Do you have wiggly kids that need somewhere to direct all that amazing energy?
Would your kids enjoy taking dance classes, without the high scheduling pressures of traditional dance schools, OR the high price tag?
YouDance is an awesome, homeschool family-friendly solution to all of these needs!
Founded by a second generation homeschooler, YouDance provides a safe and wholesome environment for families to learn to dance at home! Yes, you can enjoy these classes without ads, pop-ups, or coarse language, and without any questionable or inappropriate movements. Instead your kids get to build confidence, strength, and coordination as they learn and experience the art of dance.
A YouDance subscription gives your entire family unlimited, on-demand access to a growing library of over 1,000 dance class videos, including Hip Hop, Ballet, Contemporary, Clogging and Jazz. There are courses especially for little ones, beginner through advanced levels, and even videos you can follow along with if you want to dance for exercise and fun. There are so many videos that will serve every member of your family!
I tried out YouDance with my 3 year old grandson, and he just loved the Kids Intro to Jazz, which combined things like learning to spell Jazz, reviewing left and right, some good basic stretch motions, and then onto fun stuff like learning to do jazz hands and a simple little dance. It was perfect for his age and attention span since it kept his attention and moved from one activity to another pretty quickly. I’ve included a little clip of him in this video review I did:
I also love it that YouDance allows you to learn in the privacy of your own home. I have always loved dance, but at my age and fitness level (ah-hem) I do not think I would have the confidence to go to a class in public. With YouDance I can experience the learning curve of dance all by myself without any witnesses, and that’s worth a lot! 🙂 hahahaha
You can login to your YouDance account anytime that it suits you, and all lessons are designed to be done with regular household supplies, making it easy to enjoy every class.
YouDance offers a FREE 14-day trial so you can try it out with the whole family and see how much fun it is. When you decide to join, use discount code enrichmentstudies22 to get 50% off the annual membership, OR 20% off the monthly membership. YouDance would make an awesome family gift for Christmas, and will be a welcome addition to the cold winter months when you need fresh and fun new things going on without having to venture outside. This discount code will be valid through the rest of 2022.
YouDance provided me with free access to their program for the purposes of reviewing their service, and sponsored this blog post and video. As always, my honest opinion is reflected here.
Busy homeschool parents know how challenging it can be to bring all the things together. You’ve got all the core subjects for all your kids, plus things like piano lessons and karate class, plus projects and field trips and checkup appointments and more. It can feel nearly impossible to keep it all straight and streamlined…until now!
Syllabird is an online homeschool planning system that was created by homeschoolers, for homeschoolers. Syllabird combines beautiful, modern design elements with all of the organizational elements AND flexibility that you need. Best of all, the interface is simple and intuitive, so even if you are not super tech savvy, you’ll be up and planning your school year pretty quickly.
In years gone by when I attempted to use various planning methods for our homeschool, one of the biggest missing elements was how to easily reorganize assignments if we needed to take a couple days off. The makers of Syllabird understand how things can change and flow in the life of a homeschool family, and they have built in ways to effortlessly reschedule an entire course, or to adjust assignments for a student that needs a different pace than anticipated, and more.
Syllabird works on computers, phones, and tablets, so you and your students can stay in touch about what their assignments are, and what has been done. Especially for families that are working on helping their kids have more independence with their school work, this is a terrific tool.
I love that with Syllabird you can set up a plan for your whole school year that will help support all of your best intentions. How many times have we purchased materials and planned to use them with our kids, but then kind of forgot that they were on the shelf? Syllabird solves this. No longer are you wasting your money on materials that you’ll forget to use.
The record-keeping is done for you! I have so many parents that ask me about things like keeping track of attendance, grades, and transcripts. Syllabird helps with that as well. You can see your child’s gradebook at a glance, and later this year they will be rolling out the ability to create transcripts! Terrific!
If you are looking for a reading and spelling approach that is time-tested, methodical, and provides a very high level of teacher training and support that will give you an excellent foundation as a home educator, you will LOVE The Phonics Road from Schola Publications.
The Phonics Road program uses a systematic approach over 4 years to build a firm foundation in the English language for kids ages 5-11. The materials are thorough, simple to use, and are super-powered by the daily video tutorial presented by Barbara Beers, who has been teaching since 1984. In the videos that I sampled I felt absolutely thrilled to know that this level of empowerment and training is available for home educators.
The Phonics Road series takes students through 4 years, helping them become confident spellers, excellent writers, enthusiastic readers, and proficient in composition. These programs utilize literary and composition activities, and include handwriting (print and cursive), vocabulary, grammar, and more. And if you want your children to learn Latin, you’ll be well-prepared to go on to The Latin Road after your children complete The Phonics Road!
I got to review The Phonics Road Level One, which is where all students begin, regardless of age or grade level. I really appreciated that the readers are all contained within a single book (so we don’t have 30 little booklets to keep track of!), and that the kids get to illustrate the stories. (So fun!) I like how this program combines the tried-and-true simple methods with the empowering videos that will make sure you never doubt what to do next or how to do it. I think any homeschool parent would find this program great for both their reading and spelling foundation, as well as gifting the parent with a greater skill set and awareness for teaching that will continue to benefit their children as they grow.
My family has had the pleasure of using CTCMath, and I know so many homeschool families love it too. Why?
A dramatic lift in their child’s confidence and attitude.
Lessons are short and to the point
Kids learn at their own speed. In the video tutorials they can stop and rewind the teacher as many times as they need to until they get it.
Plus the teacher never gets annoyed or frustrated with them. (Sanity saver for mom!)
Improved math results using multi-sensory methods which ensure retention.
Detailed progress reports.
And a whole lot less stress when it’s math time for both parents AND kids.
CTCMath is an online Math curriculum for all grades, and I love how economical it is for homeschool families! One price for all of your kids makes it SO affordable and easy to just keep going.
If you are a Christian parent that wants to provide fun and engaging music education for your children, you’ll want to check out Praise Hymn Inc..
Their video series feature animated friends that teach your kids about music concepts, instruments of the orchestra, classical music listening, and sing-a-long songs. Episodes take students on adventures as they learn. Here’s a FREE lesson from the kindergarten level program:
FREE FOR ALL: Praise Hymn also offers music and Bible resources for kids up to grade 6. They are willing to send you two completely FREE books in the mail so you can check them out!
Then send an email to judyswaim@praisehymninc.com and let her know your address and what grade level/books you’d like to receive. (If you are outside the US, she will send you the PDF versions)
Welcome to the Enrichment Lifestyle Blog! I'm so glad you're here. :) I'm Erica Johns, and I love to encourage homeschool moms and help them enjoy more of the beauty of the arts in everyday life.
About me: I started my homeschooling journey in 1997 and graduated the last of my six children in 2021. Amidst all the hard work, crazy days, uncertainty, and lost pencils, what I think we really gained was the gift of a lifetime: TIME TOGETHER. So awesome! Click my pic to learn more.
