I am so glad I found this forum. I've been browsing here and there over the last couple of days and you all seem to helpful. I'm excited that I found you. We will start homeschooling our oldest son, age 6, at the end of August. We've chosen a "best of both worlds" homeschooling program through a public "virtual" school in our state. He attended two years of Christian preschool (using the Abeka curriculum) and went to public school for Kindergarten last year. We were never sold on public school, really, but all of our friends and family told us that homeschooling was something that we "couldn't" do because we have two younger children in the home. I hate to say that Kindergarten was horrible, but I don't really have many positive things to say about it. Abeka had him reading before Kindergarten started, yet at the end of this year, his Kindergarten class was just finishing up with letter recognition! He absolutely did not learn any new information in Kindergarten, and was extremely bored, therefore disruptive. Partway through the year, I knew that public school was not going to work. I didn't want to pull him out mid-year because a well-meaning relative (who works as a public school teacher in the area) told us that we'd be "the talk of the staff room." She informed us that "most" parents who pull their kids out mid-year because of behavioral problems end up sending them back because they can't handle schooling at home. I guess her fear-tactic did work, because we ended up finishing out Kindergarten with a few bumps and bruises and actually had a "we're done with public school!" celebration on the last day of school. My husband and I both wanted to start out with a curriculum that held us accountable, and a great friend of ours suggested the virtual academy we've chosen. It's certainly not a traditional homeschooling scenario, but we think it will work for us. We're looking forward to working at our own pace, flexibility, and not having so much "outside influence." I haven't noticed anything other posts about virtual schooling, is there anyone here that has done it? I'd be interested in hearing your stories.
Welcome. I have not done the virtual school. The Christian school at our church is going to do Abeka online this year, but it's brand new to them. Good luck to you!
Welcome to the cool of Oregon from the heat of Atlanta! I would like to comment on virtual schools. Seven years ago, I was traveling the world on business but wanted to obtain an MBA. The state was running a pilot scheme whereby I could obtain a degree online. I was a little nervous given some of the stories we hear about degree mills, but in this case the degree was exactly the same as if I attended the local state university. I found the online method of learning, when done well, to be terrific. Unfortunately, while some professors "got it", others didn't. The professors that "got it" ensured the classes were very interactive. The more we as students interacted with our peers and the professor, the more we learned. The professors that didn't get it simply created a correspondence course online - which was tedious and boring - and there was little if any interaction. One conclusion I came to was that online learning, whenever possible, should be interactive. One of my sons has taken two courses online through the county ehigh school. Another son took a course at the state's equivalent program. To my disappointment, there was absolutely no interaction at all. They simply read books, did assignments, and took tests. While it was good enough to get them a grade, I question how much learning actually took place. If I had the freedom to run those programs, I'd change them dramatically. Plus, the technology they use has a lot of problems, and they'd run into silly little things all the time. To ensure your son doesn't run into any of these, always sit with him when he uses a new feature for the first time. (As an example, my youngest son went to take a timed test. For the browser he was using, the timer covered up the 'Next' button so he couldn't progress beyond the first question!) I do have quite a bit of experience in this field. While I don't want to hijack your 'welcome' thread, feel free to raise the topic in another thread or contact me directly. I'd be glad to pass along whatever information I can.
Thank you so much for the welcome (so quickly, too!). Steve, I wish I could nod my head to the "cool" comment about Oregon, but we're actually in the high desert portion of the state! We're roasting today at 89 degrees -- and that's not even too bad for this time of the year. We're at about 10% humidity, though, so at least we're not dealing with heavy, sticky air like you probably are! As far as the virtual academy, there are some pretty strict communication requirements (once weekly phone calls, twice weekly emails, in-home visits every quarter, etc.), and all of the administrative personnel seem very helpful and on top of things. I've not had any experience with teachers yet. I'll be anxious to compare my experience to yours once things get going. His first day of school is August 27th. I wonder how long it will take for me to get a real feel for things?
Welcome Jodi, Glad you joined us. I hope you will let us know how the virtual school works out. I don't know much about how that works but find it interesting. Beth
Hi and welcome!! I wish I was at the Oregon Coast right now(I was born there and lived there till I was about ten years old), here in the city of Chicago,it is 81 and humid, but the wind is moving(so it is decieving). We used a virtual charter school a few years ago,for 6th or 7th grade(sorry can't remember) it was great..my youngest really enjoyed it for awhile till they moved to a new location that was to far away for us to easily get too. Her teacher called every other week,and we met with her once a week,had fieldtrips and such. Enjoy the adventure, it will be great!
