MomOfOneFunOne Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 I'm throwing in the towel! I guess I'm just worn out and am tired of trying to do it all. I'm tired of A.L.W.A.Y.S. wearing the teacher hat and never wearing the just loving mom hat. So, I'm ready to quit homeschooling as we've known it since the beginning. I have always planned the units from scratch and designed the curriculum myself choosing, implementing, teaching . . . well, you know. I'm ready for a break and I'm ready to farm it out. My daughter (who is herself fabulous, btw) has two fabulous online classes (Latin and math in my sig line). We love the classes but really, I love the accountability. My daughter does well in her classes, especially Math, likes and responds well to her teachers, keeps up with her homework, doesn't have to be ridden all the time to get it done. Not so for the the subjects I teach. :glare: She is a good girl and well behaved and loving but I think we're both wearing out from the current structure. I'm thinking of going all online but there is one thing I'd like to try first: Angelicum Academy. In this scenario, my daughter would still have the same Latin and Math, we wouldn't quit those. We'd add the Socratic Discussion online. Then, we'd enroll in several classes for which the all the lesson plans and "proposed" schedules would be provided. I envision a world in which My daughter completes her online classes with oversight by me. She would receive her lessons from Angelicum and complete those with assistance as needed from me. I would continue as her writing coach but Angelicum assigns and grades her papers quarterly. Oh dear . . .this is getting long. I'm almost there! So I'm thinking of enrolling her in one class that she'll start now and complete just b/f the beginning of school next year just to see if this would work for us . . . if she really would work independently. I'm trying now to decide which class will be worth adding to our school but also one that will not make an already challenging curriculum unbearable, iykwim. If this works out, it would be a kind of hybrid, I guess. I don't know . . . what do you think? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Purple Sage Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 We have been doing fully online for 2 years now and in many ways it is excellent, makes someone else the "bad guy" on those days that you need one! LOL. In our setup, through K12, they ask for 3 percent progress every week, so there is no getting around what is assigned for them to do. The big drawback though, is that there is very little flexibility, which is partly what you want I can hear, but it can also get kind of frustrating! As time goes on, I think more and more about splitting out some of the classes so I can expand and make them better. But....online takes the weight off of your shoulders and puts it somewhere else, and you still get to guide a lot of elements of the education. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hedgehog Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 One of my mottoes is "Do what works" :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laundrycrisis Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 She is a good girl and well behaved and loving but I think we're both wearing out from the current structure. ....... I envision a world in which My daughter completes her online classes with oversight by me. I think it sounds wonderful! My kids are still young but I am hoping to shift to something like this eventually, doing high school fully correspondence. I haven't been at this long and am already weary of the teacher hat. DS1 has a tutor who assigns him some reading and I love him being accountable to someone else for something, and he does well with that arrangement too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paisley Hedgehog Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 nm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MomOfOneFunOne Posted January 21, 2011 Author Share Posted January 21, 2011 Thank you, guys. Actually this has been on my mind a long time, you could probably tell, but I hated to post b/c I really didnt' want to hear the then-you're-not-even-really-homeschooling thing. I feel rather guilty that I'm even feeling this way. I really wasn't looking to feel worse about this decision. In fact, it's why I didn't post it on the main board. I appreciate the supportive words. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MomOfOneFunOne Posted January 21, 2011 Author Share Posted January 21, 2011 We have been doing fully online for 2 years now and in many ways it is excellent, makes someone else the "bad guy" on those days that you need one! LOL. In our setup, through K12, they ask for 3 percent progress every week, so there is no getting around what is assigned for them to do. The big drawback though, is that there is very little flexibility, which is partly what you want I can hear, but it can also get kind of frustrating! As time goes on, I think more and more about splitting out some of the classes so I can expand and make them better. But....online takes the weight off of your shoulders and puts it somewhere else, and you still get to guide a lot of elements of the education. We have a friend who used K12 and they really like the curriculum. My problem with it is not being able to pick and choose. From their description it sounds very nice but we are *sold* on our Math and Latin and won't be dropping those. I wish you could do k12 but just the courses you want. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MomOfOneFunOne Posted January 21, 2011 Author Share Posted January 21, 2011 One of my mottoes is "Do what works" :) Do what works . . . Do what works . . . Do what works . . . Do what works . . . Hey, I can do this! ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MomOfOneFunOne Posted January 21, 2011 Author Share Posted January 21, 2011 I think it sounds wonderful! My kids are still young but I am hoping to shift to something like this eventually, doing high school fully correspondence. I haven't been at this long and am already weary of the teacher hat. DS1 has a tutor who assigns him some reading and I love him being accountable to someone else for something, and he does well with that arrangement too. I think it is well to consider it early like that. It's not that you have to choose that course but that you leave yourself open to all avenues. I wish I had done better at that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MomOfOneFunOne Posted January 21, 2011 Author Share Posted January 21, 2011 (edited) Having outside accountability has made a world of difference for my 12yo this year. Sacrificing flexibility for accountability has been worth it overall, though of course there are those days when both of us wish we could just chuck it and be done. !THIS! I am willing to sacrifice flexibility for accountability! I am Ready! I know that after a while the pendulum will swing the other way but for now, it's what we desperately need. Someone on these boards said it well. Especially if you've been homeschooling a while, from K-6 your dc has heard just about everything you have to say already, kwim? ;) It is good to have outside voices saying the same thing, so that it's not just Mom-Mom-Mom all the time. Yup! That said, finding a program that fits in with your educational and philosophical goals is VERY important if you decide on an outside program. The majority of classes available in my area were parent-led co-ops, where the focus was kinda-sorta academic (there were classes offered), but mainly the emphasis was holding an Art Class, or putting on a play, or getting everyone organized for a field trip to the state capital. That's all fine, if that's your thing. It wasn't ours. It took quite a bit of looking to find an umbrella school that met our needs and expectations, and it didn't come cheap. But that's what it took, and it has been one of the hardest and best years of homeschooling we've ever had. UGH . . . I've looked into everything in my area. For the most part they're of the kinda-sorta academic variety with emphasis on the kinda-sorta. There is one that is very academic but in no way a fit for our Catholic family. You are right. It's hard, very hard, to find what I think will suit our family. I feel like . . . I want so badly for this to work out, for this to be the right path, that I putting so much pressure on myself to make the perfect decision that I'm making a hard time making any decision. Trust your gut. Best wishes :) Thank you for the well wishes! What school are you using? Edited January 21, 2011 by MomOfOneFunOne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Purple Sage Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 We have a friend who used K12 and they really like the curriculum. My problem with it is not being able to pick and choose. From their description it sounds very nice but we are *sold* on our Math and Latin and won't be dropping those. I wish you could do k12 but just the courses you want. Actually, K12 is not a bundle! They are only bundled in states where they are a charter program under the state education umbrella. We live in Colorado so we don't pay tuition for it. But, the classes are sold as a tuition based class, per class. In my opinion, they are the most amazing reading/writing/grammar/vocab program out there and I would highly suggest their language arts/literature curriculum. However, math is so/so, science is not good. History is great though and uses History of Us for middle school grades. If you just purchased the lit/LA/history classes, supplemented with your own curriculum of latin and math and then stuck a science in there you would be good to go! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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