We had the opportunity to review the Complete Home Learning Suite by Essential Skills Advantage (ESA).
Online learning has become an acceptable way to home educate children. It took me a while to become comfortable with presenting that option to my children. They already spend plenty of time on electronics for play, so I did not think they needed more screen time. What I have come to realize is that my children can learn a lot while being online. Although the majority of the learning we do is offline, every once in a while I come across a program that is a welcome addition in our school. The Complete Home Learning Suite by Essential Skills Advantage is one of those programs that offers online education.
The Complete Home Learning Suite may be used on a computer or an iPad (2, 3 or 4). It offers users, kindergarten through sixth grade, access to a number of supplemental activities in several academic areas of study. Students may choose from activities in geography, language and grammar, math, reading and science. Each study area provides activities for the following grades:
Geography (fourth through sixth grades
Language & Grammar (kindergarten through sixth grade, but there are spelling stumpers for students through ninth grade)
Math (kindergarten through sixth grade)
Reading (kindergarten through sixth grade)
Science (kindergarten through third grade)
Canyon is in the third grade and Lily is in the sixth, so we spent our time in those areas. I had Canyon concentrate on the reading (kindergarten) and math (third grade) portions, while Lily used the science (sixth grade) and geography (sixth grade). There are several covered topics in the different areas of study. Third grade math includes Numeration Patterning, Telling Time, Standard Measurement, Metric Measurement, Geometry, Data Management and Probability. Within each of those topics are a number of activities for your child to work through, so they can improve their skill. The activities are presented to the student in a spiral-like manner using question and response.
There were a couple of sections Canyon worked through more than once, which students are able to do. ESA has a Marks & Report Cards section for teachers where they can see how their child is performing in the sections where they are working. A minimum score of 80 percent is deemed mastery. Teachers may also see how the student has performed on all of their attempts in a section, the amount of time it took them and the last completed activity.
ESA was created to use as a supplement and that is how we used it. Lily already knows most of the content in the sixth grade level subjects, so I had her do some review in science and geography. The review in science was good, because she will be studying life science in the fall. The geography section also provided a good review with state capitals. Some of the other things Lily learned are about the continents and geographic terms.
Canyon really benefited from using the program. I had him work through the kindergarten level of reading, while also working through third grade math and science and fourth grade geography. Having the flexibility to move around the program in the subjects and different grade levels to teach your child according to his ability is a definite plus. If your child advances in comprehension during your membership period, they are able to move to the next grade level of work and continue learning. Certificates of completion are also available through the program to print.
For the reading portion, if your child is not yet reading, you will need to sit with them while they complete their lesson. Although there is a voice option for the words that are deemed challenging (see the blue highlighted words above), it would be great if they had a voice option where the entire passage is spoken for a child who may need reading assistance. The voice option (an ear icon) is available in some of the reading sections.
I like the Complete Home Learning Suite from Essential Skills Advantage. There are a number of activities to help your child improve their skills in all of the covered subject areas. We will continue to work through the Complete Home Learning Suite over the summer, which is a great time to review and keep academics high.
Something to consider, if you have a preschooler who is ready to begin learning, they may benefit from using the ESA Complete Home Learning Suite. Also, a struggling reader above the sixth grade could use the reading lessons, which may help them improve that skill.
Just a note for those regarding Common Core, ESA states they “make no effort to align ourselves with CC.”
The ESA Complete Home Learning Suite memberships are available for periods one-month ($7.99), six-months ($39.99) and one year ($69.99). Group options are also available.
You can read more reviews of this item by fellow crew members.
Social Media
ESA Blog
ESA on Facebook
ESA on Google+
ESA on LinkedIn
ESA on Pinterest
ESA on Twitter @SkillsAdvantage