shinyhappypeople Posted June 30, 2016 Share Posted June 30, 2016 What would you consider the most independent, open-and-go, complete "box" program? I like the looks of both BJU distance learning AND K12, but they seem to make for really long days. Calvert just popped into my head, so I haven't researched it much. But maybe it would fit the bill? This is for my rising 6th grader. She's a very bright, capable student, but not terribly motivated. We already use Teaching Textbooks for math. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shinyhappypeople Posted June 30, 2016 Author Share Posted June 30, 2016 Ugh - Calvert is $1,700 for the complete package. Scratch that option. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 30, 2016 Share Posted June 30, 2016 We have done all 3 you are considering. Hands down K12 wins in every respect! I see you have math covered. Good thing because K12 does not do that well. Apparently the Music A and B use Music Ace which I hear is rather good. Son 2 did K12 6 and 7. He learned so much and loved it. It wasn't a particularly long day, either. I did find I needed to be up on what the assignments were and check he had done them, but that is true for any curriculum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FriedClams Posted June 30, 2016 Share Posted June 30, 2016 What grades? We love BJU DLO science grade 6 and up, but doing the full program would suck the joy of homeschooling from my kids. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meadowlark Posted July 1, 2016 Share Posted July 1, 2016 We have done all 3 you are considering. Hands down K12 wins in every respect! I see you have math covered. Good thing because K12 does not do that well. Apparently the Music A and B use Music Ace which I hear is rather good. Son 2 did K12 6 and 7. He learned so much and loved it. It wasn't a particularly long day, either. I did find I needed to be up on what the assignments were and check he had done them, but that is true for any curriculum. Not to hijack, but just curious why you didn't continue with K12? What did you love so much about it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peaceful Isle Posted July 1, 2016 Share Posted July 1, 2016 (edited) I have used BJU distance learning off and on throughout the years. I could never use it every year, but I resort to it when I need a break for a year. For example: my 12 year old dd has used it for 1st, 4th and 6th grades. Next year she will not be using it. It seems to fill in any holes I missed with concepts but if I did it every year, it would totally overwhelm her. My son has used it for k4, k, and 2nd grade. I really do love that there is always a virtual, smiling teacher every morning to greet them :) but then I miss teaching them myself. It's such a battle, lol There are other online options that are cheaper as well. Good luck with your choice! Edited July 1, 2016 by Peacefulisle 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
................... Posted July 3, 2016 Share Posted July 3, 2016 Calvert out priced itself. 1700.00'is more than we pay for a year at community college! I've used many years of it and some are Better than others, but because of the price I would say to overlook it. They don't care about private homeschoolers - they only care about online charters now. Anyway Heart of Dakota teaches independence and comes all in one box, one TM etc. one thing I don't like is there are too many things per day but you could email the author and see what portions can be skipped with tour affecting the rest. Or maybe she will enjoy the variety. Textbooks in general lend themselves to independence depending what you choose. And how you use them. Overall we like BJU textbooks and you don't have to use them with the TM if you don't want to, depending on the age and subject. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janeway Posted July 3, 2016 Share Posted July 3, 2016 If I could pick from all one provider, and had the money to do so, I would definitely go with Oak Meadow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tidbits of Learning Posted July 3, 2016 Share Posted July 3, 2016 Out of those 3 options, I would go with BJU or K12. We have done Calvert and it is too costly for private homeschoolers at this point. BJU is really good, but I do find that my kids tune out watching a video taped teacher. We have done k12 the last 5 years. Sixth grade is actually a really good year with the k12 setup. It is American History-civil war to present, Earth Science, Fundamentals of Geometry and Algebra (which I actually like...I agree elementary k12 math is not great, but the middle school math is pretty good if you do the FGA, Pre-Algebra, Algebra 1 line up not the new Intermediate Math series), Intermediate Literature A with either The Secret Garden or Tom Sawyer as the novels, Intermediate Language Skills A with GUM grammar, Vocabulary with Vocabulary from Classical Roots A, and Compostion (not terribly fond of the composition). I think it is a pretty good middle school start actually. The literature has 4 more novels you choose from a list, a work of Shakespeare (can't remember which), and an anthology that is interesting. So out of those 3, I would probably do k12...but I have done k12 6th grade 3 times now and feel really comfortable with it now. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OneStepAtATime Posted July 3, 2016 Share Posted July 3, 2016 OP, I have never used any of the above listed but I have researched them. K12 concerned me because it seems to get a lot of negative reviews, including below. Perhaps there is more than one version or it works beautifully for kids that are very independent with no learning gifts or weaknesses? Not trying to trash K12 since I have never used it but I wanted to mention that I have read a lot of bad reviews. Hopefully someone who has actually used the program successfully might be able to share a bit more? http://www.homeschoolreviews.com/reviews/curriculum/reviews.aspx?id=180 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tidbits of Learning Posted July 4, 2016 Share Posted July 4, 2016 (edited) A lot of the bad reviews come from people in charters that don't realize that each charter is not k12 the curriculum. It is a public school that implements k12 to fit their public school rules. It is more advanced than the local public schools and does require a lot more work than kids in public school may be used to as well. I won't lie. It has both good and bad, but most of the negative reviews are specific to the schools they are enrolled in not the k12 curriculum. It is the same way that people complain about different public schools. That is not reflective of buying k12 independently prior to high school. I have used it successfully for 5 years with 4 kids. My 2 oldest went back to public high school for sports and went straight into Pre-AP, AP, and Honors classes. They had learned to work independently using k12 for their middle school years. They went into their freshman year with teachers thinking that they were juniors and seniors b/c they didn't need hand holding for things and had a maturity that the incoming freshman coming from middle school did not. I would not base my opinion on reviews from public school kids that left public school and struggled in a k12 public charter. If you do k12 independently, those complaints and problems do not exist. You won't find a lot of reviews for k12 independent as most all the reviews start off--we left public school and this charter was so hard and asked so much and it was impossible. Edited July 4, 2016 by Tidbits of Learning 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 4, 2016 Share Posted July 4, 2016 Not to hijack, but just curious why you didn't continue with K12? What did you love so much about it? We had to stop due to finances. The course content and presentation is just excellent. Someone above put it so much better than I could. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoCal_Bear Posted July 5, 2016 Share Posted July 5, 2016 I use K12 as a private user...we are quite happy with it. Especially once I figured out how to make it work on an iPad using Puffin browser. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momee Posted July 6, 2016 Share Posted July 6, 2016 What about Memoria Press? I know it says you should be very involved, and I bet you will be more than you think :) but our goals were to build skills in following directions, increase physical stamina for writing, increase in the actual skill of composition, and do a clear/challenging curricula from start to finish. We had an excellent experience with Memoria. She only left it because she's now doing an online provider that gives dual enrollement credit to the college she wishes to attend. My younger student used Memoria from preschool through second. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scrapper4life Posted July 9, 2016 Share Posted July 9, 2016 (edited) I have not used Calvert, but I have used BJU and seriously researched K12. I will second the comments made about private use vs. public charter use. It makes a HUGE difference how you plan to utilize K12. If you plan to use via an online charter in your state, do your research! The charter here in my state required a student (K5 and up) to be logged in and working for 5 hours a day! If I wanted that I would send them to a B&M school. There were other differences that other posters touched on so I won't repeat here. As far as BJU, I've done parent-led and am doing DLO now. It can be open and go or it can be alot of work. If you choose to do all that is laid out in the program, you will burn out. Just about everyone I know that uses it says this. However, the publishers do not intend for you to do it all! They want you to have a lot of options to choose from to make your homeschool run as you'd like. If you want open and go, just do the meat of the lesson and no activities. If you are using DLO, the videos are clearly bookmarked with the segment titles. So, it may appear that your child will be watching alot and having a long day, but if you just have them watch the meat of the lesson and not the other segments, it cuts the view time in half. Also, the DL comes with a PDF of the teacher's editions so if you miss teaching every once in while, you can skip the video that day and teach. All that said, I do not believe BJU is the most open and go. But of the 3 you listed, that is the one I would pick. If you just asked for open and go, I would suggest HOD. Edited July 9, 2016 by scrapper4life Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lanny Posted July 9, 2016 Share Posted July 9, 2016 :"But not terribly motivated" is an issue for any kind of Distance Learning course, especially one that is Asynchronous. Many posts I've read about the free (via a state) K-12 program mention that they require huge amounts of time and work. The paid K-12 program may be much different, but you need to check. Look before you leap. GL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tidbits of Learning Posted July 9, 2016 Share Posted July 9, 2016 I will tell you last black Friday, k12 had independent courses for 1/2 off. I don't know if they will run the sale again this year, but it makes a huge difference in cost if they do. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 5, 2016 Share Posted December 5, 2016 (edited) FYI- The K12 sales are only useful if you can afford to pay in full. Otherwise, the regular rates apply. Edited December 5, 2016 by Paradox5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redquilthorse Posted December 5, 2016 Share Posted December 5, 2016 I have used BJU DLO for science for different levels for 2 of my kids. My older child loved it and excelled with it. My younger one has had issues with accountability (6th grade). So a less motivated student like mine will still need you to supervise to be sure the work is getting done. You'll want to check in periodically to see what your child is doing. I learned this the hard way so I thought I would share. :) And I agree you don't have to do everything. We have skipped chapters. THe quizzes and tests are graded for you but you ultimately decide the final grade. You can also go in to reset tests if you want your child to retake one, which is useful if they bomb because they didn't study. You can guess how I know. lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.