K5 Learning Review

I was asked a couple months ago, if I would do a 6 week review of K5 Learning which is an online math and reading enrichment program aimed at children in grades K-5. The program is designed for at home use by afterschoolers, homeschoolers, as well as those wanting to brush up on their skills during the summer. All of the lessons are animated, interactive, and easy to navigate. So easy, that my 4 year old could do most of the computer work without needing too much help. Now that I've told you the basics of K5 Learning, let me tell you what I really love about this program.

When I first logged on, I went ahead and had Sarah Hazel take their free reading and math assessments. The assessments are a little long for a 4 year old's attention span but I guess they have to be for how thorough they were. After the assessments were completed and reviewed, the results were then sent back to me showing me her grade level equivalency. Sarah Hazel has been through professional assessments and much to my surprise, the K5 Learning assessment matched right up to the ones conducted by those professionals. They are quick to point out that their assessments are to be used only for placement, which I agree with, but I just want to point out how well they figured out right where my child needs to be. It even picked up on her lag in phonics and phonemic awareness which are areas she had been working on in speech and language therapy.

I sat with Sarah Hazel as she explored a few lessons from both math and reading. The instructions and animations were clear and the volume was steady which is a huge deal for a child like mine who has difficulties with sensory and auditory processing. I was immediately relieved to see that the lessons were short yet to the point. Even though they are short, I felt that the material was in depth, especially compared to other online educational enrichment sites we have tried. Some of the topics covered in our trial of the reading portion which was mostly kindergarten and early to mid first grade included but not limited too cause and effect, reading comprehension, vocabulary comprehension, letter sounds and recognition, and sight words. The math portions which were all first grade for Sarah Hazel included addition, subtraction, math vocabulary, and  number lines. There were also sections to work on spelling and math skills which we never really got a chance to use, but from the little bit we did, they too were thorough and engaging. Sarah Hazel loved the variety of lessons and being able to do them independently. There were only a few instances where I had to help her with computer skills but overall, she could do the majority without my help. Truthfully, the only thing I didn't like about this whole program were the timed portions simply because some kids do not do well with that kind of pressure. Otherwise, neither Sarah Hazel or I could find a thing wrong with the whole K5 Learning program!

Before I end the review, I want to add a few other highlights about K5 Learning:
-I received several personal emails from K5 team members checking on Sarah Hazel's progress and making sure there wasn't anything they could do to make the program a better fit. I've never had another online education program do that!
-I love being able to log on to Sarah Hazel's assessments and track her progression throughout the program.
-There is a feature to assign math and reading lessons. We never found the time to try it out, but when we subscribe, I look forward to that feature.
-The variety is fantastic and the lessons are all engaging. Even I enjoyed sitting through them!
-There are no ads for me to worry about my kids clicking.

The most important part of this review is that the program works. During our short 6 week review, Sarah Hazel advanced 1/3 a grade level in almost every area of math and reading covered by the assessment. I'm sold!

Current pricing can be found on the K5 Learning website as well as information about their 14 day free trial and their referral and blog programs. Samples of their lessons are also available.