cyndyinohio Posted July 25, 2017 Share Posted July 25, 2017 How do you all make sure your kids are actually doing what they're assigned? Without too elaborate a system set up, too much time take up, or damage to your relationship? I've often thought it would be great if my kids were accountable to someone other than me...that then they'd be more likely to get their work done, and it would help them take more ownership. I wasn't sure what this would best look like...maybe meeting with someone in person once a week to go over progress/work done? It would not be tutoring...more like the advising you pay for with College Plus (now Lumerit/Unbound). They do phone calls, but I would think in person might be best over email or phone. Do you all know of any providers of this service? Or thoughts on how it might best work and what a good cost for it would be?? Even I as a mom could use an advisor/coach to keep me on track doing the things I feel are important with my younger ones.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hilltopmom Posted July 25, 2017 Share Posted July 25, 2017 Well, we outsourced classes in high school to help with accountability. He had a mix of outsourced & home made classes. For grades 9-10 I gave him daily checklists. Grade 11 weekly - or chapter lists for home courses, but by 11 his were about half online, a few at the CC, & one at home. His online teachers gave timelines & I checked in orally with him once a day. Grade 12 he's doing all DE at the CC except one class. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mirabillis Posted July 25, 2017 Share Posted July 25, 2017 By end of 9th grade, we outsourced everything. Our last hold-out English wasn't/didn't get done with me, so we have outsourced it all. Outside accountability/deadlines work wonders. Not everyone can do that, but it works for us. I then would know the dates of deadlines to make sure we were on track, but my ds was good about 'their' deadlines on his own, for the most part. Heading into 10th- we have everything outsourced. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RootAnn Posted July 25, 2017 Share Posted July 25, 2017 I have to physically check their work periodically. That can be daily, a couple times a week, once per week, or every couple of weeks, depending on the subject & the kid. When I've let it slip to every couple of weeks, I generally don't like what I found. Classes at home where I met personally once per week to do discussions and/or teaching worked best. They don't have too much time to get behind plus there was a built-in time to get everything checked (for both of us). I have a friend who uses an umbrella school to keep her on track & provide outside accountability for her kid. They do it all via phone. I don't know of anything that is in person like this. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liza Q Posted July 25, 2017 Share Posted July 25, 2017 Basically, exactly what RootAnn said! I do think that if my younger two had been my first two, it would have been very different - much more difficult. Personality has a lot to do with it. But by the time they were in High School, I was fairly experienced. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liza Q Posted July 25, 2017 Share Posted July 25, 2017 I wonder if maybe a retired homeschool mom in your area would do it for you? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cyndyinohio Posted July 25, 2017 Author Share Posted July 25, 2017 As a single, working (part-time, thankfully) Mama I cannot afford to outsource much, but would love to, honestly. Wondered if I could even find a local Mama to swap this service with. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cyndyinohio Posted July 25, 2017 Author Share Posted July 25, 2017 By end of 9th grade, we outsourced everything. Our last hold-out English wasn't/didn't get done with me, so we have outsourced it all. Outside accountability/deadlines work wonders. Not everyone can do that, but it works for us. I then would know the dates of deadlines to make sure we were on track, but my ds was good about 'their' deadlines on his own, for the most part. Heading into 10th- we have everything outsourced. Is outsourcing everything pretty costly? I'd love to outsource more but financially am not sure I can. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lang Syne Boardie Posted July 25, 2017 Share Posted July 25, 2017 (edited) I check every subject, every day. I'm the one who assigned it, so I'm the only one who can evaluate it...I think? How does an outside person help? What authority are they given, if the student still refuses to do the work? Isn't it still on the homeschooling parent to be the place where the buck stops? These are not meant to be snarky or critical comments. If I could understand exactly what people are looking for, I might actually be interested in providing such a service. Edited July 25, 2017 by Tibbie Dunbar 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmmetler Posted July 25, 2017 Share Posted July 25, 2017 Hmmm...wonder if anyone could benefit from this in my area? DD's doing 9 credits at the community college, so I have some blocks of time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liza Q Posted July 25, 2017 Share Posted July 25, 2017 The thing with outsourcing - they can't make your child do the work either. A child can get behind in an online course and you may not know until your child has already failed a test or turned something in late. Then you would still have to go back and check and probably start checking regularly anyway. I find that outsourcing saves me from having to teach/explain/review lessons, check/grade homework/tests and edit/grade papers. That's great as it saves me a huge amount of time and also gives my child a better education, though that's a different topic. But I still need to stay on top of my kids to some degree or the actual work might not get done. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cuckoomamma Posted July 25, 2017 Share Posted July 25, 2017 I've done this for other homeschoolers and the success of the outcome depended upon the parents. I met weekly in person with the student and used google drive and email to monitor them daily. However, if the parents allowed a non-school issue to consistently take precedence over schoolwork, it was hard for me to be as successful as I would have liked. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freesia Posted July 25, 2017 Share Posted July 25, 2017 I've done this for other homeschoolers and the success of the outcome depended upon the parents. I met weekly in person with the student and used google drive and email to monitor them daily. However, if the parents allowed a non-school issue to consistently take precedence over schoolwork, it was hard for me to be as successful as I would have liked. I have a friend who did this for another friend. But one does run up against the problem above. Would you be willing to set clear consequences and enforce them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MerryAtHope Posted July 25, 2017 Share Posted July 25, 2017 I worked part-time through the high school years as well, and I know it can be busy. I honestly just made it a priority to check work daily most of the time. There were occasions when I wasn't able to get to it for a day or two (extra busy work week, illness, family emergencies etc...), but for the most part the old adage "don't expect what you don't inspect" is still pretty accurate for high school. I met with my kids one on one daily, usually for about 20-45 minutes, to go over any work we needed to go over, to discuss history, literature, reading, or another subject (usually on a rotating basis, not all in one day), and to catch up and make sure things were going well for them. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mirabillis Posted July 26, 2017 Share Posted July 26, 2017 Is outsourcing everything pretty costly? I'd love to outsource more but financially am not sure I can. Some are pricey, yes. But some are fairly cheap/free: Edhesive - ComputerScience AP/Intro/Statistics (free - $150 '9w/homeschool teacher pkg) Thinkwell - Maths/Sciences/Government etc (under $100 usually buy it thru homescoolbuyerscoop sale) there's lots others but that's all we've tried cheaply. Many cc courses are free for dual enrollment high schoolers... If your kid just won't do the work, any work regardless who assigned by, that's another thing entirely. For us, outsourcing, assigning grades and being accountable was enough to whip my ds into shape. CC would be an even bigger accountability measure, having to see professors in person... imo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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