Thank you to both of you for sharing this because this can actually be used by both parents and kids. Great job, Katie! Always excited on things you are learning and are willing to share. God bless you guys!
Thank you for sharing! We are in the throes of deciding right now about a foreign language for next year. My son will be in 10th grade. He is interested in learning German. He has used Duolingo to learn Spanish (only 1 year in elementary), but it wasn’t as extensive as we would have liked. We enjoy your videos! 😊
This was really interesting to me because foreign language in homeschool is a big passion of mine! I totally understand that with some of these very independent high school subjects...the student ends up knowing very well how the program works, but mom might not know it as thoroughly--because of their independence! :) I appreciated her comment about enjoying the change from Latin to French--it makes SUCH a difference when kids are motivated and interested in learning the language.
Yes this program is very independent. It is an immersion program and is hands off for the parent. They also don’t recommend it for grades younger than 7th grade so the students have the ability to be independent. (Which is great for us because I took Spanish, not French!)
This video is so helpful! Thank you. My daughter will be in 8th grade next year, but it sounds like we could go ahead and start and just move through it more slowly than you did. Thank you for your videos about homeschooling older grades. 💕
I was so excited that you shared about this. I found it randomly from Timberdoodle’s site, which I look at for fun educational things. My daughter wants to start Mandarin, but I’ve had a hard time finding it. Fluenz looks great. I need to find out from them why Mandarin only has 3 levels and how those translate to high school credit. Thank you for a great review and chance to see what the site looks like!
It looks awesome and something we could use. We already do another language but for us it’s a language we use at home but would be considered as a foreign language. I love how real life it is.
Thank you for this video...my daughter is doing Babble French but she does not like it anymore and I am looking or a new program, we would definitely try to do the trial to see if she likes it and wants to continue studying French
Thanks for this review! We have been using a free online program through our local library for Spanish, but it has started being a little wonky from the admin side. I was a little hesitant with Fluenz because of the cost, but hubby didn't blink an eye. We plan to start with Fluenz next year. I also appreciate the translation project ideas. We have A Taste of Latino Cultures: A Bilingual Educational Cookbook which we have also been using. I had her create & prepare a traditional Mexican dinner for the entire family earlier this year. It was a lot of fun!
That sounds like a fun project! I think Fluenz is a really good deal if you plan to do all the levels. Otherwise it is pricey, especially just to do 1 or 2 levels.
@@simplejoyfilledliving Yes, we already planned for her to stretch Spanish out over the four years so it would remain fresh & hopefully she could test out of having to take it in college if required. Oh, and my daughter was also not a big fan of Latin, but it is so helpful! My son took a little bit before going back into public school( even he regrets that move now with 10 credits left in college). He actually corrected a teacher during class on a Latin word. He was so proud of himself. 😂
Do they have a placement test? My daughter speaks Italian, we learned with Duolingo, but we want to get more advanced. We have Italian friends that we practiced with and a grammar book that we study and do the tests every week.
Thank you for this video- we were just starting to look into foreign language for our rising 8th grader. We looked into Rosetta Stone, but will check this out too. We are currently just having fun with duolingo. Are there specific reasons you went with Fluenz over RS? Thanks again!
Fluenz was recommended over Rosetta Stone by our accountability group as being more high school friendly. Fluenz does have a comparison chart on their website that you can look at.
Now that Katie is in college do you still feel like Fluenz was a good choice? Did she take any college placement tests for French & how prepared did she feel? Thank you!
She placed into French 2 I think but took French 1&2 as dual enrollment courses anyway her senior year. She ended up with 4 credits for French this way on her high school transcript with no need for further foreign language in college.
I recently found your channel, and I am loving your videos! They are extremely helpful in deciding what curriculum to choose. We have decided to homeschool our daughter for her junior year next year after being in a Christian high school the last 2 years. Our daughter really, really struggles with Science. I’m looking for high school Chemistry, and I know you love Shormann Sciences. I’m just wondering if Shormann would be too difficult for her? I don’t want her to get discouraged or overwhelmed. Katie seems like a genius! I’d appreciate any advice you can offer!
Shormann would probably be a struggle for her if science is hard for her. In my opinion it is a higher level than Apologia. All of the AP labs are included and he prepares you for the AP exam. I would consider looking into Apologia instead (which is still a strong science program, but not quite as hard).
Thank you. Was really thinking I’d skip this video as I didn’t think it related to my family. But I realized my son has been doing German on Duolingo and might be interested for his senior year next year. Would he do all 5 levels? For our state 120 hours is a minimum (120-180)for a credit. So 150 would equal 1 credit year?!? Your counting three credits but it’s only 50 lessons per year. In our state it’s more hour based I guess so that would be 1/2 credit? Sorry just not sure if all 5 levels is doable in one year. He likely will be ACT preparing/testing and taking Shormann Calculus for math but already has enough credits to graduate this year.
The lessons are meant to be done over 2-3 days and review on the off days. So you could easily get 120 hours per year. I do not think all 5 levels could be done in 1 year. 2-3 levels would probably be the max. Three levels might be pushing it even. It is a lot of work for just 1 lesson. We just showed a small portion of some of the activities. I would call Fluenz and ask where to place him given the Duolingo experience. I think that would be the least frustrating way to go.
I’ve shared in other videos, but we did Fluenz for 2 years of high school French then she moved on to 2 years of college French as dual enrollment in 12th grade. She entered college this year with all of her foreign language credits completed. Fluenz made college French easy for her.
Thank you for the helpful videos. My son has began German through the Fluenz program. How do you show assessment for portfolio and how do you grade for this course ?
We use Homeschool Planet to record grades. We set numerical grades at the beginning of the year to correspond with the letter grade (A = 95, A+ with no mistakes = 100, etc.) and we record the daily grade given by Fluenz into Homeschool Planet for the portfolio. We print it off at the be of the year. You could do the same with a spreadsheet.
Year 1= all of level 1+ 20 lessons of level 2: Year 2=Last 10 lessons of level 2 + all level 3 + first 10 lessons level 4; Year 3= last 20 lessons level 4 + all level 5
@@simplejoyfilledliving awesome! Sounds like the best bang for my buck would be to purchase the full bundle. That way I have extra if my son decides to continue past the 2 years ☺️
Does this transfer to high school credit? Also we have to show proof of grades to our state (Louisiana) so are they assigned a grade at the end of the course?
If your student is transferring back to public school, your local public school will decide for every single homeschool class what they will accept or will not accept and if any testing will be required to enroll in a certain grade. I have even heard of cases where students passed testing and were still held back. It’s always up to the local school so I wouldn’t know specifically in your case. But yes, Fluenz does track a grade that you could record on your report card and transcript. If you are asking if Fluenz is high school level, yes it is and can be used for high school French credits.
Great video review, We have not enjoyed our Spanish I course this year and I just told my son yesterday that we will do our best to find something different this next year. Just curious... How long does it take your daughter to complete an entire lesson? You mentioned that she does 1 - 2 lessons a week, but I did not catch how long it takes in one sitting? Also.... are you able to go back and retake the activities + quizzes if the score is not what you hoped for the first time? Thanks again for a great review!!
Thank you! She spend an hour to 1.5 hours on each lesson. She also makes notes on vocabulary and reviews that too. You can redo any lesson or activity and it will re-grade.
Katie is not a language arts girl, she struggles more there than math and science. I definitely feel that TG&TB can be a good fit for kids that aren’t as good in language arts. The writing has clear instructions and the reading has comprehension information as well.
Would this program work for a family /multiple students? Or would I need to purchase for each student? I tried to look it up on their website but didn't see anything on that topic
@@framseen2 I was wondering this too! I have two older ones that are in the same French level. Purchasing one course instead of two would be much friendlier on the wallet 🤪. Did you look into it? I thought of purchasing one and having my girls do it together at the same time.
@@mommyof3smarties I did look into it! They have a homeschool version that allows you to add up to 3 separate users. So individual grading, exercises completed, progress, etc. I'm not sure about the price for the homeschool pack though
@@framseen2 oh thank you so much for sharing this info, and getting back to me! I think this might be worth it since my oldest likes to get a head start on things, early riser etc...my middle child? Not so much 😆
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Katie is such a lovely young lady. I have enjoyed watching her grow and mature.
Thank you! ❤️
Thank you to both of you for sharing this because this can actually be used by both parents and kids. Great job, Katie! Always excited on things you are learning and are willing to share. God bless you guys!
Thank you! ❤️
Thank you for sharing! We are in the throes of deciding right now about a foreign language for next year. My son will be in 10th grade. He is interested in learning German. He has used Duolingo to learn Spanish (only 1 year in elementary), but it wasn’t as extensive as we would have liked. We enjoy your videos! 😊
You’re welcome! I’ve been told that Duolingo is good but not at high school level. We used it a little bit in elementary.
Katie is such a great student. It’s awesome you have found programs that allow her to be independent and move at her pace.
Thank you! ❤️
It's so cool they have Portuguese! It's pretty similarly difficult to French but so much harder to find materials 🤓
It is!
This was really interesting to me because foreign language in homeschool is a big passion of mine! I totally understand that with some of these very independent high school subjects...the student ends up knowing very well how the program works, but mom might not know it as thoroughly--because of their independence! :) I appreciated her comment about enjoying the change from Latin to French--it makes SUCH a difference when kids are motivated and interested in learning the language.
Yes this program is very independent. It is an immersion program and is hands off for the parent. They also don’t recommend it for grades younger than 7th grade so the students have the ability to be independent. (Which is great for us because I took Spanish, not French!)
This video is so helpful! Thank you. My daughter will be in 8th grade next year, but it sounds like we could go ahead and start and just move through it more slowly than you did. Thank you for your videos about homeschooling older grades. 💕
Glad it was helpful! ❤️. You could definitely start earlier and move more slowly. Just issue credits as each year is complete.
Perfect timing as I'm deciding what to use for my son for a foreign language for 10th grade! 😀
Yay! ❤️
This review was very helpful! Thank you very much!!
Thank you! ❤️
Thank you for sharing! I am trying to figure out what to do for foreign language for my son for high school.
Thanks for watching!
This is awesome Colleen! I kinda want to look into this for myself, but definitely filing in my memory for when my kids get to this point.
It’s a super easy program to add into your homeschool.
I was so excited that you shared about this. I found it randomly from Timberdoodle’s site, which I look at for fun educational things. My daughter wants to start Mandarin, but I’ve had a hard time finding it. Fluenz looks great. I need to find out from them why Mandarin only has 3 levels and how those translate to high school credit. Thank you for a great review and chance to see what the site looks like!
Those levels might be longer, I’m not sure. Definitely asking them to see would be a good idea.
It looks awesome and something we could use. We already do another language but for us it’s a language we use at home but would be considered as a foreign language. I love how real life it is.
That’s what Katie likes about it too.
Okay this looks intriguing. We want to learn Spanish, but winding if it works with middle school.
They recommend 7th grade. Maybe Duolingo for the younger kids.
Thanks for sharing. Taking notes on all the high school things you share.
You’re welcome! Thanks for watching! ❤️
Thank you for this video...my daughter is doing Babble French but she does not like it anymore and I am looking or a new program, we would definitely try to do the trial to see if she likes it and wants to continue studying French
Thanks for watching!
Thanks for this review! We have been using a free online program through our local library for Spanish, but it has started being a little wonky from the admin side. I was a little hesitant with Fluenz because of the cost, but hubby didn't blink an eye. We plan to start with Fluenz next year. I also appreciate the translation project ideas. We have A Taste of Latino Cultures: A Bilingual Educational Cookbook which we have also been using. I had her create & prepare a traditional Mexican dinner for the entire family earlier this year. It was a lot of fun!
That sounds like a fun project! I think Fluenz is a really good deal if you plan to do all the levels. Otherwise it is pricey, especially just to do 1 or 2 levels.
@@simplejoyfilledliving Yes, we already planned for her to stretch Spanish out over the four years so it would remain fresh & hopefully she could test out of having to take it in college if required.
Oh, and my daughter was also not a big fan of Latin, but it is so helpful! My son took a little bit before going back into public school( even he regrets that move now with 10 credits left in college). He actually corrected a teacher during class on a Latin word. He was so proud of himself. 😂
That's a good plan!
Wawoooooo great job thanks for sharing stay safe and blessed 💕💓♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️
Thank you! ❤️
Do they have a placement test? My daughter speaks Italian, we learned with Duolingo, but we want to get more advanced. We have Italian friends that we practiced with and a grammar book that we study and do the tests every week.
I don’t know. We started at the beginning with French.
Thank you for this video- we were just starting to look into foreign language for our rising 8th grader. We looked into Rosetta Stone, but will check this out too. We are currently just having fun with duolingo. Are there specific reasons you went with Fluenz over RS? Thanks again!
Fluenz was recommended over Rosetta Stone by our accountability group as being more high school friendly. Fluenz does have a comparison chart on their website that you can look at.
Now that Katie is in college do you still feel like Fluenz was a good choice? Did she take any college placement tests for French & how prepared did she feel? Thank you!
She placed into French 2 I think but took French 1&2 as dual enrollment courses anyway her senior year. She ended up with 4 credits for French this way on her high school transcript with no need for further foreign language in college.
I recently found your channel, and I am loving your videos! They are extremely helpful in deciding what curriculum to choose. We have decided to homeschool our daughter for her junior year next year after being in a Christian high school the last 2 years. Our daughter really, really struggles with Science. I’m looking for high school Chemistry, and I know you love Shormann Sciences. I’m just wondering if Shormann would be too difficult for her? I don’t want her to get discouraged or overwhelmed. Katie seems like a genius! I’d appreciate any advice you can offer!
Shormann would probably be a struggle for her if science is hard for her. In my opinion it is a higher level than Apologia. All of the AP labs are included and he prepares you for the AP exam. I would consider looking into Apologia instead (which is still a strong science program, but not quite as hard).
@@simplejoyfilledliving thank you so much! Chemistry is going to be a hard class for me to teach!
So helpful. Thanks!
Thanks for watching! ❤️
Thank you.
You’re welcome! ❤️
Katie shaking her head about Latin. 😂
Latin 😩
Thank you. Was really thinking I’d skip this video as I didn’t think it related to my family. But I realized my son has been doing German on Duolingo and might be interested for his senior year next year. Would he do all 5 levels? For our state 120 hours is a minimum (120-180)for a credit. So 150 would equal 1 credit year?!? Your counting three credits but it’s only 50 lessons per year. In our state it’s more hour based I guess so that would be 1/2 credit? Sorry just not sure if all 5 levels is doable in one year. He likely will be ACT preparing/testing and taking Shormann Calculus for math but already has enough credits to graduate this year.
The lessons are meant to be done over 2-3 days and review on the off days. So you could easily get 120 hours per year. I do not think all 5 levels could be done in 1 year. 2-3 levels would probably be the max. Three levels might be pushing it even. It is a lot of work for just 1 lesson. We just showed a small portion of some of the activities. I would call Fluenz and ask where to place him given the Duolingo experience. I think that would be the least frustrating way to go.
@@simplejoyfilledliving I forgot to mention my son has done 5 years of Latin.
@@stacyfausett5436 then that is probably a game changer. He can probably move much more quickly, particularly in the first several levels.
I'm wondering how French is going in your homeschool program. Please share an update with us! 🥰
I’ve shared in other videos, but we did Fluenz for 2 years of high school French then she moved on to 2 years of college French as dual enrollment in 12th grade. She entered college this year with all of her foreign language credits completed. Fluenz made college French easy for her.
@@simplejoyfilledliving Wow that's amazing. Congratulations to her, and to you 🥰
Thank you for the helpful videos. My son has began German through the Fluenz program. How do you show assessment for portfolio and how do you grade for this course ?
We use Homeschool Planet to record grades. We set numerical grades at the beginning of the year to correspond with the letter grade (A = 95, A+ with no mistakes = 100, etc.) and we record the daily grade given by Fluenz into Homeschool Planet for the portfolio. We print it off at the be of the year. You could do the same with a spreadsheet.
This was so helpful, thank you! How many levels would we need for 2 years of high school?
Year 1= all of level 1+ 20 lessons of level 2: Year 2=Last 10 lessons of level 2 + all level 3 + first 10 lessons level 4; Year 3= last 20 lessons level 4 + all level 5
@@simplejoyfilledliving awesome! Sounds like the best bang for my buck would be to purchase the full bundle. That way I have extra if my son decides to continue past the 2 years ☺️
Probably so.
Does this transfer to high school credit? Also we have to show proof of grades to our state (Louisiana) so are they assigned a grade at the end of the course?
If your student is transferring back to public school, your local public school will decide for every single homeschool class what they will accept or will not accept and if any testing will be required to enroll in a certain grade. I have even heard of cases where students passed testing and were still held back. It’s always up to the local school so I wouldn’t know specifically in your case. But yes, Fluenz does track a grade that you could record on your report card and transcript. If you are asking if Fluenz is high school level, yes it is and can be used for high school French credits.
Great video review, We have not enjoyed our Spanish I course this year and I just told my son yesterday that we will do our best to find something different this next year. Just curious... How long does it take your daughter to complete an entire lesson? You mentioned that she does 1 - 2 lessons a week, but I did not catch how long it takes in one sitting? Also.... are you able to go back and retake the activities + quizzes if the score is not what you hoped for the first time? Thanks again for a great review!!
Thank you! She spend an hour to 1.5 hours on each lesson. She also makes notes on vocabulary and reviews that too. You can redo any lesson or activity and it will re-grade.
Also how difficult is The Good and the Beautiful for High School English? So sorry for all the questions
Katie is not a language arts girl, she struggles more there than math and science. I definitely feel that TG&TB can be a good fit for kids that aren’t as good in language arts. The writing has clear instructions and the reading has comprehension information as well.
@@simplejoyfilledliving great! Thank you so so much!!
Would this program work for a family /multiple students? Or would I need to purchase for each student? I tried to look it up on their website but didn't see anything on that topic
I’m not sure about that. I would call them to ask to be sure.
@@simplejoyfilledliving ok, I'll do that! Thanks so much! I'm so glad I've found your channel!! Currently binging your videos 😁
@@framseen2 I was wondering this too! I have two older ones that are in the same French level. Purchasing one course instead of two would be much friendlier on the wallet 🤪. Did you look into it? I thought of purchasing one and having my girls do it together at the same time.
@@mommyof3smarties I did look into it! They have a homeschool version that allows you to add up to 3 separate users. So individual grading, exercises completed, progress, etc. I'm not sure about the price for the homeschool pack though
@@framseen2 oh thank you so much for sharing this info, and getting back to me!
I think this might be worth it since my oldest likes to get a head start on things, early riser etc...my middle child? Not so much 😆
I didn’t like Latin either Katie 🤣
She was naturally good at it though!