Night Elf Posted May 12, 2009 Share Posted May 12, 2009 My children will remain enrolled in K12 as independent users, as opposed to a charter school. That means we can tweak and modify to suit our educational goals. My DH likes the classical education model but is not ready to let go of K12 because of my past inconsistencies with homeschooling. I don't blame him at all. The children are happy and thriving in K12. However, we do skip work that seems to be just busy work. I've been reading the new WTM book and trying to figure out how I can use K12 as my base but make it more of a classical education. My DH doesn't mind me adding to K12 but we don't want to overwhelm the children with redundant material. I think I'd like to drop the composition work because the children write essays in other subjects. Those assignments always seem much more productive and useful than the standard composition essays, i.e. pick two items to compare/contrast, write a definition essay, write a persuasive essay, etc. All of those assignments leave the topic completely up to the children. They struggle with how to choose a topic. And K12's brainstorming idea just doesn't seem to inspire them at all. Both children are using the Hakim series for history. Is it possible to use those books for outlining? They have questions, vocabulary, and worksheets for history. Some of them are good information, and some are just busy work. I'm wondering if I can add in narration somehow. I am thinking of adding dictation now that I understand it more. I would use their literature and history assignments to pull dictation passages. I know Latin is a suggested course of study, but we've failed at it twice before. When I talk about it, the children groan. They are using the Vocabulary from Classical Roots in their vocabulary course but I still feel like we should be doing more. I still have the book titled Getting Started with Latin by William E. Linney. We did only the first 13 lessons last year and am thinking to just restart it and see if we can actually get to the end of the book this year. :) Any thoughts? Anyone else try to turn a packaged curriculum into a classical education? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newbie Posted May 12, 2009 Share Posted May 12, 2009 I dont know if I will be of any help. But, we have done K12 independent for six yrs. Now on to high school. But we chose, Veritas Press. Its going to be a big wake up call, going from K12 to classical. We have not done any Latin or Logic. So very apprehensive. But, to keep on track, perhaps you could try a couple VP classes , it does have teachers and deadlines, but there would be accountability.Maybe just a Logic or a Latin, to throw in and see how they adjust. We are on a trial basis this semester. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corbie Posted May 12, 2009 Share Posted May 12, 2009 Beth, We are using K12 Math and LA with our oldest (4th) and share K12 science with my 2nd grader. We do get it free through our district, but we are fortunate in that they do not oversee what we do. We have all the freedom we want. I dumped the voacaulary and am considering cutting their writing program way back. I plan on using WWE and IEW. I think I can incorporate dictation and narration pretty easily. We have failed at Latin too. We did a little over half of Prima Latina. I just couldn't fit it all in. We use Story of the World. We're on Vol 2, about halfway through. I'm considering trying K12 History next year. Have you tried it? We eliminate alot of the busy work in K12, but I think they expect that. Overall, I think it's a great program that has a bad rep. due to its affiliation with public schools. You may not find much support here. I'd love to hear your ideas on working with K12. My oldest dd LOVES it. I'm thinking of trying my younger dd out on the math next year. I can't decide. She's doing Horizons right now. Anyway, nice to meet someone else using this program.:001_smile: Kristina Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovedtodeath Posted May 12, 2009 Share Posted May 12, 2009 (edited) :lurk5: Tell me as much as you can about K-12. I have been very interested. Edited May 12, 2009 by Lovedtodeath Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Night Elf Posted May 12, 2009 Author Share Posted May 12, 2009 I'm considering trying K12 History next year. Have you tried it? My kids love the history. K12's 5th and 6th grade is a 2-year American History program that uses the entire Hakim History of US series. The 7th and 8th grade is a 2-year World History program. I hear great things about K12's World History program. I've seen some people run away from K12 History when they see the size of the student workbook. But it's not nearly as bad as it looks. We actually like the majority of the content, and skip any assignments we feel aren't beneficial to the kids' understanding of the material. My children liked A Child's History of the World from Calvert more than Story of the World. They really didn't like the activity pages either. Hakim's History series has just been a huge hit and the computer component and student worksheets makes it more interesting than just reading the material. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Night Elf Posted May 12, 2009 Author Share Posted May 12, 2009 I dont know if I will be of any help. But, we have done K12 independent for six yrs. Now on to high school. But we chose, Veritas Press. I've heard some good things about VP but we can't use a religious program. We plan on the kids moving into National Keystone High School when they finish K12. It's an obviously traditional high school but incorporates a ton of thoughtful writing, so we need to make sure they are prepared to think through what they read so they can properly respond. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corbie Posted May 13, 2009 Share Posted May 13, 2009 I just typed a long post, and somehow it disappeared! So, I'll be short. I was planning on doing K12 Hist 4 for my 5th and 3rd grader next year. You're description of Hist 5&6 makes me want to start there. Do you think I could adapt Hist 5 for my 3rd grader, or should I just stick with Hist 4 and wait til next year? Lovedtodeath - Have you checked out K12 website? There's lots of samples. Although, I have to say, they don't do the curriculum justice. I LOVE it, as long as I can do it at my own pace and skip what I feel is unnecessary or inappropriate. I've tried a lot of things. I really like it. It's a solid base. You can supplement to cater it to your own style of teaching/learning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovetobehome Posted May 13, 2009 Share Posted May 13, 2009 Corbie, are you in PA? I am in PA and this would be free for us, but I was under the impression we have to use all of it...I havent looked into it much. Off to do that... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samiam Posted May 13, 2009 Share Posted May 13, 2009 We used K12 History for 1st-4th with DS, doing our own thing for U.S. History and may come back to K12 for World History again. We will start K12 History this fall for DS6, in 1st. Love it!! It's a four year cycle, just like WTM recommends. It incorporates dictation, narration, and/or notebooking for almost every lesson. We also incorporate historical reading pulling from Sonlights book list or Veritas Press book list. Love it, love it!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Night Elf Posted May 13, 2009 Author Share Posted May 13, 2009 I was planning on doing K12 Hist 4 for my 5th and 3rd grader next year. You're description of Hist 5&6 makes me want to start there. Do you think I could adapt Hist 5 for my 3rd grader, or should I just stick with Hist 4 and wait til next year? Personally, I don't think a 3rd grader would get much out of K12's American History. If you can, check your library or bookstore and browse through the first few books of Joy Hakim's History of US series. I think the 5th grade program uses the first 6 books, and the 6th grade program uses the last 4 books. My dd11 has been working on the 5th grade program and it's not exactly been easy for her. My son has enjoyed history, especially American History, so he had no problems with the Hakim series. I can tell it's going to be tougher for my daughter who isn't as interested in American History. I suppose if you just have 3rd grader listen in, it won't be too bad. Although obviously there are some not-so-pleasant parts of American History. The worksheets would likely be too much though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teacalm Posted May 13, 2009 Share Posted May 13, 2009 My children will remain enrolled in K12 as independent users, as opposed to a charter school. That means we can tweak and modify to suit our educational goals. I started using K12 History, Science, and Literature with ds two years ago. We are, however, enrolled with a charter school, but I only picked the above subjects to start. The best decision I've ever made. Not only does the content satisfies my rigor test, it also presents its materials in an interesting and captivating manner. Okay, I may going overboard with captivating but it certainly captivates ds and mine attention. We started with K12 Intermediate World History A, Earth Science, and Intermediate English B. I think I'd like to drop the composition work because the children write essays in other subjects. I had to drop majority of the composition work because otherwise ds will spend a good amount of his day responding to the questions in essay. I pick a topic that ds is enthusiastic about and I model the paragraph which starts with topic sentence, supporting detail, and conclusion. K12's brainstorming idea just doesn't seem to inspire them at all. Same thing here. I made my own writing rubrics and every time had to write something, I make him go through the checklist, so he won't miss any steps. Both children are using the Hakim series for history. Is it possible to use those books for outlining? Very possible. When ds was in fifth grade, we went through Hakim's Vol. 1-5 on our own, not with K12, and I used the teacher guides from Oxford. That was a very productive year since at the end of the chapter, there are usually two paragraph prompts that one can answer. I taught ds the rudimentary paragraph writing response to a question/prompt. I also taught him how to loosely take notes from each paragraph. I got this tip from LaJuana, I believe, from the high school board where she shared how to read/skim through a textbook and take notes of the most important details or at least what one remembered from the reading of the paragraph. Any thoughts? Anyone else try to turn a packaged curriculum into a classical education? From what I understand of the brief pass I made through Andrew's LCC, the main not to miss components for an education to be considered classical is the study/studies of Latin and Greek. Ds is going through Henle Latin and Lingua Latina. K12 is one of my best finds. Even if I were to leave ds to do it on his own, he still comes out of it rattling facts that makes husband scratched his head with disbelief. The K12 history textbook, the Human Odyssey series, is fantastic narration of world history that is interesting, interspersed with beautiful illustrations and pictures, and secondary sources are presented all throughout the text. The middle course science is top notch, and does not fall short in content and presentation. With K12, I don't do it all, and even with that, ds still gets a lot of it. My experience with K12 is mostly in the middle grade subjects, but I did attempt to get my girls on K12 Lang. Arts 4, but dropped out quickly after I discovered that this level can pretty much be done without the computer. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this curriculum to anyone. Again, it may not be everyone's cup of tea, but it sure fits with my taste and style and with my ds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SS in MD Posted May 13, 2009 Share Posted May 13, 2009 We've tried K12 about 5 years ago and my older kids loved it for the most part. I am considering using it again for my younger dd (3rd grade) for history, art and possibly science. But, we live in MD so I would have to purchase it independently. The prices seem rather expensive! Just wondering if they ever offer any good discounts (more than 10% off)?? I don't know if we can afford it at these prices... (also there is no re-use for her younger brother!)... Just wondering if I should stick to SOTW and save $$... Any thoughts? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Night Elf Posted May 13, 2009 Author Share Posted May 13, 2009 We've tried K12 about 5 years ago and my older kids loved it for the most part. I am considering using it again for my younger dd (3rd grade) for history, art and possibly science. But, we live in MD so I would have to purchase it independently. The prices seem rather expensive! Just wondering if they ever offer any good discounts (more than 10% off)?? I don't know if we can afford it at these prices... (also there is no re-use for her younger brother!)... Just wondering if I should stick to SOTW and save $$... Any thoughts? Thanks! They are currently running their largest discount they offer at any time. It's 20% off contracts and materials. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mamasteff Posted May 13, 2009 Share Posted May 13, 2009 My kids love the history. K12's 5th and 6th grade is a 2-year American History program that uses the entire Hakim History of US series. The 7th and 8th grade is a 2-year World History program. I hear great things about K12's World History program. I guess it depends on state requirements, etc. In California, 5th and 8th are American History (before and after 1865); 6th and 7th are world history. My children liked A Child's History of the World from Calvert more than Story of the World. They really didn't like the activity pages either. Hakim's History series has just been a huge hit... Opposite experience for me (personally) - in our home, CHOW seems much more juvenile/ lacking in detail but good in stories to make history come alive - good for grades 1, 2, 3 - SOTW has been great for us for 3, 4, 5. Agree with the take on Hakim - best part of K12 imo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Night Elf Posted May 13, 2009 Author Share Posted May 13, 2009 I started using K12 History, Science, and Literature with ds two years ago. We are, however, enrolled with a charter school, but I only picked the above subjects to start. You're lucky. We only have one charter school here in Georgia and they've told me we have to follow their plan exactly. They assure me the K12 History is the same but they send a GA social studies textbook to add in. I don't see how they can be combined, so my guess is that the K12 program is more changed then they are letting me believe. Then again, I talked with 2 K12/GVA reps and they gave me slightly different information. We can't pick and choose subjects or even grade levels, a new rule this year. The kids have to be enrolled in their grade level in all subjects. We were giving the charter school serious thought but that closed the deal for us. We'll stick with paying for it ourselves. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SS in MD Posted May 13, 2009 Share Posted May 13, 2009 Thanks Beth, I was wondering how do you like their science scope & sequence? I was planning on doing Earth Science with dd, but K12 (elementary grades) so a wide variety of topics (little of this & that).... Do you like the K12 science? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Night Elf Posted May 13, 2009 Author Share Posted May 13, 2009 Thanks Beth, I was wondering how do you like their science scope & sequence? I was planning on doing Earth Science with dd, but K12 (elementary grades) so a wide variety of topics (little of this & that).... Do you like the K12 science? Thanks! Well, I don't feel I'm a good gauge of their Science course because I don't have a strong science background myself. My son attempted the Earth Science but totally disliked it because he felt it was a repeat of what he had learned just from reading on his own. He skipped Life Science because he really doesn't like the topic, and since we know he's going to get it in high school soon, we didn't push the program onto him. Truthfully, he knows alot about Life Science as well. It's just not his cup of tea. :) So he's enrolled in the 8th grade Physical Science course and doing extremely well. My DH has to help him because the material is WAY over my head. :lol: My dd11 and I are enjoying the 5th grade Science course. It's not a special favorite subject, but it's enjoyable enough that she doesn't mind going through it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teacalm Posted May 13, 2009 Share Posted May 13, 2009 You're lucky. We only have one charter school here in Georgia and they've told me we have to follow their plan exactly. They assure me the K12 History is the same but they send a GA social studies textbook to add in. I don't see how they can be combined, so my guess is that the K12 program is more changed then they are letting me believe. Then again, I talked with 2 K12/GVA reps and they gave me slightly different information. We can't pick and choose subjects or even grade levels, a new rule this year. The kids have to be enrolled in their grade level in all subjects. We were giving the charter school serious thought but that closed the deal for us. We'll stick with paying for it ourselves. I wouldn't have done it if we were to have to take all the grade level courses. For one thing, I don't believe in overextending myself. In fact, it is with much trepidation that I actually requested those 3 classes from our charter. I had moments of like what was I thinking but that passed when I saw how ds was actually getting a lot out of it. For now, the charter school that we're enrolled still leaves us alone, but there is an undergoing change that I'm sensing that if the school become more intrusive than this, I would go solo with our schooling. If that were to happen, I will not hesitate to get K12 on our own. i think the history and science courses, at least in the middle grades, really shine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corbie Posted May 14, 2009 Share Posted May 14, 2009 Beth - Good advice on the Hist. I think I'll stick with my original plan. I'll have something to look forward to.:001_smile: I am in WA. If I got K12 through WAVA, I would have to use it all and report our progress. However, I am getting it through a homeschool program through our local district. I'm not sure how common these programs are, but I feel very fortunate. I've heard some not-so-good things about the virtual schools. I am just hoping they don't change their requirements. We're hooked now! I do most of the same things you all were talking about, cutting down on writing assignments, etc... I am adding English from the Roots up and Words from the Vine. I'm not sure if I want to continue with Prima Latina. We'll see. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Night Elf Posted May 14, 2009 Author Share Posted May 14, 2009 I guess it depends on state requirements, etc. In California, 5th and 8th are American History (before and after 1865); 6th and 7th are world history. No, I was talking about K12's consumer direct program. It's not state directed. Opposite experience for me (personally) - in our home, CHOW seems much more juvenile/ lacking in detail but good in stories to make history come alive - good for grades 1, 2, 3 - SOTW has been great for us for 3, 4, 5. Agree with the take on Hakim - best part of K12 imo. Yes, that discussion has been on this board many times. It's definitely a personal opinion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JenniferB Posted May 14, 2009 Share Posted May 14, 2009 Beth - Good advice on the Hist. I think I'll stick with my original plan. I'll have something to look forward to.:001_smile: I am in WA. If I got K12 through WAVA, I would have to use it all and report our progress. However, I am getting it through a homeschool program through our local district. I'm not sure how common these programs are, but I feel very fortunate. I've heard some not-so-good things about the virtual schools. I am just hoping they don't change their requirements. We're hooked now!I do most of the same things you all were talking about, cutting down on writing assignments, etc... I am adding English from the Roots up and Words from the Vine. I'm not sure if I want to continue with Prima Latina. We'll see. Corbie, I'm in WA too, and I'm using WAVA. Do you get the help of a teacher with your local district program? I really love WAVA, and our teacher. I like the progress goals, they are not mandatory, but they are goals to shoot for. We didn't meet our goal in Spelling last month, and our teacher just double checked that we were making progress in other areas, and she was fine with what we were doing. The kids get placed on the "honor roll" if all attendance and progress goals are made, so it's more of a positive reinforcement than a negative one. Beth, I've been thinking too about meeting more of TWTM requirements, and I'm thinking about adding a simple Logic workbook and the on line Latin course offered by K12 next year for my dd (5th grade next year). K12 via our WAVA is going great so far! I couldn't be happier. We have never gotten so much done. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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