Today, we’re talking about how we use the BrainPOP Homeschool program as part of our relaxed classical homeschooling curriculum.
We’ve followed a classical model in our homeschool since the very beginning. Over the years, we’ve shifted our outlook, and moved toward more of a relaxed classical approach. Each year, I take a look at what’s on the agenda, if it’s appropriate and manageable for our children, and if I have the mental space to do it well.
The past couple of years in our homeschool have been challenging, so I’ve been looking for ways to inject some variety into our routine and bring a little more fun back to the table.
Enter BrainPop Homeschool.
Disclaimer:I received a BrainPOP Homeschool membership in exchange for my time in reviewing their service. All opinions are my own and are my honest experience.
What’s BrainPOP all about?
BrainPOP has a mission to empower kids to shape the world around them and within them.
BrainPOP Homeschool brings high-quality, teacher-approved education tools and content home, to help every kind of learner connect deeply to what they’re exploring.It was made by a leading edtech company in 1999, and has used by over 6 million educators worldwide.
What are some of the benefits of the BrainPOP Homeschool Combo?
I decided to add the BrainPOP Homeschool Combo to our homeschool this fall for a few reasons:
Independent learning — there are times when a sibling needs extra attention. Instead of vegging out playing video games, I’d rather them do something productive.
Diving into interests — My Daniel is a little obsessed with the solar system and outer space currently. It’s not a topic I’m strong in, so having BrainPop Homeschool Jr for him to explore is key to keeping him engaged.
Building confidence — when my kids learn something new on BrainPop Homeschool, they love telling me, their father, or any neighbor who will listen. This style of learning boosts their confidence and teaches them how to investigate more.
BrainPOP provides ways for students to engage with topics in multiple ways – this helps to reinforce their learning, keep them engaged, and deepen their understanding. It doesn’t mean you have to check every box. Make the program work for you through creating, discovering and playing.
If your state has requirements such as health, physical education, civics, or fire safety, BrainPOP makes it easy. Simply add those topics to your dashboard.
Since we have a variety of ages in our homeschool, I opted for the BrainPOP Homeschool Combo membership.
How does BrainPOP Homeschool work?
You’ll learn about how to use BrainPOP Homeschool using the same sequence for students who explore a lesson. Just click on the BrainPop 101 tab at the top of your dashboard, and you’ll be on your way.
Video
Challenge (Interactive assessments designed to engage higher-order thinking)
Related Reading
Primary Resource
Quiz
Time Zone X (check your close reading skills with a timeline game)
Make-A-Map (similar to mind mapping)
Make-A-Movie (Make your own BrainPOP-style movie – My children love this!)
Going through this sequence helped me to understand how to add it to our homeschool days ahead.
A subject can be explored thoroughly, diving into every resource that BrainPOP Homeschool has available, or you can keep it simple, with a quick movie.
You’ll have a dashboard where you can create classes, manage assignments and explore all of what BrainPOP has to offer.
I’m limiting myself to 3 assignments per student at first, so that I don’t overwhelm myself or my children. Since we’re studying American History with the two younger kids this fall, we’re adding in those topics to our BrainPOP dashboard.
Take some time exploring how to make an assigment — it can be as simple (watch a movie) or as complex as you want. (adding in quizzes, related reading, primary resources and more) I love that I can assign it with a due date, or keep it open ended. It’s also super easy to duplicate an assignment for multiple classes.
I have a wide range of ages in my homeschool? Will BrainPOP Homeschool work for me?
Absolutely! BrainPOP gives you a few options – take a look and see what would work for you.
BrainPOP Homeschool – designed for grades 3 -8
BrainPOP Homeschool Jr – designed for grades K-3
BrainPOP Homeschool Combo – this is the one I recommend for larger families, as it gives you access to both levels of activities.
Can I use BrainPOP for a variety of subjects?
You bet! Look at everything BrainPOP Homeschool covers:
Arts and Music
English
Health and Socioemotional Learning
Math
Science
Social Studies
Engineering and Technology
New and Trending (the newest materials added to the site)
Do students have their own BrainPOP Homeschool account?
Each student will have his or her own login. This helps us start training our children in a situation that’s not stressful. This is helping to prepare for online classes in the future.
What does a BrainPOP Homeschool subscription give me?
With a homeschool subscription to BrainPOP, you can create up to 4 homeschool student accounts, have a Homeschool Educator Dashboard (I call it a Teacher Dashboard), and create and manage assignments for each student.
Lessons can include:
Video
Challenge (Interactive assessments designed to engage higher-order thinking)
Related Reading
Primary Resource
Quiz
Time Zone X (check your close reading skills with a timeline game)
Make-A-Map (similar to mind mapping)
Make-A-Movie (Make your own BrainPOP-style movie – My children love this!)
You can check the student’s progress in the dashboard, to see which portions of the lesson they’ve attempted.
How does BrainPOP help me as a homeschool mom?
Honestly, this program is allowing my children to dive deeper into their interests (outer space for Daniel, horses for Maeve) without me much encouragement from me. As they are exploring the subjects available on BrainPOP, they’re finding new ideas to investigate. I may start Daniel off with working on calendar skills, only to come back to find he’s moved over to fractions!
Can a classical homeschooler use BrainPOP?
Absolutely! We’ve followed a relaxed classical model in our homeschool since the very beginning, but you’ll often mind me using technology as an adjunct. As I was exploring the BrainPOP selections, I was stunned to come across Ancient Cultures under Social Studies. I found lessons on the Rise of the Roman Republic, the Pax Romana, as well as the Fall of the Roman Empire! I needed these lessons last year to go alongside our Classical Studies with Memoria Press. Maeve will be studying the Middle Ages this fall, so I’ll be marking those lessons in her dashboard to help solidify the content. My middle school boys will be studying Homer, so that’s already been added to their assigments.
Ready to try BrainPOP Homeschool with your family?
CLICK HERE <-------- for your FREE 2 week trial of BrainPOP Homeschool. That’s the perfect opportunity to dive in and check it out with your students.
Have you used BrainPOP in your homeschool? I’d love to hear more in the comments.
Great read!! Thanks for sharing such a great blog, blog like these will surely help each and every homeschooler.