I know that there are tons sites to find out information, and I intend to research them all. Right now we live in Alaska and we are in a program that is an actual rural school district where you are allowed to homeschool as part of the district. I imagine that is not found anywhere else but in Alaska, but if there is, can someone point me in that direction as one of our options? We are leaving Alaska soon and get to leave with an actual transcript in hand! I think that I have convinced DH that homeschooling is also a good idea when we move (military) if I can convince him that it will be a very or fairly structured system or plan. This was our first year and he was not really on board but he is now seeing it more my way :love:
Some states have a homeschool option through the state dept. of ed. THese often end up paying the tuition for a program like K12 (k12.com) or another virtual online academy. Such a program might serve as segway into homeschooling if this is the only way you can get spousal agreement. Otherwise, many homeschoolers feel confined by the schedules that they have to keep with such a "school at home" approach. THis is because just as with attended school situations, the class/schedule moves forward even if the student is not ready to, or does not move forward when the student has mastered current objectives and finds repetition tedious an boring. THere are many Curriculum in a Box, type of products out there where the purchaser can feel somewhat confident that everything they need for an entire year is in that box. THis is often the choice of new homeschoolers for the first year or two. These all inclusive curr. are usually not a perfect fit, but can be a good starting point. Supplementation and alternative teaching approaches can be implemented as needed, and the internet is a great source for such at little or no cost. Otherwise, many and possibly most HS's end up mixing and matching various approaches, materials from various publishers as they fine tune their homeschools for the needs of the child. I found searching for sites with Homeschool curr. reviews very helpful. I read what dozens of folks thought about various materials and this gave me insight to what issues I need to consider regarding all subjects and methods of teaching, when looking at and selecting materials. I think that the most important thing is finding an outline or guideline to use as a sort of map to keep you on track regardless of what materials and methods you choose.
We used Calvert last year but did not 'report' to Calvert if that makes sense? We went thru www.ravenschool.com where you can use whatever you want and you turn in your reports to an advisor quarterly and they report to the state. You can just print things off the internet if you want to, you can unschool, whatever, we just chose Calvert for our first year but did find out that we a)finished it very quickly and b) needed a lot of supplements which was fine.......I liked the structure since it was our first year. I also think I want to have some of the same structure but would like to not pay that much money for it if I can avoid it next time. My biggest concerns are that we are covering all bases and that I am not missing anything, that I am teaching him everything he needs to learn and at the appropriate times and in the right order. I want the sequence to make sense so it all flows nicely for him. Does that make sense? I think that the boxed curriculums get a bad rap but they are set up so that they do flow for that very reason also, right? This K12 looks very interesting, and I had no idea that state depts of ed pay for curriculums, but, again as you said, you work on their time frames. Good thing is, I guess if you are ahead then you can take a vacation and then pick up where you left off, right? (unless I am understanding this wrong)....... See, we are VERY new at this and are not part of any groups in this area. We hope to join one in the new area so we can find out much more. I hope to find a outline or guideline also, but again, do they vary from state to state? We will probably live in a few more states just while he is in grade school alone, ugh. I guess as long as it is all covered at some point before he gets out is all that matters? Maybe I am overanalyzing it.........gosh *sigh*
No, Kristen, I don't think you can take a vacation with a k12 progam. Also, with a k12 program, you are limited in your choices. Right now, I teach science and history from a Christian perspective. I couldn't do that if the government was paying for my material. The freedom of doing what I want when I want is too precious to me. Also, where I live in Ohio, anyone in the k12 program is considered a public school student, and is required to do all the profeciency testing that only homeschoolers are exempt from. That means I'd have to make sure I taught WHAT IS ON THE TEST, and not what I wanted. Please understand that I'm NOT saying k12 is bad for everyone. It may be a good fit for you. If so, that's great. Go for it! But it is NOT for me. I don't want the government interference. Welcome, BTW! I'm Jackie, from central Ohio. I spent a summer in Cordove, Alaska a good many years back (before the Exxon Valdez). I'd love to go back sometime. It's beautiful country!
I just found out so much information that I think we are just going to do something that is a mix of a few programs maybe........... GA is pretty easy to deal with from what I can tell! Woohooo
