Any opinions on K12?

[Lux Et Veritas Academy]

A friend is using this and is happy, but I was wondering what the population thinks?

[Lori C- Texas]

We used it through a virtual charter school. I loved K12 but hated the charter school. We ended up doing the full k12 curriculum and prep for the Texas state testing. We also had to go at to fast a pace for my dd. It was horrible. There just wasn't enough time in the day to get it all done. We dropped out after 2 months. But the K12 curriculum was really good. I loved the online school. I loved just logging on to the computer and having our day all planned up for us.

[Sue G in PA]

K12 is great...charter not so great! I have a feeling that doing K12 independently would be awesome, but the constraints of a charter, for us, was overwhelming. Much too fast-paced, too much work, requirements, etc. K12's curriculum is very thorough and rigorous. If we could afford it...I'd use it. OLS was a BIG plus...loved having everything planned for me to just check off when completed.

[Rosie_0801]

Is there any comments specifically for the science curriculum?

Rosie

[Maisy]

We are currently using History 3, Science 3 and Art 3. (I also used the full first grade program, although we dropped music that year as well as this year--it's just not my thing! :)

 

I love how the art and history are coordinated. The science, IMO, is a little advanced for the grade, but we manage. I like choosing my own LA and Math, so I don't purchase these from K12.

 

I purchase K12 classes on my own, as I do not want to spend time jumping through testing/state standards/PS accountability hoops when I live in a where I don't have to report to anyone. It's worth the expense for me. Plus, I can teach two kiddos for the price of one, since they are using the same courses.

 

Next year I am planning to use Sonlight because I want to do American History, not modern, but I will still use a little K12. I may choose to skip K12 Art 4 and select their 5th grade American Art instead. I will most likely use their Science 4. I may also use their Science 1 for my rising first-grader.

 

Not sure if that helps, but we love K12. But I can see where it would be difficult (for us anyway) to get it all done for each child everyday. The full first grade load taught me that (and I wasn't even teaching anyone else at that time!)

 

Lisa

[LisaKinVA]

I'm using it this year -- actually, I don't know how I'd make it through this year without it.

 

The elementary history was written by SWB, so it follows the chronological pattern. Art tracks with history, so it reinforces a lot of what the child is already learning.

 

My son loves the science. It gives a lot of information, and is interesting, with the activities/experiments simple enough for most of us at home.

 

Math is solid, I like the daily review on the computer, and the way the lessons work out. It's easy enough to accelerate, or slow down -- depending upon how my son is grasping the materials.

 

Literature is a god-send. Very thorough -- it's the best I've used to date.

 

Grammar/Spelling -- they are fine. Not something I get carried away with.

 

Music is fun, and light. It's easy for the whole family to get involved.

 

My son has been in K12 for almost a year. My dd#2 and ds#2 will begin a modified K12 program in the fall (history, science, art & music -- we won't begin the K12 language arts until grade 3, and haven't decided on math yet -- they like the Abeka workbooks right now).

[GothicGyrl]

Before I launch into the why's--please verify if you mean the K12 run by the same person who runs Jubilee Academy (amongst others)?

 

If you DO mean the same K12--I will just quote this:

The founder, Mimi Rothschild, is famous in the education/homeschool blog world for threatening lawsuits against anyone who says negative things about her online academies. There was a wikipedia page created about her so that those who felt the academies didn't meet their expectations--or worse--could have a place to share their information. Ms. Rothschild (or someone working for her) went in and edited the page so that it was basically an advertisement for her academies. LOL Then it was deleted because that's not allowed on wikipedia.

 

http://www2.homeschoolchristian.com/cgi-bin/config3.cgi?noframes;read=73543 (An example of how inquiries about these academies usually go on the boards I frequent...)

 

Mimi Rothschild has used pseudonyms when posting all over the internet about her companies. She, her husband, or an employee will post glowing reports about the online schools...under many names, but all are from the same IP address so they are all the SAME person.

 

Here is an article from a few years back about one of her online academies in PA called Einstein Academy: http://www.wired.com/news/school/0,1383,54737,00.html Also: http://www.wired.com/news/school/1,51489-0.html (Apparently they were accused of copyright infringement for using online texts from another company but saying it was *their* curriculum.)

 

In the past, she has set up online schools without having more than a P.O. Box and some unpaid teachers. Yet she will accept funding from the public school districts. I believe she has been sued for not paying employees, for illegally setting up some of these online academies, and for not delivering materials/services to families.

 

I know that some people are probably unaware of how this person/company operates and may be completely satisfied with what they are getting in return for their money. She runs a very large and complex organization. However, knowing what I do, I could not support much less recommend using one of these academies. It's interesting enough that she has several different academies at all, IMO. (Grace, Jubilee, Morningstar, Southern Baptist and others)

 

Please be sure to read the link.

 

IF IT IS NOT THE SAME K12 (and I honestly do get confused because the K12 name seems to get tossed around alot) THEN PLEASE IGNORE THIS.

 

thanks

[Linda in NE]

(Former Sec. of Education and author of the Book of Virtues). He's no longer an active part of the company, but he was instrumental at the inception.

 

I've used parts of all levels of K12 from 2nd to 8th grade. The K12 lit program is the best out there. I agree that I don't think the spelling/grammar/vocab is exceptional, but it's not bad either. The composition is good, but a bit advanced. I agree with the science comments above -- good, interesting, good experiments, lots of information. We've liked the math. It's worked well for us.

 

Don't hesitate to ask if you have specific questions.

[Sue G in PA]

The only complain from my dc was the online lessons...they hated being "tied" to a computer. I like the scope/sequence and the experiments were fun and engaging. As the grades progressed, my only beef was that the curriculum was secular and therefore went against our Christian/Creationist beliefs. BUT, the curriculum was designed to be secular so this wasn't a "flaw"...only our opinion, KWIM?

[GothicGyrl]

If it's the one with Wm. Bennett, as Linda says--then ignore what I said :) I just had to make sure, that's all.

[TracyR]

No . K12 is not run by the same person who runs the Jubilee Academies . The Einstein Academy went defunt quite a few years ago . I'm not sure how she is now collecting from public school districts since all of her academies are private and not public charter schools .

[Lux Et Veritas Academy]

What makes the lit program so fabulous?

[EKS]

I recently posted this to another thread, but it applies to this thread too.

 

I have been using K12 with both my kids since January. My 6 yo is taking Language Arts 2, History K, and Science 1. He was taking Art K but we dropped it. My 11 yo is taking Life Science.

 

For a while I really liked K12, and I still do but with reservations. All the courses are very thorough and rich. The required and optional books have obviously been selected with care as they are always excellent. The activities (for the lower grades) are usually homeschool friendly and to the point.

 

However, K12 seems obsessed with assessment. There is usually at least one assessment per lesson per subject. The assessments are very frequently about topics that were just introduced in that lesson. It is rare that a topic will be developed over the course of several lessons and then have an assessment on it. Anyway, the constant assessment is starting to drive me nuts.

 

Overall, I'm happy with the courses my 6 yo is taking, with the exception of the unrelenting assessment aspect. I am less happy with the middle school life science course my 11 yo is taking, however. It seems extremely dumbed down to me. This could be because it is written to the student, I'm not sure. I have also found some of the information to be inaccurate (my degree is in biochemistry so I may be a little critical here). The labs are good but most of the activities are busy-work (things like making collages with pictures cut out of magazines) and we have all but stopped doing them. The questions they ask in the assessments and worksheets are frequently about irrelevant details, almost as though there wasn't enough real information presented in the lesson but they felt they had to come up with a certain number of questions. Sometimes they want you to be able to infer more from the information given than is reasonable.

 

In the first few weeks of using K12 I had thought that next year I would have my 6 yo continue with LA, history, and science and my 11 yo would take Physical Science and World History A. After experiencing it for a few months though, and having looked through all the courses with the demo account (something I highly recommend!), I have decided to only use K12's Science 2 course. I will be assembling LA materials from several sources and using SOTW for history, having the history reading and narration my son does count for LA. For my 11 yo (7th grade next year), I have decided to go with Spielvogel's Human Odyssey for world history and Conceptual Physical Science Explorations for science. There just didn't seem to be enough relevant meat in K12's middle school science and history courses for us.

 

Now if I had to use a packaged curriculum, at least for the lower grades, I would definately choose K12!

[Linda in NE]

K12's literature is the best I've seen, bar none. We've used grades 2 through 8th (called Literary Analysis and Composition). It's difficult to describe all the levels generally, but most of what I say below applies to all the K12 lit classes we've taken.

 

First, the main "text" containing the literature selections for each grade is an anthology put together and published by K12 for its literature program. The selections in each book published for each grade level are from recognized classic literature/poetry/biography. In addition, each volume contains a unit on the Bible as literature. For example, the 7th grade anthology, which my son just happened to leave on my desk, contains the following units:

I. The Heart's Deep Core

Chura and Marwe (African folktale)

The Tiger's Whisker (Korean folktale)

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening (poem - Robert Frost)

The Story of Scarface (Blackfoot Indian legend)

Sympathy (poem - Paul Laurence Dunbar)

The Happy Prince (Oscar Wilde)

A Psalm of Life (poem - Henry Wadworth Longfellow)

 

II. Stories from the Bible

Belshazzar's Feast

How Queen Esther Saved Her People

The Story of Jonah

 

III. Stories in Verse: Narrative Poems

Casabianca

The Inchcape Rock

The Listeners

Casey at the Bat

The Cremation of Sam McGee

The Highwayman

 

IV. Stories of Scientists

Michael Faraday's World

Nikola Tesla, Inventor

Healing a Wounded Heart: Daniel Hale Williams

Marie Curie

Enrico Fermi

 

V. Irony

Charles

The Gift of the Magi

The Necklace

The Necklace (adapted as a play)

 

VI. Favorites from Famous Books

A Christmas Carol (we elected to read the whole story, not just the abridged version here)

 

VII. Life Stories

Homesick (Jean Fritz)

Breathes There the Man (Sir Walter Scott)

Mami and Papi (Esmerelda Sanitago)

The Night the Bed Fell (James Thurber)

 

VIII. What's Important

President Cleveland, Where are You?

Raymond's Run

I Have Ten Legs

Boy Flying

The Bat-Poet

The White Umbrella

The Courage that My Mother Had

My Father is a Simple Man

 

IX. The Language of Poetry

Nothing Gold Can Stay

A Poison Tree

Beauty

Barter

All the World's a Stage (from As You Like It)

Three Poems by Emily Dickinson

Harlem

Hold Fast Your Dreams

Life

 

X. Advice and Instruction

The Fish I Didn't Catch (John Greenleaf Whittier)

Work

Honest Work

For Want of a Horseshoe Nail (James Baldwin)

Argument

If (Rudyard Kipling)

Can't

Letter to His Son (Robert E. Lee)

Mother to Son (Langston Hughes)

Perseverance

They Should Have Listened

 

Each unit has a general theme, so the stories and poems usually have something in common. Each lesson has lesson notes about the author and discusses and develops the theme of the unit in some manner. Each lesson has discussion questions which can be done aloud or in writing. Thorough answers to these questions are contained in the teacher's guide. Unit tests are provided, which are usually comprised of both multiple choice and essay questions. There is a semester and a final assessment in the course.

 

In addition to these readings, the student is allowed to chose 4 novels to read from a long list provided by K12. For 7th grade, the list includes: From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil Frankweiler; A Wrinkle in Time; The Martian Chronicles; Walk Two Moons; The Outsiders; The Bronze Bow; The Book of Three; The Sign of the Beaver; Tuck Everlasting; War Comes to Willy Freeman; My Side of the Mountain; Johnny Tremain; Jacob, I Have Loved; Old Yeller; Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry; The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe; Bud, Not Buddy; Anne of Green Gables; Ben and Me; 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea; The Hound of the Baskervilles; Across Five Aprils; Catherine, Called Birdy; and Swiss Family Robinson. These represent a number of genres and a number of reading levels. Each novel, once selected, becomes part of the plan for the course, and you can print out lesson plans for the complete novel, including a teacher's guide with plot summaries, notes, questions, and answers.

 

I especially like the way everything is laid out for the teacher. I'm not always able to read every selection with my boys, but the teacher's guides are so complete, we're still able to discuss what each boy has read, and I'm still able to evaluate whether or not my son understands and has met the lesson objectives.

 

I've probably told you more than you wanted to know, but I really like this program.

[Scarlett]

We are finishing up our second year with K12 through the Arkansas charter. Ds is doing second grade work, except for the math. They let him skip second grade math completely and he is doing 3rd grade math. I hear a lot of people complain about the Charters, but I honestly have zero trouble with AR. Zero. I do my own thing though a lot of the time and I don't stress about doing every single assignment---which is a lot. You would lose your mind if you tried to do everything they list. K12 is a Mastery Program and you do the material until the student gets it.

 

I love the History, love the Art, love the Science. Oh and I love the LA too. :) The only thing I dont love is the music, but I've pretty much given up on it with no guilt since ds is taking piano lessons. There is some secular info in the science that I don't agree with, but that is easy enough to correct. I show ds8 what the book is saying and tell him why I think it is wrong and we go on from there. I would have just as many issues with a Christian Science program---I prefer the secular version---I teach religion to my ds on a daily basis--as in LIFE....and I don't need a curriculum to do any of that for me.

 

I am not a curriculum expert, but from what I read and with William Bennet being involved...and SWB writing the History program....I am pretty convinced it is a solid program. I would prefer to do it independent though...but goiing through the Charter makes dh happier and is also free.

[LisaKinVA]

In addition to what was written above, I wanted to talk a bit more about the teacher guides and discussion...

 

Last year, I tried to do just "real" books with my oldest son. I bombed at it (unless it was a little house book I knew inside & out). My son doesn't "like" to read, so getting him to read "real" books at his reading level was more work. We tried the VP guides -- which are excellent -- but again, my ds#1 doesn't "like" to read.

 

Previously, we had use the Abeka series -- and while they are fine, they weren't challenging enough for my son -- they didn't help us explore meanings, literary terms, etc. which become more important as the student ages. Some of this may have been addressed by spending the extra $35 per reader (well over $100) on teacher's guides, but I felt that was a bit excessive.

 

The reading material in the K12 books is challenging, but not looong. My son doesn't get overwhelmed by seeing a 150 page book sitting in front of him. Because there are just 4 novels, we can get through these much easier too as well.

 

The selections are more varied than I would ever be able to do on my own (without taking an excessive amount of time), the analysis in the teacher's guide helps me guide my son to a better understanding of literature, literary terms, and I don't feel like I have to be an expert on the story/poem first.

[Scarlett]

Lisa, how old is your ds?

 

I hear grade 3 LA is fairly intense. My ds is doing grade 2 right now.

[LisaKinVA]

My son is in the 3rd grade -- doing 4th grade LA. The writing portion is way too intense for him -- so we're taking our time with that (still working on the 2nd assignment -- writing a report). He doesn't have issues with any other parts of the LA curriculum. Grammar is pretty easy for him (always has been) and spelling, vocabulary is also easy. Literature (the reading part) may be a bit on the easy side -- but the questions and assignments there are a pretty good challenge.

 

Part of me wishes they'd break out the LA grouping into spelling & vocab/grammar, writing and literature. If they did this, my ds would probably be 6th grade spelling/vocab, 3rd grade writing and 4th or even 5th grade lit.

 

We're planning on starting dd with 3rd grade LA in 2 years. She's "older" for her grade, so things come really easy, and I'm not as worried about her.

[Scarlett]

My son is in the 3rd grade -- doing 4th grade LA. The writing portion is way too intense for him -- so we're taking our time with that (still working on the 2nd assignment -- writing a report). QUOTE]

 

When they were deciding to let ds skip 2nd grade math, they discussed LA and this is the main reason he didn't skip LA too. The teacher told me there is a big jump from 2nd grade writing to 3rd grade writing and it could easily overwhelm even the brightest kids.

 

I think many curriculums have the writing mismatched to the rest of the LA.

[LisaKinVA]

We actually had DS tested a year ago -- basically told that he's doing fine (age appropriate) writing, but that his other LA skills far out-pace putting the words to paper. This is probably the #1 reason why we homeschool DS. They would have kept him in Kindy -- because of his writing frustrations. We got the same answer from Calvert, and pretty much every other umbrella school system.

 

If I had the time to dedicate to keeping everything organized and prepared (I have a FT job, plus 2 others to HS -- and our family owns a retail store), I could handle those issues by cobbling together several different programs.

 

I don't have that time... K12 is the best solution overall -- but it's still not perfect.