It looks amazing. There is a virtual public charter school in my state, so I can enroll my son from k-12th grade for FREE. They send me books, supplies, and everything I would need to teach the curriculum. The curriculum looks really good too. What do you guys think?
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At K¹², our mission has remained steadfast: To provide any child access to exceptional curriculum and tools that enable him or her to maximize his or her success in life, regardless of geographic, financial, or demographic circumstance.
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That is so cool. I didn’t look around that much on the site but I love the idea. Can you go ahead and start your 1 year old in the kindergarten? I have been looking for online kindergarten curriculums and starting to make ppt on those topics thinking I could sort of replicate kindergarten by doing this.
I highly doubt it. I think the kindergarten curriculum would be way too advanced, even for our kids. And I doubt that they would let you enroll a 1 year old. They do say that gifted children can be placed in higher classes, but a 1 year old in kindergarten is a little extreme. I imagine they would allow a 4 year old, provided he take and pass their placement exams., so it would have to be a 4 year old who knows everything needed for entrance in to kindergarten.
I’ve looked at it in the past and I was impressed by their rhetoric and some promotional materials. But I’m skeptical of any pre-packaged curriculum. Looking at some of the sample online lessons, though, and frankly I wasn’t very impressed just because it seemed short on details and good writing. Insofar as students are supposed to learn to a great extent from online books similar to the sample ones they have on display, all I can say is…I could do better. And I mean that not as a boast but as a criticism of those materials. There are many better books to be found in a good library. But…I didn’t see the full program, I didn’t see the paper books that they send to students, I don’t know what it is like when put into practice. Apparently it’s very popular and there are many recommendations, from people who use it (not like me!), so take my sniffy skepticism with a grain of salt. It probably just reflects my propensity for Real Books over textbooks, anyway.
Well, that’s why you can supplement the curriculum with your own materials. The school day is 5 hours long, so you would have plenty of time to teach whatever else you wish. Honestly, it looks much better than public schools in my state, so if I’m lucky enough to be able to stay home during the day when my son is older, I will definitely check it out. And the samples are just that, samples. They are only a few minutes of an hour or so long lesson.
This is considered a virtual public school. Since it is not legally homeschooling (if you choose the free program) you will not have the same freedom as a homeschool family. Meaning…you do what they say.
Actually, it is not a virtual public school. There are areas that use it that way, but if there is not one in your area, you have to pay to use the program. There are virtual private schools that use the program, and you have to pay. The program is accredited, and it is self-paced. Have you actually read the info on the site?
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This is considered a virtual public school. Since it is not legally homeschooling (if you choose the free program) you will not have the same freedom as a homeschool family. Meaning…you do what they say.
Sorry I wasn’t clear. If you use it for free, it is a virtual public school in Texas.
I think that sounds like a great FREE resource for parents that want the ability to be more in charge of thier child’s learning at home. But really benificial to someone like me who would be too chicken to really be in charge of what they are learning. My biggest fear about homeschooling is that I would screw it up somehow lol
This seams like it would take the guess work out of the basics. If you wanted to supplement more you would have the freedom to do so, but you could be confident that the core basics are being covered.
I was so excited when I heard about this, as well. However, since then I have heard from various homeschoolers, as well as from the Homeschool Defense League, that there is some concern about schooling… while you certainly have much more control with regards to your child’s learning environment and quality of instruction, you are under the public school systems/government’s oversight and are expected to follow their curriculum. However, many homeschoolers desire to homeschool to avoid this exact thing. From the LITTLE I have read on the subject there is some fear that those who are against traditional homeschooling will use this virtual public schooling movement as a way to say that traditional homeschooling is no longer needed and that virtual public or private accredited schools will be the only way homeschool legally. In the end, it goes back to what your reasons are for homeschooling and obviously waying costs vs. benefits. Thankfully I have a couple more years to research this before making a decision for my daughter. Good luck in your schooling!
Since I am a public school teacher - I do have a few thoughts on this I’d like to share. Yes, I do have State Standards I must follow in my classroom and in addition I have the school district’s curriculum to follow. However, I do not feel limited to those standards.
Let me explain: for second grade math I am required to work on base-10 up to millions, addition, subtraction, time, money and measurement. How I choose to cover those are my choice. The District pays for a textbook - but if I wanted to do all hands-on manipulatives, it’s up to me. If I am able to whiz through those standards and I wanted to add something in - say multiplication, percents, etc. - I could. Now, dealing with a class of 20 with varying levels and also motivation it sometimes is a struggle to cover it all and cover it well.
If I were to homeschool, I would be glad for the state guidelines but I would also know that if my child were able to handle all those standards, I could either move on to the next grade’s standards, or I could chose to cover a particular standard in more depth, or I could choose something all together different to work on.
I like the K-12 virtual homeschool from what I’ve seen of it and that’s the one my state recommends. I also think I read that it’s based on the “What Your Child Should Know” series. I think I’d like to know that I was covering the Grade Level Expectation (GLEs) and I would be thrilled if my child could work through it fast enough that I could add in extras or move through it faster.
It seems that homeschoolers have an automatic knee-jerk reaction against anything the state puts out. Honestly, yes the standards are low and you could absolutely surpass them. But I think that they are at least a good sketch of what you should be sure to cover somewhere during your child’s education. I think it is very difficult to create your own curriculum from scratch without at least some sort of framework to compare to. Yes, the State will probably require your child to take the standared-based assessment (SBA) - but know that your child will probably pass it in the 90th percentile. And if they don’t then oops - maybe you need to go back and review that particular point with your child. I would highly doubt that a homeschooled child would bomb an SBA - and if they do then it would be worth checking whether you covered the material or if there is some other concern to check out.
I don’t see anything wrong with the K12 program. I think it is great that parents have more than one option to school their children at home.
However, some parents are new to homeschooling and may misconstrue that the"free public school" option is the same as “homeschooling”. Yes, the “free public school” option is school at home, but it is not legally “homeschooling.” This is why HSLDA does not accept virtual “public school” parents as members. They do not need legal help to teach their children at home with a virtual “public school” program.
This is for informational purposes only, and is in no way a crack against K12. However, if new homeschoolers are thinking about the “free public school” option, they should be well informed that it does not fall under homeschooling. This way they are not surprised when they are required to follow the state’s rules and requirements.
Tempting, seeing that it’s all developed for you. However, can you advance your child if they excel in an area? I think I’d prefer to be a bit more eclectic.
Thanks for all of the great info and discussion. This discussion has helped me to clear up some issues that I was having with some of the parents that we are helping. Thanks to you all. I just wished the free K-12 was available in my area.
