Planning ahead - outsourcing classes

[Jennifer in MI]

As my oldest enters 8th grade, I'm spending a lot of time planning out classes for high school. Can I ask which classes you have outsourced? Where were they taken - on line, local high school, community college? I'm just becoming overwhelmed and need to have a plan and want to see how others do this!

 

I think I'm going to have him take an online writing course next semester. In high school, I'd like to have him take writing, a foreign language, math, and science at the local high school or CC. What works for your family?

 

Thanks.

[K-FL]

The only outsourcing we've done is:

dd#1--Spanish I & Business Systems Tech through FL Virtual School

 

Both dd's @ cc--as much as they can & are able to do. :o

[Gwen in VA]

We have outsourced most classes at some point or other.

 

Because my dh and I are math nerds, we do math with the kids until they start calculus. But other than that, we outsource as the need arises --

 

1) AP classes. I know that some folks do them at home. I admire those folks! But I am happy to pay the teachers at PA Homeschoolers (or some other online place) to teach the AP classes.

 

2) Classes that would take too much time for me to teach well, such as upper-level Latin.

 

3) I have a kid who needs someone else to "encourage" him to write more stuff of higher quality. I am happy to pay someone else to have that job! :tongue_smilie:

 

By junior year, my kids do almost all their classes outsourced. During senior year, my job is cheerleader and manager of college appication process. My kids do entirely outsourced classes during their senior year.

[homeschool68]

I'm not sure what we'll do. The local CC does offer dual enrollment as well as early college and middle college. I'd like him to start next year in 9th as a middle college student at CC but we will see. He has to apply and take entrance exams first. It all depends on that. But I'd love to see him go to the local CC. No way he's going to public school and we can't afford private.

[Moni]

What works for your family?

.

 

Pretty much what you mentioned, and/or some variation there of.

 

:seeya:

[Jane in NC]

We did all classes at home in 9th and 10th, although in retrospect I should have outsourced AP Bio in 10th. We found it challenging to do at home since I am so far removed from the "new biology". (I studied biology as systematics--not with all of the bio chem that is presented today.)

 

The two subjects that I really wanted my son to study at the local CC in a dual enrollment program were writing and chemistry, the former because I felt that he was not taking my criticism well and the latter for the sake of labs. An interesting thing happened with writing: he discovered that my criticisms had validity, so now he runs all sorts of questions by me regularly. There is something to be said about outside accountability.

 

Our CC has good lab facilities and offers some interesting opportunities that we could never duplicate at home. Just yesterday his professor was lighting gas balls on fire for a demonstration. (We're not trying this one at home...) Labs have not just been for amusement. Last spring my son took a microbiology course which significantly improved his microscopy skills and provided some interesting biotech experiments.

 

We could have done four years of history at home, but my son wanted to take history courses at the CC and has found a prof that he thinks walks on water. So he is now taking his third course with the gentleman. My son is passionate about history so I think it is wonderful that he has found someone equally passionate with whom he can study the subject.

 

I reached the end of my rope with Latin. My son is now taking an outsourced AP Latin class.

 

Math is my strong suit. We do math at home.

 

I think what you need to consider are your student's strengths and weaknesses, the opportunities available in your community and whether your child is ready to succeed in an online course. Outside courses are excellent opportunities for students to demonstrate their time management skills.

 

Jane

[dirty ethel rackham]

We are outsourcing Latin and AP Physics for ds15, using online classes. For d13, Latin and a writing class will be online and we are hiring a teacher to do a Biology lab class for a bunch of homeschoolers. This one is also doing Statesmanship club - a TJE thing for part of history this year.

 

Next year, ds15 will be taking his science classes at the local college and maybe a history course. He will probably continue Latin online with RCA. I haven't decided what to do with ds13 yet.

[LynnG in Arizona]

Out of all the possible subjects, I would probably most recommend that you outsource writing. Now, maybe you are a writing teacher or someone unusually gifted in teaching that subject.

 

But if not, you are like the rest of us who have found that writing is somehow a bit too personal to be taught easily between parent and child, especially in the high school years.

 

We have used Home2Teach, Write at HOme, and Potter's School for outsourcing writing. All have been good choices; probably our overall favorite has been Potter's School.

 

HTH! :)

[Nissi]

We have outsourced Latin I, Latin II, Greek I, Greek II. This year we are doing AP Human Geography and AP US Government online. We are doing English with a local teacher.

[Kim in Appalachia]

my dd took an online Latin class. She did not do well with that format. Last year she did BJ French with the DVD. She liked it a lot. It was her favorite class. This year she is doing all BJ's DVDs. It's working well. I still go over things, and help her with her work. Once she is in 11th grade she can take up to 2 classes a semester at the local college. We are planning for her to do that. All of her friends did, and they had a great experience. She is looking forward to being in a "real" class, with a "real, live" teacher.

[LynnG in Arizona]

my dd took an online Latin class. She did not do well with that format. Last year she did BJ French with the DVD. She liked it a lot. It was her favorite class. This year she is doing all BJ's DVDs. It's working well. I still go over things, and help her with her work. Once she is in 11th grade she can take up to 2 classes a semester at the local college. We are planning for her to do that. All of her friends did, and they had a great experience. She is looking forward to being in a "real" class, with a "real, live" teacher.

 

You bring up a good point; DVDs are another good way to outsource, depending on the class and the student.

 

We did BJU Spanish for two years doing their DVD program. It is a good, solid program, though it admittedly does have too much wasted time in each 45 minute class.

 

A program such as Teaching Textbooks with the DVDs is a hybrid form of outsourcing. Most of the teaching and correcting is done with the help of the DVDs. Usually the parent then just has to make sure the homework is getting done and grade the tests. One of my daughters got to the point where she could not bear to learn math from me, and TT was a godsend for us.

 

Just to present lots of possibilities . . . :)

[TravelingChris]

For child one, we outsourced art classes (drawing, watercolors, etc.), Russia, Choirs, and writing.

 

For child two, we have outsourced one PE class, the rest of PE to various sports, choir, vocal class, English - complete year one time and this year writing, psychology and field geology so far at CC, and one year of Spanish.

 

We haven't outsourced math or science or regular history so far. I am teaching a class of social science this year and my daughter will attend that.

[Alphabetika]

We outsourced Latin last year and will do so this year and next with Lukeion.org. This year dd is also taking Bible classes with Potters School (online) and algebra with a friend who teaches math. Next year, dd will take a government class with a local teacher who is very active in homeschool politics.

 

For my younger dd, we will eventually outsource Greek with Lukeion, and I'm not sure what else at this point.

[tjo]

We have always outsourced spanish and music, beginning in elementary. We found a tutor in the community for each of these. Last year (5th for ds, 8th for dd) we began outsourcing for science. Science is taken at a school that offers a full spectrum of courses Tuesday through Friday. We attend on Friday only and this year will be able to take all of our 'outside' classes there in one day!