Friday, November 19, 2010

Looking for elementary(And beyond!) worksheets? KB Teachers Review

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From the founders of KnowledgeBears and the interactive KBear website, comes a new activities, printables and worksheet generator,  KBTeachers. For the purposes of review, the TOS Crew members were given a premium membership to the site, so that we could fully access all of the features, and see how things work.

There is already a nice webpage that lists the benefits of joining KBTeachers, so I won't enumerate those all here, but I will give you a quick overview of our time so far, using KBTeachers, and the nitty gritty details.

If you (or in spite of you, your kids) are worksheet lovers, then  KBTeachers could come in handy.
  • The "Alphabet Factory" enables you to print up a variety of Alphabet Skills worksheets, with your choice of 5 fonts, beginning cursive worksheets, as well as Morse Code and Sign Language worksheets! (Where were these when we were ran into Samuel Morse in a Unit Study? That would have been fun!) 
  • English Worksheets that include Grammar pages for 6th-8th grade skills.
  • Dynamic Math Worksheets that are different every time you print~ for everything from basic math to multiplication, division, telling time, and using money.
  • Then there are some worksheets for Science(Elementary-Jr. High levels included) and Social Studies (Mostly geared for grades 7-12) (Just a quick note this is a secular site, so expect some evolutionary content)
  • Clipart for you to use just about anywhere, for anything, as long as proper credit is given. 
  • Additionally, there are seasonal and monthly themed worksheets that show up on the site on a rotating basis.... they show up a little before needed, and disappear soon after(This can be a little disconcerting unless you are expecting it).
 The folks at KBTeachers appear to be very willing to work their members to create content as well. I didn't run into any specific needs, but I noticed many times while browsing for something that they say "If you can't find something specific, feel free to contact us".

A note about navigating the site... I have been a little disconcerted by the lack of a search function, but that is something that KBTeachers specifically does not include. From the website:
 We believe that on a well designed website you should easily find your way around and find what you need in 3 clicks or less.  Gone are the days of searching endlessly! 

Given my experience attempting to search at some other sites in the past, I can certainly understand their intention. For the most part, the information is well laid out, and you truly can see in just a few clicks if there is something suitable to your purposes or not.  When DS (10) was having trouble with square roots, it was very easy for me to scoot over and print up a times table sheet for him to color 2x2, 3x3, 4x4, etc.... and be able to visually SEE why they are called SQUARE roots. :)

My youngest is currently enamoured with dinosaurs, so it has been nice to be able to print up some of the dino coloring pages for him (Again, keeping in mind that they are not presented from a Creation Viewpoint). In a similar vein, I have found *most* of the Seasonal and "holiday" pages to be secular, so don't look here for too many "Christian" pages~ that is not their focus.

One more fun  feature of the site is the Monthly Webquest Feature. There are many links to explore throughout the month, from famous people, to national ____ days (For instance, did you know there was a Parfait Day? I kid you not.... November 25~ The day before my birthday!) However, one caveat, which holds true for any website with a large number of links... there are many that have "disappeared".. (POOF!), so you might not always find as much information as you had hoped.

So, now we are down to the "nitty gritty"
KBTEachers offers a 10 day free trial (Signing up with your paypal account or credit card)
If you choose to continue beyond the trial period, you will be charged either
$29 for 1 year access or
$49 for 2 years access

Check out KBTeachers, and see if it will suit your purposes and your family's homeschool budget.
For other reviews and opinions, please visit my TOS Crewmates, and get their take as well.

Blessings~
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this/these item(s)/service for free as part of the TOS Crew Review Program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

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