Anybody done an online parent qualifying course?

[bluejay]

Hi.  I'm looking for a homeschooling qualifying course for parents that meets WA state requirements.  I'm trying to find independent feedback or info on familaycademy.org. But there doesn't seem to be any.  It is the only online course I've found and it claims to meet legal standards.  Nobody answers the phone though.  Does anyone have any experience with this? 

[nixpix5]

Christian heritage online is what someone in my co-op used. We are in Washington State. She said it was good. I am not familiar with family academy. Are you looking for something secular?

 

http://washhomeschool.org/qualifying-courses/

 

Did you see this list?

Edited May 26, 2017 by nixpix5

[bluejay]

Thank you.  I may have seen it.  We are looking for an online class, ideally secular.  But it is more important to do it online for convenience.  This one sounds good but it is a live class, for 10 hours a day, for 2 days!

 

Edit:  Well, now I lost the link I forgot to post.  DH and I have talked about it.  We'd much prefer an online class but it seems most are live classes.

 

 

Edited May 26, 2017 by bluejay

[nixpix5]

I will do some asking around to see if there is anything out there online. I understand not wanting to sit in class for that many hours. That would be hard for me to do.

 

Not sure where in WA you are but if you are around the Seattle area, Edmonds has a homeschool support school that gives money each year for curriculum and they offer classes for kids (piano, theater, karate, PE etc). They support whatever way you want to homeschool. It is pretty great and no need for hoop jumping as you fall under a public education umbrella. My kids use them one day a week for fun classes and friends and the rest of the time we homeschool. Once per month I submit an progress update. Anyway, if you are not in this area then there may be something similar local to you.

[bluejay]

Thank you so much.  Oops, sorry my bad.  It's actually 5 hours a day for 2 days.  Still, that is far too long for me given how far we have to drive back and forth home!

 

Are you officially enrolled if you use Edmonds' services?  That sounds great but what exactly does the progress report entail? 

[nixpix5]

Thank you so much. Oops, sorry my bad. It's actually 5 hours a day for 2 days. Still, that is far too long for me given how far we have to drive back and forth home!

 

Are you officially enrolled if you use Edmonds' services? That sounds great but what exactly does the progress report entail?

So basically, at the beginning of a semester you submit your learning plan. This is the curriculum you plan to use and the subjects you plan to teach. You can use anything and teach anyway you want, you just tell them what you are doing. Then at the end of each month you say "in phonics he did lesson x-y, we worked on x, and he is doing well" or conversely, "he is struggling with..." just basic language like that. You put a line in about how you know your student is doing well such as "he was able to narrate back the story showing comprehension" or whatever way you

"know" how the student is doing. The other piece is you show 2-3 work samples. Could he a craft, pics from an experiment, or a spelling page.

 

Some people use it alot and sign up for multiple days per week. We use it as a one day supplement. I like that my kids have access to same aged peers, I can chat with other moms/dads and they get to take great electives. The other perk is they have a great library FULL of curriculum that can be checked out. They have all of the IEW training dvds for example, SOTW books, and any other curriculum you might imagine. I often try to get a look at it there before buying myself.

 

We are considered enrolled but the school is incredibly transparent about the parent being the educator and they support that. It is really empowering and they do all of the work for you. If my kids were to graduate from homeschool their diploma would come from the school. At the high school level they have amazing class options. Latin, most foreign languages, calculus, a really great algebra class that teaches through building a guitar, things like that.

 

So again, if you lived close it is worth looking at ;)

Edited May 27, 2017 by nixpix5

[bluejay]

nixpix5, thanks for taking the time to share that information.  Very helpful.  We like the idea of kids getting a chance to socialize with others their age.  But what if the family decided to change things?  Like maybe take a year off, go back to a lower level or switch programs?  We'll definitely consider this.