Schoolhouse Teachers Review

I am excited to announce that I have been selected as a member of The Old Schoolhouse Homeschool Review Crew for 2021! This means that I will have the opportunity to review a variety of homeschool curriculum options right here on the blog! I am excited to bring my unique perspective and background as both a trained teacher and a homeschool mom to my reviews. And I am so excited to share this Schoolhouse Teachers review with you! We have been exploring the Ultimate PreK-12 Annual Membership from Schoolhouseteachers.com and it is a fantastic resource!

I received access to the Ultimate PreK-12 Annual Membership from Schoolhouse Teachers in exchange for my honest review, but all the opinions in this post are my own. This post may contain affiliate links and I may earn a small commission for purchases made through those links.

What is Schoolhouse Teachers?

Schoolhouse Teachers is a comprehensive online curriculum and resource for homeschool students and their families. The Schoolhouseteachers.com website includes a huge variety of curriculum options for students in preschool through high school. Classes and lessons are flexible and include options for self-paced learning with both video and print lessons.

One of the best parts about Schoolhouse Teachers is that it is so much more than just a collection of curricula. A membership to Schoolhouseteachers.com, which can be purchased monthly or annually, also includes access to a tremendous wealth of support resources for homeschool families.

Schoolhouse Teachers is a Christian resource and the lessons are written with a Biblical worldview. The included videos have all been thoroughly reviewed to make sure that everything is appropriate for kids to watch. The courses included in a SchoolhouseTeachers.com membership are not aligned with Common Core.

I love that this one subscription contains more than enough curriculum and resources to complete a whole year of homeschooling for an entire family!

Course Offerings

The biggest component of a Schoolhouse Teachers membership is the homeschool curriculum resources. Schoolhouseteachers.com includes over 450 complete courses for students in preschool through 12^th grade! The courses are all available from the Schoolhouseteachers.com website. I love that they can easily be sorted by suggested grade level, subject, or format.

Course Topics

Courses are available for the following subject areas:

• Art: Art techniques as well as art history and famous artists
• Bible: Bible studies, apologetics, worldview, philosophy, and more
• Computer Technology: Keyboarding, and how-to classes for a variety of technology applications
• Drama and Speech: Resources ranging from public speaking to Shakespeare
• Electives: Business and finance, home economics, photography, test prep, and more
• Foreign Languages: Spanish, French, Latin, American Sign Language, and Latvian
• Geography: Continent and country studies, and map reading
• Health and Fitness: Nutrition, exercise, and emergency response
• History: American and World history courses and unit studies
• Language Arts: Reading and writing, literature, grammar, handwriting, spelling, and poetry
• Math: From preschool shapes to high school trigonometry and precalculus
• Music: Music theory and history plus practical lessons for drums, guitar, violin, and voice
• Science: Earth science, chemistry, physics, and anatomy plus scientists in history
• Social Studies: Government, economics, and citizenship
• Unit Studies: Themes like transportation, holidays, and more

How to Choose a Course

With so many courses to choose from, it can be a bit overwhelming to figure out which courses will be best for your homeschoolers. Fortunately, Schoolhouse Teachers has organized the courses on the Schoolhouseteachers.com website to make it easy to find what you are looking for!

Related Post: 5 Factors to Consider When Choosing Subjects for Homeschool

School Boxes

Schoolhouseteachers.com has created a list of suggested courses to make a complete homeschool curriculum for each of the grades from Kindergarten through 12^th grade. These lists are called Homeschool Curriculum Boxes, and they are available as a part of your Schoolhouse Teachers membership.

The Kindergarten curriculum box was one of the first parts of our subscription that we explored for our Schoolhouse Teachers review. The kindergarten school box includes a curriculum guide to download for each of the 9 subjects that are included. These are math, English/language arts, spelling, science, history, health, social studies/geography, music, and art. The curriculum guide includes checklists to show how the chosen curriculum resources can be broken down into individual lessons for each homeschool day. Each curriculum guide also recommends which course or courses to use from the list.

The school boxes are a great resource for families that are new to homeschooling, and are looking for a bit more support. You can literally print the checklists and follow the directions. This is an easy way to know that your child will receive a thorough education covering topics that are appropriate for their grade level.

Individual Courses

One of the great things that makes Schoolhouse Teachers so flexible is the ability to pick and choose individual courses, or even individual lessons, that are a good fit for your child. This is how we used the site for our Schoolhouse Teachers review, and how we are continuing to use it in our homeschool.

Course Formats

One of my favorite features of SchoolhouseTeachers.com is that there are classes offered in a variety of different formats. You can even sort the courses by format to help you easily find classes that will best match your child’s learning style!

Downloadable Text

These lessons include downloadable PDF documents to print and read with your children. Many of the lessons include PDF workbooks and worksheets to complete as well. Some even include activities like maps to color or lapbooks to create! These lessons are easy to complete without internet access because they can be downloaded and printed to use later. You could choose to print these resources through a homeschool printing company, or a service like HP instant ink. Or, you could use a tablet to download and read the lessons.

Video and Audio Component

Many of the lessons include embedded videos for kids to watch or audio files for kids to listen to. This is a great resource for kids for are auditory learners who learn best by hearing information spoken out loud. Your Schoolhouseteachers.com membership also includes access to the RightNow Media video library of Bible study videos. In addition, you will receive access to the World Book Encyclopedia, which includes lots of video content for kids to explore.

Interactive Content

A few of the lessons include interactive content. Kids may be able to take an interactive quiz within their lesson or click hyperlinks in the lesson to learn more about a topic that interests them. Some of the lessons even include self-correcting assignments so kids can practice and learn on their own. This is a great hybrid format that takes advantage of the unique possibilities of an online curriculum. You can easily sort the courses to see which courses include interactive content components.

Additional Resources I Found in my Schoolhouse Teachers Review

One of my favorite things that I found as I was exploring the website for my Schoolhouse Teachers review was the incredible wealth of bonuses and resources that SchoolhouseTeachers.com provides to support homeschool families. Here are a few of the extra bonuses that families will receive with their subscription.

World Book Online and Video Library

Schoolhouse Teachers has partnered with World Book Encyclopedia to provide access to World Book Online for SchoolhouseTeachers.com members. There is a tremendous wealth of information here. This is a great resource for kids who are looking to research a topic they are studying, or to learn more about something interesting to them!

RightNow Media

SchoolhouseTeachers.com members also get access to RightNow Media, which is a video streaming service for Bible studies and Christian TV shows. RightNow Media videos are included as a part of some of the courses. In addition, you can watch the videos as a stand-alone resource.

SchoolhouseTeachers.com Resources for Planning

Free Printable Planner

A membership to SchoolhouseTeachers.com includes a free download of The Old Schoolhouse’s SmartMama Planner, which is updated yearly. This planner includes all the calendars and lesson plan pages you will need to get organized for your homeschool year. It includes record keeping forms for keeping track of attendance, grades, and activities that have been completed. It also includes budget planners, family chore charts, prayer journals, and even devotional pages for homeschool moms.

Custom Schedule Builder

This editable PDF document allows you to create a weekly or a 9-week schedule for each child in your homeschool. This is a great way to organize your lesson plans as you choose courses from the course catalog.

Scope and Sequence documents

Schoolhouse Teachers provides detailed scope and sequence documents to download for each grade level as part of the Schoolhouseteachers.com membership. These documents are divided by subject area. For each subject, they list what concepts kids should be learning and what skills they should be developing for each grade. The list also includes suggested courses for each subject area that cover the topics kids need to know. These documents are a great starting place for families who are concerned about what their kids should be learning when they are homeschooled.

SchoolhouseTeachers.com Resources for Record Keeping:

Applecore electronic record keeping

Schoolhouseteachers.com has partnered with Applecore to provide a membership to Applecore’s electronic record-keeping software free to Schoolhouse Teachers members. This service is perfect for keeping track of assignments, grades, and attendance electronically. It can even be used to create transcripts!

Certificate library

Schoolhouse Teachers also includes a variety of printable certificates that can be customized for all sorts of celebrations!

SchoolhouseTeachers.com Resources for Parent Support:

Homeschooling resources, courses and e-books

One of my favorite parts of SchoolhouseTeachers.com that I found while completing my Schoolhouse Teachers review was the incredible library of resources available to support homeschool parents. There are e-books and webinars available on a variety of homeschooling and parenting topics. In addition, all members get a subscription to The Old Schoolhouse Magazine (plus access to all the back issues online)!

Facebook group

Members receive access to an active Facebook group of almost 8,000 homeschool families who are using SchoolhouseTeachers.com. This community provides a perfect place to ask questions about the curriculum, or anything else you need help with as you are homeschooling your kids.

  Parenting Resources

SchoolhouseTeachers.com also includes a number of resources that aren’t specifically about homeschooling, but that will still be helpful to homeschool families. A membership to Schoolhouse Teachers also includes a year’s worth of monthly menu plans. There is even a whole library of parenting courses just for homeschool parents!

SchoolhouseTeachers.com Focused Learning Centers

One of my favorite things that I found during my Schoolhouse Teachers review was the Focused Learning Centers on the SchoolhouseTeachers.com website. The Focused Learning centers are a way of organizing content that deals with a specific topic of interest to homeschool families. The content includes courses, activities, workshops, articles, teaching tips, unit studies, and video lessons. These hubs provide both courses for kids and homeschool teaching help for parents, all in one place and organized by topic. There are 13 focused learning centers:

• Focus on Math
• Help with Reading
• Focus on Science
• Preschool Playground
• Focus on Special Needs
• Focus on High School and College
• Career Center
• ESL and Foreign Language Center
• Charlotte Mason Learning Center
• Hands-On Learning Center
• Physical Education Center
• Seasonal Courses
• Just for Parents

Top 10 Benefits of Schoolhouse Teachers Membership

1. Variety

SchoolhouseTeachers.com includes a tremendous variety of curriculum choices. In addition to providing curriculum resources for a wide range of ages from preschool through high school, the curriculum covers almost every subject imaginable. Classes are structured in both video and written formats. This allows families to choose the format that helps their child learn best.

Because all the classes are included with the subscription, this is a very affordable way for families to have access to a variety of classes. Families can find classes covering a wider variety of topics than would be possible if they were buying each resource separately.

2. Flexibility

When I was doing my Schoolhouse Teachers review, I was really impressed with how easy it was to include lessons from SchoolhouseTeachers.com alongside our current homeschool curriculum. It is easy to choose new courses to supplement existing learning. Families can choose to do just a few lessons from a course, or just to look for a supplemental video or two, as well.

It is also easy to use the information and suggestions in the scope and sequence documents to build a complete curriculum, choosing courses that will be a good fit for each individual child’s ability level and learning style. Although sample schedules are included for reference, families can use the curriculum at their own pace.

3. Easy to Use

I love that SchoolhouseTeachers.com is so easy to set up and use! To start using a course, all you need to do is choose it from the catalog and download the lessons. We set up a tablet to use for our Schoolhouse Teachers review. We were easily able to download lessons to the tablet for reading.

I also appreciated that I could hand the tablet to my son to work on a lesson while I spent some one-on-one time working with my daughter. Although my son is only 5 years old, he was able to watch the videos and learn independently using the Schoolhouse Teachers curriculum. I have found that it is really helpful to have an independent lesson or two as a part of his homeschool day. This allows me to be available to do other things for a few minutes during homeschool time.

4. Comprehensive

SchoolhouseTeachers.com includes a huge variety of curricula covering all subjects for kids of all ages. Using the scope and sequence document and even the school box curriculum lists, it is easy to make sure that kids have access to a comprehensive curriculum that covers everything they need to know for their grade level. I love that we could literally homeschool an entire grade level from this one resource! Although I will continue to use a variety of resources in our homeschool, because this is my preference, I know that I can find just about anything that I need from this one-stop source.

5. Built for multiple learning styles

As a homeschool teacher, I know it is very important that I pay attention to the way that my kids learn best. My son is definitely a visual learner, and so I need to make sure that all of his lessons have something for him to read or watch so that he can see what he is learning. I love that you can sort the lessons in SchoolhouseTeachers.com by format. This makes it easy to see at a glance which courses will be the best fit for your child’s learning style.

6. Perfect for all ages

As I was exploring the site for my Schoolhouse Teachers review, I was struck by how comprehensive this resource is for kids of all ages. The site includes a Preschool Playground with learning videos, lessons, and resources for preschoolers to start their homeschool journey. Custom lessons and curriculum plans are created for each grade of kids. Special resources for high school-aged kids include classes for high school credit, a transcript creator, and grading and record-keeping resources designed with high schoolers in mind.

Related Post: 10 Strategies for Large Family Homeschooling Success

7. Available resources

I love that the resources on SchoolhouseTeachers.com are available at any time to download. There is nothing extra to purchase, and we don’t need to go to a store to shop or wait for anything to ship.

Last winter, we finished our science curriculum for the year in March. And then, we were quarantined. And our library was closed. We had no way to access new homeschool curriculum, except for purchasing something new, sight unseen, and waiting for it to be shipped. With our Schoolhouse Teachers membership, we will not have that problem again!

8. Christian worldview

SchoolhouseTeachers.com is run by The Old Schoolhouse. This means that they have reviewed every resource that’s included in the membership to make sure that it aligns with The Old Schoolhouse’s statement of faith. It is helpful to know that all of the courses and videos will be family friendly and appropriate for my kids.

9. Help is available

I love the amount of extra resources that are provided to make sure that parents are comfortable with homeschooling. From extra courses for parents, to a plethora of helpful resources for planning, to focused learning centers covering a variety of challenging topics in homeschooling, it is clear that SchoolhouseTeachers.com knows what homeschool parents need and is working to support families on their homeschool journey.

I also had the opportunity to experience the SchoolhouseTeachers.com’s customer service while completing my Schoolhouse Teachers review. At first, I had a problem with my password that was preventing me from being able to access my membership. I used the customer service chatbox feature, which is available in the bottom right corner of every page. The customer service person was very friendly and was able to answer my question quickly. I love how easy the customer service is to use!

10. Cost

A subscription to SchoolhouseTeachers.com is relatively affordable, especially considering all the features and courses that are included. This resource is especially affordable for large families who could have access to an entire curriculum for all of their kids for one subscription price.

Drawbacks to Schoolhouse Teachers Membership

Overall, I would definitely recommend SchoolhouseTeachers.com to other homeschool families after completing my Schoolhouse Teachers review. But, there are a few things to be aware of before signing up.           

1. Overwhelming

There are a tremendous amount of courses and resources on SchoolhouseTeachers.com. While this is awesome, it can be totally overwhelming at first. This is especially true for families who are new to homeschooling and aren’t sure where to begin. It helps to start with a specific plan in mind. “I am looking for a new history curriculum,” or “I need some resources to supplement our lessons on fractions.” It’s ok to work through the site slowly and take time to explore all of its features over a few weeks!

2. Organization

Although this site is an amazing resource for homeschool families, some of the helpful features can be tricky to find. It took me several hours of exploring the website to understand all that was really available to me here! I tried to explain as many of the features in this review as I could. Hopefully, because of this, you will be better prepared to jump right in with this awesome resource than I was.

3. Requires Discipline

Because there are so many different curricula and resources available on SchoolhouseTeachers.com, it can be easy to get shiny object syndrome here and never actually finish a course. While everything is excellent and your kids will be learning no matter what they study, it is important to be organized and work through curriculum systematically so that there are not gaps in kids’ learning.

Our Experience During Our Schoolhouse Teachers Review

When I reviewed Schoolhouse Teachers, I really wanted to understand the different course formats that were available to us. So, we decided to try a short course that used each different format to see what my son liked best.

How We Used Schoolhouse Teachers

I found an old tablet that we were not using and connected to the Schoolhouse Teachers website through our tablet. Although we had a few challenges with our interactive course at first because the tablet was old, we were able to view the course content easily on the tablet without needing to print everything out.

Video Course: Creation, Nature, and You

We are currently studying plants in our science curriculum. This made Creation, Nature, and You a natural fit with what we are learning. This curriculum includes 11 video lessons about a variety of topics including seeds, soil, trees, and fruit. Families can stream the lessons on SchoolhouseTeachers.com or watch them on a phone or tablet (which was what we did). The lesson plan suggests watching one video per week for 11 weeks, and splitting up the video into 2 segments to watch on 2 different days each week. Each lesson also includes a worksheet with answer key for kids to complete as they watch the lessons.

I loved that these lessons had a Biblical focus. Each lesson included not only scientific information about the part of nature that was being studied, but also a related Bible study. The lessons explored related Bible verses and pointed out how nature was a part of God’s creation and how our study of it can teach us about Him.

My son enjoyed the lessons and was able to watch the videos independently. This was really helpful for me, too. I was able to give him the tablet to watch the video while I worked one-on-one with his sister. I definitely learned that we need to include video lessons in our homeschool curriculum more often!

Interactive Course: American History for Beginners

We desperately need a new history curriculum. Somehow I picked out what I thought would be a full year’s curriculum and we finished it in about 3 months. Yikes. So I was excited to explore the history offerings on SchoolhouseTeachers.com to find something new.

We chose American History for Beginners because it included interactive lessons, which are only available in a few of the curricula for younger students. This curriculum includes 34 lessons covering events in early American history. It begins with Christopher Columbus, and continues through the signing of the Bill of Rights. Each lesson is designed to take one week to complete. The lesson plans suggest dividing the material into 3 different lessons throughout the week.

I enjoyed this curriculum because it went well beyond just reading a textbook and answering the questions. The curriculum included both videos and reading. There were a ton of suggested activities included as well. These were the perfect way to really make the lessons come alive for my son. He always looks forward to any hands-on activities that we do during our homeschool time.

Downloadable Text Course: Kindergarten Health

We chose this course because we haven’t studied health in our homeschool yet. This is one of those subjects that is important but never seems to be quite high enough on the priority list to justify purchasing a separate curriculum for it. I’m excited that our Schoolhouse Teachers membership will allow us to access classes for a variety of subjects for one subscription price. This will make it more economical for us to cover a wider variety of subjects in our homeschool throughout the year.

The Kindergarten Health course includes 6 lessons that are designed to be completed over the course of 6 weeks, one lesson per week. Each week’s lessons are split up into 2 parts to be completed on 2 different days. On the first day, we read the text and do a quick follow up activity. The second day includes a more in-depth hands-on activity to help kids practice and reinforce the concepts in that week’s lesson.

We really enjoyed this curriculum. I appreciated that someone else was telling my son the same things I’m always trying to get him to understand about eating healthy food and needing to sleep when he’s tired. My son enjoyed the activities and he loved learning more about health and how his body works. I think this is definitely a topic that we will be studying in more depth now that our introduction is finished!

How to Get a SchoolhouseTeachers.com Membership

You can learn more about Schoolhouse Teachers or sign up for a membership right here.

Until January 31, the yearly membership is on sale for $139/year (regularly $224.97) with the code FRESHSTART or $16/month (regularly $24.97) using the code START16.

Click here to learn more about this curriculum and get access!

Check out more Schoolhouse Teachers reviews on the Schoolhouse Review Crew Blog!