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It is always great when we can find something that makes our job easier as homeschooling moms. I’m always looking for ways to be more efficient, get things done quicker, or something to help me with the kids learning. That’s where Chromebooks come in.
My kids are getting older, which means we are doing more and more on the computer. They need to research, work on reading, or type up a paper. Our schoolwork was taking most of the day because someone was always waiting to use a computer.
Something had to change!
Like many of you, we are a one-income family. Buying laptops for each of the kids was not an option. That is when I started looking into Chromebooks for our homeschool.
Table of Contents
- What Are Chromebooks?
- How do Chromebooks Work?
- Chromebook Are Perfect for Your Homeschool
- How Chromebooks Make Homeschooling Easier
- What are the Cons of Chromebooks?
What Are Chromebooks?
The simplest way to explain a Chromebook is a tablet with a keyboard… sort of. Just as tablets run on apps, so do Chromebooks. Since it is put out by Google, it uses Google apps and any other app you can download in the Google Play store. Yet, it looks like a laptop and is lightweight.
Kids will love that they have a “laptop.” It certainly looks like one.
How do Chromebooks Work?
Chromebooks require a WiFi connection. They don’t hook into a jack as laptops can. Luckily, most homes and places we visit have WiFi. It makes it easier for kids to use their Chromebook in many locations.
Since the Chromebooks are by Google, they use Google apps. It comes installed with Google Drive, Doc, Slide, Sheets, Keep, and more. Basically, it has the whole suite of Google tools kids will need to do their schoolwork.
If you want to add other apps to the Chromebook, you can. You can take a look at Google Play and download what you need. I was able to download some of the most frequent apps we use in our homeschool onto the kids’ Chromebooks.
I’m thankful many of the apps we used on the kids’ old iPads, can be found in Google Play. My kids’ iPad’s are so old, they don’t support many of the latest versions of the apps we use. I don’t have to hand over my newer iPad to them and have them take turns with it throughout the day.
Storage
Nothing is stored on the device. Everything is stored in the Cloud. Kids can access all their work from any device that has Google Chrome. They log in to their Google account, and everything is right there. Plus, it also automatically saves their work for them. No worries about losing their work. Believe me, I don’t want them to go through what I did in college when I lost 16 pages of a research paper due two days later.
Powering the Chromebook
The Chromebooks come with a power cord and a long-lasting battery. Kids can sit at a table with their device plugged in, or they can sit on the couch and work running on the battery. It’s great!
Google Account
Kids will need to have a Google account.
So what is that?!
You will need to create a Google email for your kids. I was hesitant at first. It wasn’t as scary as I thought, though.
Kids that are under 13 have a supervised account. I know EVERYTHING my kids do on their Chromebooks. Google alerts me if the kids are trying to download an app or website that may contain mature content. I have to go in and approve it before they can get in. I had to approve access for my daughter to log in to the library site. It blocked it because of the potential of mature content. Be aware that YouTube will initially be blocked and only YouTube Kids for children under 13. You will have to change the settings in Family Link if your kids need access to regular YouTube for schoolwork.
You also don’t need to give your child’s email to anyone. My kids don’t give out their email except to family. So I don’t feel as nervous about my kids having an email as I was in the beginning.
Chromebook Are Perfect for Your Homeschool
I’ll start by saying my kids LOVE their Chromebooks, and me too. Chromebooks are great for homeschoolers. I’ll tell you why. They are:
- Easy to use
- Inexpensive
- Lightweight
- Very functional
Easy to Use
You know how when you turn on your phone or tablet, everything loads quickly and is just there. Well, that’s what it is like using a Chromebook. You don’t have to wait. It is ready to go when you turn it on.
Chromebooks are simple for kids to use. They click into the apps they want, and off they go. If they want to search the web, they click on the Google Chrome icon. If your kids are typing a paper, they open up Docs. It is that simple.
The only challenge might be learning how to use the touchpad. You know things like swipe with two fingers to make this happen but swipe with three fingers to make that happen.
The Chromebook doesn’t have a mouse, although you can get one. My son prefers a mouse, so we gave him one to plug into his computer. It is easier for him to use a mouse when drawing pictures in his online writing program.
Inexpensive
Okay, so this is one of the best parts! Chromebooks are inexpensive compared to buying a computer or laptop. You can get some for a couple of hundred dollars. I bought two for $300. It was an Amazon Prime deal. However, their regular price was $200 each. It was definitely doable for us. Amazon also has sales on Chromebooks around Black Friday and Christmas time too.
Lightweight
My kids can carry these around. They are not super heavy, like laptops. They are very portable.
Functional
Chromebooks are great for your homeschool! My kids can use their Chromebooks for everything we need in our homeschool. They can search the internet, write papers, make slide presentations, and access their online course work.
They are amazing.
How Chromebooks Make Homeschooling Easier
I have a confession. I was at my wit’s end by the end of our homeschool year. The kids were taking SO long to get through their work. They were always fighting over who got to use the computer next. Plus, I was staring at the clock all afternoon because I needed the computer to get work done too.
I was stressed. The kids were miserable.
The Chromebooks were a lifesaver.
So how can Chromebooks help YOUR homeschool?
- Kids can access more online courses.
- You can use more apps for practice and review.
- Your kids learn how to use a computer really well because they will use it a lot more for schoolwork.
- You can add in more 21st Century Skills in your homeschool because kids have access to a computer. (See my article on Why You Need Technology in Your Homeschool. You will see why this is important.)
- No more waiting for others to finish up with the computer.
- Using Google tools and Google Classroom can make homeschooling more efficient. For example, you can access and grade your kid’s papers online.
What are the Cons of Chromebooks?
Probably the most obvious disadvantage of Chromebooks is the fact they require WiFi. However, some things like Google Docs will allow you to work offline. You aren’t going to access the internet, though.
My kids have been using their Chromebooks for almost half a year, and we honestly haven’t run into any other major issues with the Chromebooks. They have performed how we have needed them to. We have had no problems accessing their work in SchoolhouseTeachers.com, Prodigy, Let’s Go Geography, and other online classes.
UPDATE 3/2021
My kids have now been using their Chromebooks for over a year and a half. They are still working great! However, I have now run into one issue. My son is into coding. We have used a couple of coding programs: Simply Coding and Homeschool Code Academy. Coding classes operate on Windows or Mac devices. Therefore, my son needed to use my Windows laptop to use those programs.
Other than the issue with using coding programs, we haven’t had any more issues. Well, my son is disappointed he can’t play Minecraft on it. Though I think there is some way to get around it. I’m not too tech-savvy. For me, I want the computers for schoolwork, NOT gaming. Everything else is working well with the Chromebooks. Even I borrowed one of my kids’ Chromebooks for a short period when my computer crashed. It did what I needed, and everything is in the Cloud, so I didn’t have trouble accessing my files.
I don’t know what we would do without our Chromebooks. It has saved us so much time and made homeschooling so much easier. You won’t believe the difference it will make.
Chromebooks are perfect for homeschooling.
What Homeschool curriculum can I use with my Google Chromebooks that would allow me to run it through Google Docs. I don’t want to use WiFi and may not have it when we are at sea.
I know you can use Google Docs offline but the Chromebooks, in general, will need WiFi. I would think if the curriculum you buy offers ebook options that could be loaded into Docs. I think any curriculum that gives you ebook format would work. I know I could have bought our REAL Science Odyssey in ebook form, same with our Grammar (by Well-Trained Mind), and some units by teachers on Teachers Pay Teachers have digital curriculum especially for reading. I bought a digital copy of work for Number the Stars. My son could do his work in Google by filling in the forms. I hope this helps.
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