I am considering K-12 but do not know anyone who has used it. If you have used it, what do you think? Good and bad please. thanks!
Why do you homeschool (or want to homeschool)? Is it to set your own schedule, teach your child at his/her own pace, decide curriculum that doesn't go against your moral/relgious views? Or do you feel the classroom isn't a safe environment, one you don't want your child going into every day? Can K-12 meet the reasons you homeschool? For some, the answer is yes. For others, no. My sil did K-12 one year. She was frustrated with it. Every time I invited her to join us in a fun activity (such as apple picking) she had to turn me down, because one of her kids "had" to be on the computer at that particular time. Also, her son got sick for a week. They were OK with him missing, but when he was better, they wanted him to "double up" to catch up. The reason she had him going K-12 in the first place was because it took him longer to process things. Doing twice as much was NOT an option!
We used it with a virtual academy and were not pleased. For the younger grades, the workload is heavy and unyielding. The kid already knows the stuff? Too bad, you have to do the work anyways. Worksheet, worksheet, worksheet. For the older kids (6th+), the virtual school was not flexible. Math curriculum not a good fit? Falling behind? TOO BAD! One size fits all!! Like Jackie's sil, if the child is sick or you want to go on a field trip-tough cookies! You double up on an already solid workload. That is the short version of our story.....!
We are registered with Oregon Virtual Academy (which uses K12). Maybe it depends on the state, but in Oregon if your child already knows the lesson they can "test through" it. Meaning they only have to take the assessment at the end and move right along (they have to get above 80%). You only need to finish 95% of the class by the end of the year and have the hours (at least here in Oregon). Anything done outside of the curriculum counts as school time...going to the science museum...science time, etc. For us the reason we are choosing to do ORVA is for my oldest to have something other than mom to answer to and to try to have a more mother/daughter relationship versus teacher/daughter.
The idea of all those free materials was almost too much for me to pass up. I kept thinking, there's got to be a catch! This is too good to be true! Well, it was. While talking to a rep on the phone who was trying to get me to sign up, I started asking questions. And at the end of her spiel, I said, This is sounding alot like public school, don't I get any say in the schedule or curriculum? I was told that, No, I don't get to choose things like that, because yes, it is public school. Oh, so that's the catch. I'm homeschooling to do better than public school, not replicate it in my home.
I went to a meeting of homeschooling parents, and when asked why she wanted to homeschool, one mother said just that. That it was too heavy. "I'm exhausted", she said, and some of the others nodded their heads knowingly. I think you should talk to someone who does the k12 already to give you an idea of what to expect.
A friend of mine did Connections academy which I've been told is similar to k-12. She HATED it. Her kids were bogged down with work that they already knew. They HAD to do it. She said it was overwhelming. She kept at it until connections dropped them from the free program for lack of funding due to not getting accredited. They were allowed the option of the private school for free the remainder of the year. She declined and went to BJU.
Re-reading my post above from July, you can tell I was in a mood, huh? I wonder if you, OP, are still looking into K12?
Hi. I did K-12 with my son last year for 1st grade in Geogia. We're not doing it this year. Here's what I think are the pros and cons. Pros: -free -accountability if you are distractable person (like me) -they have fun and usually free events to attend every month -they have online groups like book club and computer club -everything is laid out for you so you just have to check it off as you do it -my son did not find the classes too hard -it's pretty comprehensive, classes included math, language arts, history, science, ideas for pe & health, art & music were being added this year though it wasn't available when we did it -teachers were helpful and friendly, though they didn't really teach anything -the child can test out of lessons they know just by answering some questions -you can set up your own schedule as long as you get all the work, days (180), and hours (810) done by the end of the year -access to free online games that my son loved cons: -the biggest con was it was boring for my son, history mostly involved reading off the computer screen and he is a hands on person -the experiments weren't all that interesting for the most part, we added on a lot -if some class doesn't fit your child's style, you have to do it anyway; you get what you get -if you fall too far behind it can be hard to catch-up -we had to attend a weekly hour long class online that was pretty boring and usually reviewed stuff he already knew -it is public school so they will call you if you miss 3+ days in a row without notifying your assigned teacher first and in order to pass you have to meet all your hours & days Honestly, I didn't mind that it was a public school. What bothered us the most was that the curriculum was just not interesting and didn't mesh with my son's learning style. We liked the language arts books, the online games, and science was okay. I think it's a good thing to try out since it's free and it is awefully fun getting all those big boxes in the mail. We even got a free computer to use, as well as an internet stipend which I think equaled about $100 or so for the entire year.
I'm sorry, I'm not following. We didn't have to pay for anything besides normal school supplies (paper, crayons, glue, pencils, etc). I just checked and they sent us two $54 checks to go towards internet costs, though you can use it for whatever. I used it to buy some school books for this year. You have to make under a certain amount to get the checks and the computer, but my husband makes pretty decent money and we qualified.
Things vary from program to program. There are some that allow you more choice as to curriculum, and some that are very rigid.
