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Lucille
05-20-2010, 11:53 AM
My kid just finished his 7th grade year through K12 online (http://www.k12.com/). It's public, but they also offer private schooling.

I just wanted to say how much we loved it, and I highly recommend it to anyone who is thinking about homeschooling but hesitates for whatever reason. You can see sample previews of the online portions of specific classes (science is the one that sticks out in my mind)

That is not to say the history (Joy Hakim texts) and science (AGW) material didn't have its biases, but much less than you would find in a public school. And with me being the "Learning Coach" (as opposed to the "Teacher" (which he had, but only met with her via mail, elluminate sessions and on the phone) we were able to talk things through.

Being a public school, the amount of time a kid has to work is set. As a 7th grader, he had to put in 30 hrs/week, with 45 minutes/day being allotted for PE.

I was really surprised at how little I had to do! We had discussion questions every day in courses like Lit, History and Science, I'd grade his tests, compositions, do Science labs with him (my favorite!) keep track of his attendance, and help him if he had trouble w/ algebra or whatever (rare, but even then, he could go to elluminate and get tutoring if he needed to).

Anyways, I'm kind of sad today! He misses his friends from school and he has decided to give brick and mortar another shot. We're registering him for a charter school (where my oldest went to HS, which is expanding into a middle school as well) for the fall, but if he hates it, we'll go back to K12 without hesitation. I would much prefer to keep homeschooling him, but a part of me suspects he'll end up back in K12 anyway next year.

Questions, comments? Hit me!

angelatc
05-20-2010, 01:04 PM
Thanks. I'm thinking about putting my older son in it. He seems to have a case of 9th grade-itis.

Lucille
05-20-2010, 01:45 PM
If he's in 9th grade, you'll even have less to do!

I'm not complaining because I loved having him with me and working with him! It's just, everything is organized and set up so well! It's effortless! I was really intimidated at first, but after a few days I was all, "What was I so scared of? What took me so long!" I had been thinking about it since he was in 5th grade. I really wish I would have started it much sooner.

What's also nice is that they can do the work whenever they want to. He slept until 10:00 every day! We met a couple kids at the AIMs testing site and one of the kids did all his work late at night when it was quiet, and his grandma just checked his work and did the discussions in the morning.

The younger kids don't have to put in as long a day, but IIRC, middle-HS is 30 hours/week. We just did 6 hours a day to make it easier on us. But even then? He'd finish things so quickly, that he was allowed to put in Homeroom hours on things like Big Brain Academy (!!), watch a movie of a book he was reading, documentaries, Animal Planet, go on field trips, etc.

Also (this might not apply to you, A) the Learning Coach does not have to be a parent. So if both parents work, they could ask a family member or some trusted friend (throw them a little cash maybe) or a laid off or retired teacher even. The Learning Coach can be anyone the parents chooses, and they also offered you help if you wanted to set-up a co-op like environment where you could coach more than just your own child. If it's a high schooler, they really need no supervision and a parent can just check his/her work at the end of the day. Plus, the teachers are always available via phone or K-Mail and there is tutoring for in all classes on elluminate if the kids need it.

I'm really bummed he doesn't want to do it again next year. But like I said, I suspect after a week or two back in the institution for 7-8 hours a day, he'll be chomping at the bit to go back to K12!

I should also mention (even though it's a probably a given) that being a public school means there is no tuition, but we spent a little money on supplies like you would for a regular school, and of course printer ink and paper, but the books and things are all included. The private school is not free though.

Let me know what you guys decide, Angela!

squarepusher
05-20-2010, 01:47 PM
sounds really cool

Lucille
05-20-2010, 01:49 PM
It really is! Go take a peek!

http://www.k12.com/take-a-peek/sample-lessons/