Disclaimer: I received a FREE copy of this product through the HOMESCHOOL 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.
Over the last few weeks, we have had the opportunity to review the Download Club from My Teaching Library.
This resource offers many different downloadable packets to include with your homeschool. The wide range of subjects is available from 0-12th grade and even offers electives and other extracurriculars for your children to use.
For my first grader, one of our downloads was the Maple Leaf Shape Book. To be honest, she did not love this project. She had to write a couple of lines of a story for fall. I think she was hoping that there would be some coloring sheets as well. I let her tell me what she wanted to write first, then wrote the words on another sheet of paper and let her copy them. Then she colored her leaf. (Can you tell she wasn’t altogether thrilled? LOL!)
I have also downloaded A Little Cookbook for a Little Girl to make it up to her, but we haven’t had a chance to try out any of the recipes just yet. She’s really excited to get started in the kitchen, though! This simple cookbook is divided up into three meals: Breakfast, Lunch, and Supper. This cookbook looks like a great way to start your kids in the kitchen and includes different ways to cook eggs, a recipe for gingerbread, soups, and even desserts. We’ve been working on other projects but will be diving into this cookbook very soon! The main downside I saw to the cookbook, however, is that there aren’t any pictures to show her what her end result should be. I think that especially for beginners, the pictures are helpful to aid them in the process. There are so many words, I know that she will be overwhelmed if I don’t break them down for her.
For my fifth grader, I had him study Feathers in the Wind–A Jewish American’s story. The author, Susan Stone, is very entertaining and kept my reluctant reader captivated. He loved hearing the yiddish terms for words and actually did a great job at retelling the story to me. This particular curriculum is really designed for a classroom, though, as many parts require partners. But we adapted, and I let him work with me as his partner. He didn’t seem to mind too much!
My main problem with this site is that is ALL downloads, which means that it requires a lot of printing. We don’t have the money to keep buying ink to print an entire curriculum. We save money by mixing things up with online activities, workbooks, and downloads. So, an entire packet may not work for us. But if you ARE a family who loves downloads, then you could piece together your entire year with just this curriculum. This is a website that includes all the core subjects–math, science, social studies, language arts. And it also has extras, like languages, arts, character development, cooking, architecture, religion, home ec, and economics.
On the other side, though, you have the ability to either choose just one thing to download (for those of you who are on a tight budget like us) for just a few dollars, or you can join the Download Club, which gives you unlimited downloads for just $45 a year or $225 for a lifetime membership.
There are also instructional videos to aid in learning, as well as articles and tips to help you on your homeschooling journey. And each newsletter that I have received has included a freebie, as well as the freebies that are accessible on-site.
Overall, there is something for everyone on this website. But don’t just take my word for it! Find out about some of the downloads some of my fellow review crew members made:
katiecruicesmith.com 