what you’re thinking is Khanmigo doing all the work for kids and teachers is it taking away the ability to research and be creative. On the contrary, Khanmigo gives students and teachers the skeleton it encourages them to dig deeper into what they have asked about or created. Students are encouraged to use the resources within Khan Academy as well as outside resources. Khanmigo is not about giving your students answers they are testing their knowledge and building upon it. I appreciate that when students type in answers if the answers are wrong or they come close to being correct the system is very encouraging and they help them learn about the topic rather than listing a bunch of facts and historical events.
Khan Academy Khanmigo receives a huge thumbs up from both my son and myself. There are so many capabilities of this platform. The things I took away from reviewing this Khanmigo are that it saves time, and takes my lesson planning to a new level. I definitely see Khanmigo as an assistant teacher at my homeschool.
Middle Schoolers Thoughts
I really like Khanmigo I was able to learn about topics I am interested in. I also like the writing prompts helper. The writing prompts help me develop my writing with greater details. My favorite area is science, I was able to ask questions and search through my own books, and the internet based on the suggestions Khanmigo gave me. Khanmigo is like having another teacher that helps you learn. I also like Khanmigo because I felt in control of what I wanted to do and learn about.
Final Thoughts
Khan Academy Khanmigo is a great resource for educators and learners. Right now it is in beta testing, so I would hurry and get on the waitlist. In the future, the learners will have their own dashboard. I also foresee Khan Academy Khanmigo getting some tweaks. I am hoping they included a printing option so you can print out the conversations. You can copy and paste your conversation into a Word document which is helpful. We really like Khan Academy Khanmigo and I will be using it more often in our homeschool and for planning purposes. I know my son really likes it so I see it being in high rotation with him as well.
Introduction to Public Speaking for Middle and High School was sent from IEW for our honest review.
Just when you thought IEW couldn’t get any better they have released a new curriculum Introduction to Public Speaking for Middle and High School. We received a copy to check out and it couldn’t have come at a better time. My son joined a debate team this spring and he felt overwhelmed. I was super excited that IEW asked us to look over the Introduction to Public Speaking for Middle and High School we desperately needed proper public speaking structure and guidance. My son is type A and he likes to be prepared and organized when he starts a program. Andrew Pudewa and the team over at IEW have once again come to the rescue.
When I first received the curriculum I immediately was transported back to my sophomore year speech class. Not only was this similar to my speech class it was better. Let me just tell you IEW team has done an exceptional job with Introduction to Public Speaking. There are 12 lessons which are accumulated to 12 weeks, but who am I kidding there is no way we are going to finish this in 12 weeks nor do I even want to. My son is a rising 6th grader and we need to take our time moving through this curriculum. What I will say is that we will be more than ready in September when the debate team starts back up.
Introduction to Public Speaking
You will receive the teacher’s manual, student binder, and code for IPS stream videos. If you are familiar with IEW Style and Structure you will notice the binder is similarly set up as a working binder to help keep kids organized. There are four tabs that are divided into speech templates, memorization, critiques, and class notes. Both teacher’s manual and student binder tell you how to set up your student’s workflow, scope, and sequence. In the bundle, you also receive Portable Walls for Public Speakers which is a quick reference for students to help them with their speeches. There is also a weekly overview and objectives for the week. Each week’s lessons are spread out over a 4-day schedule. We decided to stretch lessons over 1-2 weeks, I didn’t want to overwhelm him. Students who have never had experience with the keyword outline will learn this technique in week one. IEW’s infamous keyword outline is used in the weekly lessons, my son loves keyword outlines he said it helps him with memorization. Students are learning to speak publically from their notes.
The 12 weeks cover:
Delivery and Speaker Evaluation
Body, Introduction, and Conclusion of a Speech
Preparation for Narrative, Expository, and Persuasive Speech
Primary Speech Goals
Extensive Memory Techniques
Three modes of persuasion
Impromptu Speech
Various Speech Opportunities
Students will learn vocabulary, proper public speaking etiquette, structure of speeches, and memorization techniques. The videos average about an hour and are interactive. Students will need to practice what they are learning with you, their siblings, and themselves. They will learn the Five Canons of Rhetoric: invention, arrangement, elocution, memory, and delivery. In the front of the teacher’s book, you will find a link to the downloadables for your course. The videos are about one hour, but feel free to break them down in the way it works for your student. I broke the videos down over the course of 2 days. Andrew Pudewa is a great instructor he has a natural rapport with students. I appreciate that the videos include a diverse student class. The videos include on-screen directions for the student, so they are learning right along with the students in class.
What is essential while doing Introduction to Public Speaking is treating this program as a learning experience for your student. What worked for us was making sure my son was having fun while getting the full benefit of the program. You can also see samples of Introduction to Public Speaking by clicking any of my hyperlinks in this review. The first two IPS lessons (videos and handouts) are available at IEW.com/free-speech
This self-explanatory program empowers teachers to help students become competent and confident public speakers.
IEW
I really like the critique part of this program because it gives my son positive and constructive feedback. I also appreciate that my son is learning to slow his speaking down and speak from memory and not relying on just reading from his paper. The one thing I know my son was struggling with was his confidence and anxiety in delivering speeches. I have noticed that both his anxiety and confidence have improved. My son is a huge researcher, but through using Introduction to Public Speaking he is now able to learn how to organize his research and articulate his note in proper structure and etiquette for speeches. Introduction to Public Speaking is preparing him for the upcoming debate team in the fall, so he is ready for anything that is thrown at him because now has the proper tools to be successful.
We highly recommend Introduction to Public Speaking for Middle and High School students who are exploring public speaking and debate. My son has goals to attend a 4-year university and medical school and I know he will need all these skills that he is learning for his future. This program is excellent for the homeschooled family because this is an area some of us tend to overlook. If you are looking for homeschool high credit this is also a great option for your student. Please check out my middle schooler’s review below of Introduction to Public Speaking for Middle and High School.
Middle Schooler Review
When I started debate this year I was unsure what to do. I felt uneasy because I was the new kid and some of the kids had more experience. After completing 3 weeks of Introduction to Public Speaking for Middle and High School I feel more educated and organized for what’s to come in the fall debate team. Mr. Pudewa is funny and encourages us in the video. I like that I am not just watching a video and there are things for me to do and set goals that I can work at. I don’t look at my paper as much and I have learned techniques that have taught me not to rush. I am glad we are doing this curriculum and can’t wait to keep using it.
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Little Learner and Mom 