Greta Posted April 11, 2014 Share Posted April 11, 2014 I'm still searching for and reading old threads, but if anyone has recent experience they'd like to share, I'd love to hear it. As I posted in another thread, we're having some problems with the K12 charter school that my daughter has been enrolled in this year for 8th. So we're considering other options for high school. Kolbe looks like a potentially good option for us. The Summa diploma looks really difficult, so I think we would aim for Magna. If I'm understanding correctly, that would give us the flexibility to: take German instead of Latin (she's currently taking OSU's German course and loves it - that would transfer, right?); perhaps substitute our own theology materials, though that's negotiable (we're Eastern Orthodox); take a little less history and literature than she would for the Summa diploma - wow, those courses look intense! Could anyone give me an idea of what a "day in the life" in Kolbe high school is like? I get the distinct impression that parental involvement would be higher than it is with our current charter school, and that's fine. We had always homeschooled prior to this year, so I'm accustomed to being very involved. But I would like to have an idea of how much of the planning and prep is done for the parent. Will I need to spend a lot of time in advance getting ready for the lessons? Or is it more toward the "open and go" end of the spectrum? Is it scheduled for you, or do you have to work out your own schedule? It looks to me like the workload is pretty heavy, and the reading materials pretty challenging. Is that an accurate impression? My daughter is a good reader, but I would not describe her as an avid one or a particularly advanced one. Is Kolbe going to be too much for her? (She loves writing, though, and that's one of the careers she's considering. Maybe Kolbe is just what she needs to beef up her language arts skills?) Anything else I should know to help me make this decision? Sorry this turned out so long. Thanks in advance for any help! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C_l_e_0..Q_c Posted April 12, 2014 Share Posted April 12, 2014 High school is scheduled on a weekly basis, not on a daily one, so it takes some adapting to it at first. Otherwise, it's all spelled out for you, week after week. What to read, what to write, it's all there and more. Kolbe schedules a whole lot of things so that each family can pick and choose. For example, there's a paper each week for each subject, but a student is only required to write 3 papers per quarter per subject, not one per week! If you assign every single paper, you'll never see the end of it! So, in short, what kolbe sends you is overscheduled. You pick and choose. It took me a while to understand that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greta Posted April 12, 2014 Author Share Posted April 12, 2014 Oh, that is so good to know! Thank you!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RootAnn Posted April 12, 2014 Share Posted April 12, 2014 I know a family who had one graduate w/Kolbe high school stuff & has another couple in the process. The oldest took an extra 1/2 year or so to complete high school. (I don't have any idea how that worked, BTW. I just know he graduated in the December after his "senior year.") The only other thing I know is that there is a LOT of reading. Good luck with your decision! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greta Posted April 12, 2014 Author Share Posted April 12, 2014 Thanks, RootAnn! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
txhomemom Posted April 13, 2014 Share Posted April 13, 2014 I currently have my dd 9th grader enrolled in Kolbe. If you just use the course plans from Kolbe as written then everything is spelled out for you, however, you still need to make sure your student gets the work done and keeps somewhat of a schedule so you don't get behind. The parent is the grader which I find challenging. We never really assigned formal grades for anything before this point, so I am finding it time consuming. Really, all the paperwork, grading, etc with Kolbe I find a bit too much. Some days I think about just designing our own transcript without Kolbe. Another thing to consider is if you choose to use different curriculum then you won't have the nice lesson plans and you might have to make a schedule for your student's work. At first I thought I could just hand off books to my dd to figure out what to do next and how to pace her work, but it did not work out very well. I have had to sit down and type up a schedule every week of how many lessons, what pages, worksheets, etc, everything and that is another time zapper for me. Maybe next year she will be more motivated, but this year not so much and I am determined to keep her on track, no excuses. I like the freedom that Kolbe offers, but I hate having to do paperwork and honestly it probably would have been a lot easier for me to just sign up my dd for classes from a place like Keystone where she would have to send in homework to an actual teacher other than me. Then they would be responsible for keeping paperwork and grading. I know I sound a bit negative, but I would not suggest Kolbe to anyone that knows that they don't have a lot of time on their hands. It probably works better for students that are more self motivated. So, if you have a self motivated student and don't mind doing the paperwork/grading then Kolbe is perfect. They do offer a lot more freedom to design your own courses/transcript than a lot of other schools. I do like the new options for online classes at Kolbe. I think that may be a better option for my dd to keep her on schedule a little better. Next year, we might do a combination of using some of their lesson plans and some online classes through either Kolbe or Keystone. Anyway, hoping next year will go a little smoother. I think 9th grade is a learning curve for most homeschooling moms in general. If anyone has any other questions about Kolbe let me know! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greta Posted April 13, 2014 Author Share Posted April 13, 2014 Thanks, txhomemom! You didn't sound negative, just honest, and I really appreciate that. I want to know what I would be getting into with Kolbe, both the positives and the negatives, so that really helps. If I may ask, do the Kolbe lesson plans and other support materials give you help with the grading? Are there answer keys for the math lessons and tests? Rubrics for evaluating the composition assignments? That sort of thing? Or are you saying that you're pretty much left to figure that all out yourself? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Another Jen Posted April 13, 2014 Share Posted April 13, 2014 I agree with txhomemom. I wasn't sure if I was going to send in the paperwork to kolbe or if I would just make my own transcript. After procrastinating I ended up deciding to make my own. I don't like grading and we do so much orally that it seems like a huge pain to prove the work that I already know is done. Plus I think I am in the minority but every single book order from kolbe has had a mistake. Either something missing or just the wrong item. I waited 5 months for a pre paid school ID. Just my 2 cents.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greta Posted April 13, 2014 Author Share Posted April 13, 2014 Thanks rivendellmom! I don't mind grading, but I sure appreciate help with grading when it comes to English. Giving constructive feedback on an essay is not something I feel entirely qualified to do. I mean, I can give some, but I always feel like an experienced English teacher would give much more, and better, feedback than I do. That's my big area of "nervousness" about grading - and about teaching high school in general. That's one thing that I feel has worked really well with the charter school my daughter is currently in. They give the parent rubrics for grading the essays, which is a HUGE help to me. So I give my daughter a grade and feedback based on that. Then she polishes it a bit more, submits it to the teacher, and gets another grade and more feedback. That is really nice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
txhomemom Posted April 13, 2014 Share Posted April 13, 2014 Thanks, txhomemom! You didn't sound negative, just honest, and I really appreciate that. I want to know what I would be getting into with Kolbe, both the positives and the negatives, so that really helps. If I may ask, do the Kolbe lesson plans and other support materials give you help with the grading? Are there answer keys for the math lessons and tests? Rubrics for evaluating the composition assignments? That sort of thing? Or are you saying that you're pretty much left to figure that all out yourself? The math lesson plans do not have answers to the textbook, just what exercises to complete and exams for which there are answer keys provided. Jacobs Algebra was used last year, not sure if they are still using it or not since it went out of print this past year. I had purchased a complete set used which included the answer key to the text, however, we ended up going a different direction with math anyway, just did not like Jacobs at all. It is really hard to convey how much extra work it is to keep paperwork for high school whether through Kolbe or for your own records. For junior high we just completed the next lesson in the book and if my dd did not understand something I would have her work extra problems. I never really graded anything or kept records. I just gave her extra work or had her spend more time on a topic if she was missing too many problems. Now, I am practically designing and implementing courses from start to finish. It is extremely time consuming. First you have to research what curriculum/books/videos etc to use (not as easy as earlier years because everything is beefed up in high school). Then, if you are assigning grades you have to decide what percentage each part of the course will be for the final grade. For example, for math the final grade might be based on homework assignments, quizzes, and tests. For other subjects it can get more complicated. Maybe you have writing assignments/essays, projects, etc. Some assignments are easy to grade (math), others are more subjective (writing). Then even once you have figured out what curriculum you are using and how you will be assigning grades/credit, then you have to keep up with your student every week to make sure they are on track and completing assignments, understanding material, recording their grades, etc. Kolbe also wants you to keep an attendance record so that is one more thing on the list. If your student is not that great at being self taught or creating their own schedule then you will have to sit down and make a schedule for them each week (this possibly could be done once a month, but things change, sometimes they get behind in math because they don't understand something). For Kolbe you will be sending in copies of work they have completed, assignments, essays, tests, etc. So, as you are going through the year, you are always thinking about have we completed something on paper that we can send to Kolbe (you will need at least 1 item for each quarter per subject and I think you might have to send other tests/essays as well if you are on a different track or trying to get Kolbe designation on the transcript). I had to convince my dd to please write neatly so the staff at Kolbe could actually read her handwriting (some things she can type of course). The other wrench I had to deal with was that we did not end up using most of the lesson plans! I know it seems strange, but we started with the math lesson plans, then ditched that because Jacobs was not working. Switched over to a combination of Key to Algebra and Derek Owens. Derek Owens has been a lifesaver for us, finally a math my dd can do on her own and no arguing with mom. English comp and rhetoric was another one that we started off using the lesson plans, but now we are doing our own thing. I just did not like the Sadlier Vocab workshop books (just were not effective for my dd) and the writing workshop books were okay, but nothing spectacular. For science my dd is completing Introduction to Physics and Chem, however, my dd read the entire Prentice Hall book in a week that is recommended by Kolbe so I have added on PAC Integrated Chem and Physics workbooks. She is also working on a half credit in earth science with another book that we have. For lit, we ordered the junior high lit course plans which is fine to use for high school. There are a lot of good books in there that we had not read yet. Other than picking books from the course plan, we have not been following them either, but the lit plans are really nice. My dd is not completing latin or religion this year, so we went ahead and ordered those plans, but have not even looked at them, probably save them for next year. We are also doing world geography this year instead of the world history (greece) that Kolbe recommends. As far as rubrics for grading provided by Kolbe, they have something in the course plans, but it is not very helpful to me since we have changed everything so much and I don't think their grading rubrics are as thorough as they could be. Honestly, the grading is not always black and white, some subjects are just easier to grade than others. You can always call Kolbe and talk to them if you have questions, so that is another option if you cannot get a hang of grading and record keeping. I guess we chose Kolbe for the freedom to change curriculum if needed and to have a little bit of say in how we design the courses, while at the same time receiving a diploma from a recognized school. Overall, I am happy with what they provide, but it has just been a tremendous learning curve this year. I would not suggest going down this path where the parent has to be so involved with every step of the process if you are really busy with other things in life, like working a lot of hours, sick family members, etc. In that situation, I would highly suggest signing up for courses where there is a teacher to do the grading, give feedback, and of course offer instruction in topics the student might struggle with. Next year, my goal is to get my dd as independent as possible so that she has to take responsibility for her future and mom can just be a sounding board/counselor, etc every now and then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chiguirre Posted April 13, 2014 Share Posted April 13, 2014 Has anyone done their online classes? They're fairly new and I'd love to hear feedback about their science, history and literature courses online. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greta Posted April 13, 2014 Author Share Posted April 13, 2014 Wow, tx, I can't thank you enough for such a thorough reply! You've given me so much good information, and lots to think about. Thank you so much! I had no idea that Jacobs had gone out of print. I wonder if Kolbe will be switching to something else, or offering Saxon only. I've never seen Jacobs in person, but from what I had read about it, I thought it would be a really good fit for my daughter!!! :-( I might still buy it if I can find a cheap used copy. It does seem that people either love it or hate it, but I really thought from the descriptions and my daughter's learning style that we would fall into the "love it" category. EDIT: My mistake. I was getting Jacobs and Foerster mixed up. It was Foerster that I was thinking would be such a good fit for her. Sorry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C_l_e_0..Q_c Posted April 13, 2014 Share Posted April 13, 2014 As for me, I only grade the one paper I send in per subject per quarter. Just one. Then I eyeball the grade. Kolbe's always been fine with my approach. I do give my kids feedback on all their work, but mostly orally, so we only get 4 things on paper for the year, for each subject. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greta Posted April 13, 2014 Author Share Posted April 13, 2014 As for me, I only grade the one paper I send in per subject per quarter. Just one. Then I eyeball the grade. Kolbe's always been fine with my approach. I do give my kids feedback on all their work, but mostly orally, so we only get 4 things on paper for the year, for each subject. Oh, they only require one per subject per quarter? That I could handle! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C_l_e_0..Q_c Posted April 14, 2014 Share Posted April 14, 2014 Oh, they only require one per subject per quarter? That I could handle! For a K designation, and not an Honours class, yes, it's usually one per quarter, and a science lab. The requirements are listed in the course plan, so it's very important to verify it at the beginning of the year. Of course, if you go with the online class, then it's the online teacher that decides and you have to follow those requirements. But if you do it on your own, then it's usually one per quarter - and it's usually the quarter exam. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greta Posted April 14, 2014 Author Share Posted April 14, 2014 Great, thank you for the explanation! I know we would try to get the Honors designation on some of her coursework, so I will keep in mind that the standards are (naturally) different for those. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C_l_e_0..Q_c Posted April 14, 2014 Share Posted April 14, 2014 From what I've seen. most of the time, you need to return 2 papers per class per quarter for Honours (plus a lab report for science) More is assigned, but that's the minimum you have to grade and return. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greta Posted April 14, 2014 Author Share Posted April 14, 2014 Well that doesn't sound too bad either. Thank you so much for your help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greta Posted April 14, 2014 Author Share Posted April 14, 2014 Txhomemom, I just re-read your post, and had to thank you again. Honestly, your post scares me a little! Lol. But that's a good thing, because it means you really made me think. I know that staying with K12 would be easiest for me, but that doesn't mean it would be best for her. I am going to continue thinking and praying about this. But I am a stay-at-home mom, not taking care of any ill or aging family members, etc. so I have in that sense a golden opportunity here to be able to give so much of my time and my energy to my daughter's education. And she's my only child as well. I know how much I am going to miss her when she's grown and gone, and that I would never regret investing that time in her education. So, I guess it really does come down to a question of which school is the better choice for her. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Connections Posted April 14, 2014 Share Posted April 14, 2014 I have not used Kolbe so I have no personal experience to offer. However, I thought I would mention that they do have an evaluation service where they will provide a letter grade for you. It looks like they are changing the structure of the service this year. Here is a link. http://www.kolbe.org/enroll/enrollment-types/enhanced-evaluation-service/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greta Posted April 14, 2014 Author Share Posted April 14, 2014 From the page you linked: "Sample work can be from any subject of the parents' choice." Cool! I could grade the math and science myself, but get the help that I want with English. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C_l_e_0..Q_c Posted April 14, 2014 Share Posted April 14, 2014 Kolbe offers almost everything. You can sign up for their online school, where you turn everything over to them. Or just pick and choose some online classes, and keep the rest at home. Or audit online classes, and grade them yourselves (have them teach, but you grade) Or have a Kolbe teacher grade what you taught at home on your own. (you teach, but have them grade) Or do it entirely on your own. Change their curriculum, or don't. You have the freedom. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greta Posted April 14, 2014 Author Share Posted April 14, 2014 Yes, it's the combination of having the help that I need with the freedom that I want that really appeals to me -- that and they seem to use pretty high quality curriculum. I love the help that we've had from K12. But this stubborn homeschooler really misses the freedom to say, "this math curriculum clearly isn't working, let's try something better." Or "you know, I'd rather you write an outline of this chapter, and skip this multiple choice quiz." With Kolbe, I get the impression I'd be able to make those choices. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3XBlessed Posted April 17, 2014 Share Posted April 17, 2014 I'm using some Kolbe course plans on my own this year with my 10th grade son. We're doing Ancient Greek History, Ancient Greek Literature, and 10th grade English. This is our first year to use Kolbe history, literature, and English so I opted to do it on our own since I wasn't sure if we could keep up with it. I wanted to be able to work at our own pace, without feeling any pressure. I have since found out that Kolbe is very flexible with adjusting course plans. At first, the workload was overwhelming, especially because we tried to do everything in the course plans. I had to cut the work in half for this first year, but my son has gained in critical reading and writing skills. It is very important to adjust the Kolbe course plan according to your student's needs and abilities. The Kolbe course plans has background information about the readings which I really appreciate. Next school year, I plan to use Kolbe US and Modern History, hopefully the online course if it works with our schedule. And also Modern Era Literature on our own. The Kolbe online course requires 4 essays per semester, as opposed to the one essay per week on the course plan that I thought I needed to follow. I feel like I can keep up with the reading for one Kolbe course, and would need to use the online class to have a teacher handle the other course. I don't think I would be able to keep up with all of the reading for both courses, in addition to my other responsibilities. My son loves math and science. He is willing to study humainities, but he cannot work independently in humanities courses. I also plan to allow more time in our schedule for the workload. I contacted Kolbe about my plans for next school year. They are incredibly helpful and flexible. They truly respect the teaching parent as the authority in the child's education. Hope this helps you. :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greta Posted April 17, 2014 Author Share Posted April 17, 2014 Yes, 3XBlessed, that helps me a lot! Thank you so much. It sounds great. I like the way they have so much planned and laid out for you, but then you have the flexibility to decide how you want to implement it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C_l_e_0..Q_c Posted April 17, 2014 Share Posted April 17, 2014 The Kolbe online course requires 4 essays per semester, as opposed to the one essay per week on the course plan that I thought I needed to follow. Assigning everything in the course plan is one of the most common error people do with Kolbe plans. I did it too. At the beginning of each plan, there's a little table with actual requirements for the course. Let's take a look at this sample plan: http://kolbe.org/documents/ninth/Theology9Sample.pdf (Theology grade 9) On page 3 we find: Students pursuing the Kolbe Core (K) designation should do all of the reading except those listed as HONORS or Supplemental. Kolbe Core students need to complete at least 1 or 2 of the 7 weekly papers each quarter; they should have discussions or write informal essays in response to the rest of the weekly paper topics as these are major themes and will appear in some way on the final exam. So while there are 7 papers listed in the plan, students need to complete ONE. The rest is done informally. That little paragraph has been overlooked by everyone I know of who uses Kolbe - including myself. It's either up to the student to choose, or to the parent to decide. On the same page we also find the REQUIRED SAMPLE WORK, which tells us what we need to return to Kolbe. In this particular case, only the exam needs to be graded at home and returned. Nothing else needs to be formally graded. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebastian (a lady) Posted April 17, 2014 Share Posted April 17, 2014 Assigning everything in the course plan is one of the most common error people do with Kolbe plans. I did it too. At the beginning of each plan, there's a little table with actual requirements for the course. Let's take a look at this sample plan: http://kolbe.org/documents/ninth/Theology9Sample.pdf (Theology grade 9) On page 3 we find: So while there are 7 papers listed in the plan, students need to complete ONE. The rest is done informally. That little paragraph has been overlooked by everyone I know of who uses Kolbe - including myself. It's either up to the student to choose, or to the parent to decide. On the same page we also find the REQUIRED SAMPLE WORK, which tells us what we need to return to Kolbe. In this particular case, only the exam needs to be graded at home and returned. Nothing else needs to be formally graded. Where did you find samples? I've been looking at Kolbe for Biology and didn't notice sample links. (Of course Cauliflower, my middle ds stepped in and now wants to add history and theology. ) Eta found a bunch of samples http://www.kolbe.org/academics/curriculum-grade-level/sample-course-plans/ Thanks Cleo somehow I'd missed the sample even though I've been looking at biology several times. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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