estoria
- Reviewed on Saturday, September 12, 2009
- Grades Used: 3rd-7th
- Dates used: 2006-2009
We have used SOS since we started homeschooling. I have really enjoyed SOS, and my kids have done well with it. It really helped that my children could work so independently. They would set up their laptops and get started on what was to be done that day, calling on me when they needed any help. SOS has a built in lesson planner that you can set up with your school dates and it configures what needs to be done to finish all the curric by your last day. The student logs in and does what it shows needing done for that day. It does not do every subject everyday, and may have them do two math lessons in one day.I thought there are too many quizes, but they are easily removed. Math is the least liked subject for me, it's hard for younger students to get the message trying to carry and borrow over the computer. Bible is my fave subject, I love the way it is set up on SOS and my kids have learned so much from it. Science comes in 2nd, and 3rd is History. We loved the 4th grade History the most. Language Arts is good, but the spelling is lacking. I would have my kids go into the spelling bee and play till they aced it before they took the spelling test. They weren't really studying spelling all week, so I don't think they were really retaining the information.
This year we are trying something new for LA and Math. I feel like they need traditional "paper work" for these subjects. But we will continue using SOS for Bible, Science, and History.
I would recommend SOS, but it is not for everyone. Your child needs to have good computer skills. It was recommended to me, and I wished I'd listened, don't do SOS for every subject. I think it gets to be to much. Maybe starting in about 6th you could, but a 3rd grader really needs to have the written work.
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godlovesyou777
- Reviewed on Monday, August 31, 2009
- Grades Used: 3rd
- Dates used: 2009-2010
I have wanted to use SOS ever since I started homeschooling my daughter 4 years ago, but we had to wait until she was in the 3rd grade. She's finally in the 3rd grade and we started SOS a week ago. She has completed 6 days and I don't know what I think about it. I think I need some advice or something because I'm just not loving it. The lessons seem soooo short and it doesn't lay out the lesson for the parent to know what to do. It gives you vocabulary words, then you play the spelling bee immediately after it and you don't know how to spell the words yet. Then you get problems to answer at the bottom of the lesson, but my daughter reads the lesson once and has to go back and reread it over and over to find the answer because it doesn't seem to drill it in her head. After 2 days of lessons they quiz her on what she has learned, and she has no idea of the correct answer because she has only had 2 lessons about it. My other complaint is I scheduled it for due dates and it only schedules like 3 of the 6 subjects for a day. I thought she would do all 6 subjects everyday. I have been making her do all 6 subjects each day because that's how we did it all the other years. It makes sense for spanish to only be like 3 days a week, but I would think she needs history and science everyday. I don't know, I want to like this curriculum so bad but I just don't know about it yet. If you are an expierenced SOS mom, please email me with suggestions or advice to make this a good experience. For a first time, computer-savvy mom, I'm just not excited. My email is Godlovesyou777@yahoo.com. Thank you so much for your help!!
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Renee N
- Reviewed on Wednesday, August 26, 2009
- Grades Used: 5th
- Dates used: 2009
My dd has a mild autism spectrum disorder and I have been having a very difficult time finding a history curriculum she would enjoy. Most are very reading intensive and she hates them. Too often she would shut down completely when it came time for history.
I decided to try SOS History because it is computer based (she loves computers) and the lessons are interspersed with film clips, slide shows, tiny tutors and links to web pages (although too many of the links are dead!). These break up the monotony and so far she sits through her lessons with out complaint (except to inform me that some of the graphics are "lame" and I can't disagree).
The program is a stickler for spelling so she keeps a notebook, where she writes all the vocabulary words for each lesson, which she can refer to for proper spelling. She also likes the little vocabulary games which are helpful.
Installation and setup with fairly simple and I only needed to refer to the manual once or twice for help. I was able to set up a 4 day school week on the calendar without too much difficulty. I really like the ability to regenerate the calendar (reassigning the missed lessons)should your child be ill or need to travel and miss school for a few days. Nifty.
So far this is working well for us (with occasional supplementation from other sources) and I may look into SOS science after dd finishes her Real Science 4 Kids books.
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Angelina
- Reviewed on Tuesday, August 25, 2009
- Grades Used: 3rd, 5th
- Dates used: 2009
We have used the Language Arts 3 & 5, and Bible 3 & 5 (2009 versions).
First of all, unless your child has excellent typing skills I would not recommend this program at all. There is a lot of typing. It took my daughter 2 hours to do her first language arts lesson due to the typing and software design.
I found the software look, feel & function to be a somewhat outdated, laborious, and slow. Our purpose in purchasing this was to help our children become more independent and computer savvy. We purchased this and Teaching Textbooks. Having the 2 side by side it is like working with a late 1980's software program (SOS) compared to the 2000s latest and greatest (Teaching Textbooks Math 4 & 5).
Even my husband, who is a computer person, commented when he loaded this for me, said, "this seems like bloated software". Meaning, it is very convoluted and could be stream-lined more efficiently to decrease user time involved.
It seems like the content in SOS is good, my complaint is how it works. My daughter got frustrated when she got some answers wrong and was unable to see what the correct answer was. I could not find how she, as a student, could find this information. I'm sure as a teacher I could find out. However, I think it is important for students to see their mistakes immediately so they can learn from them. I called the support line to ask and finally hung up after waiting for 15 minutes to talk to someone.
I sincerely hope SOS will do a major revamp of their software. Or I hope someone else comes along and develops an excellent computer-based Language Arts software program. I guess SOS is as good as it gets for now.
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