My daughter is doing the self-paced HS1 through Sparks Academy because we live overseas and the time difference doesn’t work.  She obviously doesn’t get to interact live with the teacher or other students, which she actually doens’t mind, but she’s really liking watching the prerecorded video of the teacher giving the lesson.  She likes that there’s a schedule for each week, and overall it’s so well put together that she’s learning a lot and enjoying it.

My son took the world history class last year. Working with the teacher/owner was fantastic! There were many writing assignments, and because my son knew they weren’t for my eyes only I believe he put far more effort into it.

My son used this last year for HS1 & World History. It was great with teaching him accountability & responsibility. He loved being able to communicate with others using the discussions (he thought it was cool that everyone lived in so many different places and they were all able to communicate with each other). He also enjoyed the live class with Yvie, and I liked it because it kept him on his toes with making sure all his assignments were completed when it was time for that live class in case he was called on to report it. As “mom” I still had to keep on him to make sure he was current and went over his assignments with him, but that’s to be expected. Overall we love it! My son will be using it again this year for HS2, American History, and Science.

I used the writing feedback with my two teens this past year. We finished yesterday, hallelujah!! Anyway, I will be using it again next year and kids also agree that it is well worth the $.

1. I noticed teens put in more of an effort knowing I’m not the only person to see it. So that’s a win.
2. I like to helping them both, especially when they are writing from their weaker areas, like for my son he has a hard time with nonfiction but is great creatively. My daughter is just the opposite, naturally and so when they are having the hardest time, I want to be there to help and support, but it was hard to grade that paper afterwards when I felt like it was at least a quarter my paper. 😂🤣 This way, Yvie is there to help them and I get to grade that paper from a fresh set of eyes and I get to be more surprised and amazed and astonished at their progress. So, another win.
3. By having them rely more on Yvie for help, they are learning that I’m not the only person they can turn to and that is also a win.
4. Surprisingly, the biggest thing I learned from using the service was how Yvie can call my kid out if they aren’t bringing their A game, but in such a nice a polite way and she even gave inspiration and ideas to help him give her what she was looking for that he didn’t feel defeated before he began, which is how I know it would have gone had I been the one to see that paper. 😂🤣 So, as hard as it is to admit, I learned how I could change my ways a bit and perhaps get better results as well. 🥴🤦🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️🤪😊 Another win.

The only downside to using the service is the $ and the technology skills that I had to dust off and then teach to my two teens, but really, I needed to do that anyway and so really is another win. 😋
As a last note, I am not in any way affiliated with TGTB or Sparks Academy other than being a consumer. 🤓

I do hope this helps others who are having a tough time with the writing. My son, 15, has dyslexia and so this was a huge concern for us both, but he actually feels more prepared for college and believes he can do it after all.  My daughter also has some learning disabilities and she too had nothing but a positive experience with this service and she was very proud of herself and the feedback she received.
I would love to do the online classes, but unfortunately neither one of my teens has shown the fortitude to be able to take on that responsibility just yet and we school around my husbands shift work schedule and so it would be very hard to be available for class times online when we have to do our family school at certain times etc. So I hope to use it for their last year in preparation for college. 😊

Update after 2nd year of use – I have found it super helpful. I have a boy and girl teens and they both used it. 1. They learned how to become more independent from me and able to write on their own. Then after the feedback, they made adjustments, sometimes not and then I looked over it and graded it. They put in more effort for her than they ever did for me. They also chose to make adjustments in some places and not in others etc and because I wasn’t part of the process, I could grade more unbiasedly (not sure if that is even a word) we’ve done it for awhile. This coming year they are doing dual credit and I feel confident they can handle it. I really have no cons to trying it and using the service.