Anyone out there use the Florida Virtual Academy? I'm debating between this (since I live in FL and it would be FREE) and A Beka (I was a student of this program and my son's familiar with the books from his private school). Just trying to get a little feedback. My son is soooooo excited to try homeschooling for 1st time...he's going into the 6th grade. Thanks in advance for any info!
Question: Do you want to control what your child learns, or are you OK with letting the government decide for you? The answer to that will determine which you chose. If you want to make all the decisions yourself, without any input from out side sources, go with Abeka. If you are OK with an outside source telling you what and when, go with the Virtual Academy. There's pros and cons to both.
I agree with the point about who chooses the curriculum and who decides what your child learns, so be sure to know what material will be covered in each class. My other gripe about virtual schools is how some states run them. The beauty of online learning is that it can bring together like-minded students from all across the state. There's so much potential value to that, yet my experience with our county and state ehigh schools is that they are not much more than correspondence schools. The child reads the material, completes a report, takes a quiz, and that's it. So much more could be done. Personally, I suggest the reason state-run schools keep it this way is that it minimizes the amount of preparation work needed from them. If there were online discussions (such as the one we're having now), for example, the teacher would have to spend time guiding them - over and above grading projects. (Quizzes are usually graded automatically, so little teacher time is needed there.) I have no problem with using online courses because they are essentially the same as on-site courses, but I don't like how the majority of them are run. Could you contact the state for a list of parents whose children completed courses in the previous semester? If so, you could ask them directly what were the good and bad points of the program. Since it's a state-run program, feedback and results ought to be a matter of public record. Glad your son is so excited. We started homeschooling ours in 6th grade too, and it worked out well. I'm sure you'll have a lot of fun.
georgia virtual we just finished up our first year of GVA (georgia). I will not be doing it again, unless we are still homeschooling in MS or HS. I may rethink it then. All the free stuff was great, our assigned teacher was excellent also, but I hated how ridgid the curriculum was. I could hardly find time to add my own curriculum and it came with no art, very upsetting to my DD in K-5. all in all i would say it was a good program but if you are going to use Virtual have a laptop or desktop in your "school area" we were constantly running back and forth from our office to our school room. I also thought the material was very difficult. My dd is very smart, but the K-5 materials was overwhelming. for history she (5 years old) was suppost to remember 5 famour landmarks in France, seemed a lit much to me! anyways, good luck with whatever you choose! amy, GA
We just finished a year of OHVA and I would say our experience is similiar to GymMom's. Our teacher was outstanding, the science books were beautiful, the equipment and supplies were first rate, but I agree the cirriculum left us no time to do anything at all that we wanted. We did also find the material somewhat difficult ( I do have to add that my son struggles with schoolwork) but many times it focused on minute, insane details that we felt were of no relevance whatsoever. If we go with it again, it will be because I am unsure of how to put together my own 'eclectic' (just learned some new homeschool lingo lol) cirriculum. Just our candid thoughts
Abeka has a DVD program doesn't it? My friend is doing 1 class from there and likes it because her 6th grader could do it without her.... We don't have VA in this county of Virginia..... I would try it I THINK if we did.....but I'm not sure on that....I've heard good and bad about them though.
Virtual schools are good for those who have never homeschooled, have not planned/prepared to homeschool, and are wanting guidance as they are getting their feet wet. However, in my experience with the GVAers in Georgia and others who did the K-12 curriculum on their own, after the first two months, the honeymoon is pretty much over and the parents who are determined to have their children outside of the brick and mortar environment for whatever reason, usually see that they either don't like how demanding it is or they build up confidence in realizing they can do just as well or better with homeschooling themselves. Also, most homeschool groups around my area will not accept GVA as members, because it really is just public school at home and, I am sorry to say, the presentation is just about as boring on couch in living room as at a desk in the classroom for young students. Now I can see an advantage for older, independent students, but then again, it would depend on your goals and philosophy about education as well as your child's learning style and interests as to whether or not it would work well. Unfortunately for GVA only goes up to the eight grade presently.
This is true in Ohio, too. They are considered Public School Children, and as such, are not considered "homeschooled". Now, that doesn't mean that individual HS'ers won't accept them; there were some that were members of our HS 4-H group, and also I know of one sort-of co-op that they are welcome at, but many groups do not. I also see the advantage for older students whose parents pull them (especially during high school) because the kid is getting into trouble with the other kids. But the parents have to really be on the ball to make sure the kids ARE doing their work!
I know many people that use Florida Virtual School. They really like it. I've been leery of the "government's" curriculum, but we have considered trying it with one subject, just for the experience. That's the good part about it. FLVS is free for middle school and high schoolers. You don't have to take every subject with them. You can sign up for Beginning Spanish or Keyboarding to try it out. You can drop classes, too, if it's not working out for your child. HTH, Patty
I am considering enrolling my 15 yo dd in FLVS for Spanish. Does anyone have any opinion on that subject?
