k12 Users... Questions

[kbpaulie]

We are using k12 virtual academy for my 1st grade son. I spent all summer thinking I was going with a WTM approach and went this route instead. I have mixed feelings about the program and not sure what I really think. But I wonder if I'm going to ahve mixed feelings with anything that we do. Being exposed to only one year I didn't know how k12 will progress. So, here we are, on a fence again and wondering...

 

1) Do you think K12 "feeds" your children information, or does it really teach them to think on their own?

2) What is the literature program like, especially in the middle to upper elementary? Does it teach your child how to be a good writer?

3) K12 isn't classical in any way, is it? So, why are you, like me, on this board? (This question isn't meant as an insult, just a question. :) )

4) How do you do this when you have 2 children doing k12? (I also have a 3 year old)

 

Thanks for all your thoughts!

Karena

[newbie]

I am no K12 pro, but will try to answer.

 

It does seem like the info is being fed, sometimes, but the program does work , so far. We have been doing it for six yrs. and both dd's are very creative.

 

I think the program teaches values and has a lot of info, that a ps would not provide. My oldest in high school (INt) is doing quite well, she is a little activist and I can see her going into politics. They are both independent thinkers and have a good strong foundation.

 

I did two, and sometimes the lil one gets left behind, they are three yrs. apart. But, now they are both doing independent, I just check up and help where needed.

 

Hope helps.

[Mandarinmom]

We have just enrolled also to 1st grade, a month ago, in the middle of September. Materials came a week, two, and three later, but I had my own math workbook and some LA1 suppllies. I can see that it is not enough material to learn, and need to supplement a lot, but I like there approach. About every course needs more material, but the foundation is there, and I really like the online presentation. If I am overloaded with work around the house, etc., I will read from the screen to teach the basics, do worksheets , and then I supplement in the evening, or next day, or on weekend. I like the material and how they present it. It looks like mostly based on Core Knowledge curriculum that our local charter school uses, they all love it. We tried Connections academy (they use all Calvert in elementary grades) from beginning of September, and I decided that K12 is way more interesting and advanced, and easier to teach. We supplement all the courses, but the core is good.

[kbpaulie]

Cadam-

 

Can you help me with the abbreviations?

 

MUS

SWO

PHP

 

We've taken a look at Calvert 1st and 2nd grade and found it incredibly dull. How is Calvert a classical approach?

 

Thanks!

[Samiam]

I did all K12 last year for 4th for my son as a independent user, not through a virtual academy.

 

We still use the History and Science. History through 4th grade was co-written by SWB, and is very similiar to SOTW. Notebooking is done daily, along with map work. The lessons do come from the online system, and the parent is involved. As a matter of fact, I don't even have the TM (cost extra) as it is not needed. We LOVE the history. Starting in 5th grade, the main History spine is History of the U.S. by Joy Hakim, which is a highly praised series in the HSing world.

 

Science was great as well. Every single lesson had a experiment. We do Science in the summer months when the rest of studies are light, so we were able to do most of the experiments.

 

We did use the Litateture, Grammar, and Math last year as well but no longer. Grammar was dry, and not very good with explaning. My son does well with Grammar so it wasn't too much of an issue. I thought the lit program was okay, good books, but the questions were kind of overkill. We usually just skipped that part. Math was very basic and blah...you use a regular hardcover book just like regular schools use...although I heard K12 was coming out with their own math program soon. I hated the spelling...although it was 20 words every week, their explanations of the spelling rules were weak. My son did well with the words, but probably could not tell you one actual spelling rule. For all of these subjects, you do not need the online system...that is basically for record keeping. You basically use the TM and student book. Once I realized this, I cancelled my subscription to these classes, and just used the books to teach from. I kept History,so pay for one class, and then you can switch out classes at anytime, so we finish History and then switch to Science for no extra fees.

I buy all of their TM's and Student guides off of Ebay...even can buy all of the extra books they try to sell you. Never pay full price for K12 stuff.

 

K

[Guest benharold1]

I currently use k12 for my 11 year old daughter. We use the curriculum

through the OHVA. I feel the curriculum is very thorough, however I

often feel rushed. We are required to complete 90-100 percent of the

curriculum over the year. It is often difficult to know what to teach.

I feel my daughter is getting a good education, but it can be difficult to

review subjects because we always need to move on. Also,

the focus this year has been on the state test. We have

to do scantron test 5 times this year, and are also required to complete

most if not all of the study island lessons. Her teacher is having

classwork on eluminate (Online classroom) which is mandatory, and focuses

solely on material on the state test. At this point, I am not sure

if I will stick with OHVA k-12 in the 7th grade. I know I will probably

purchase the history and science and continue with them independently.

I feel my daughter needs further review in grammar , is a poor writer,

and her studies need to concentrate on this area. Also, I do not care

for the pre-algebra curriculum this year. I would like to try Saxon or

another program next year. K-12's literature program is excellent,

she has already read 20,000 leagues under the sea ,and Tom Sawyer this

year. Most of the literature is based on classics, but is often abridged.

I hope this helps. If you have questions, you can always contact me.

[kbpaulie]

I currently use k12 for my 11 year old daughter. We use the curriculum

through the OHVA. I feel the curriculum is very thorough, however I

often feel rushed. ...I feel my daughter is getting a good education, but it can be difficult to review subjects because we always need to move on.

 

 

We're also going through OHVA.

 

I think your comments are very accurate. I feel it's a good program, maybe the VA part is just not a good fit for us. Since my Oct. posting we've backed away from OHVA. We are still registered w/ them, complete their assessments, but learn our curriculum in a totally different way. It has made such a change at our house.

 

We're just first graders here. I don't think I want to be so caught up in all of the testing at the higher grades.

 

Thanks for sharing and welcome.

KB

[dawnofmotherhood]

We have been using K12 this year with a start up virtual charter in Hawaii. I have 4 kids enrolled - and we are struggling, to put it mildly. It's the amount of time that is needed that gets us. Also, my 11 and 12 year olds are expected to be able to do work on their own, but there is just too much information for them to really understand on their own. For instance, the history (they are doing American History Since 1865). They are supposed to read from the Haikim book, then write about the readings- an they as pretty in depth questions.

 

Now, they are are 5th and 6th rade - and SWB recommends the Hakim books starting in 7th/8th grade. They are just too much.

 

The curriculum is rich. Very very rich. And sometimes rich is difficult to digest...

 

You asked about the literature, too. We do like the literature. The kids are exposed to various works of lit - and are asked questions to get them thinking.

 

Math... I haven't had any problems with their math (I have used K-3 and 5 and Pre-Alg). That said, my kids get math easily.

 

We are disenrolling our kids simply because I cannot keep up. We are so far behind - and that goes against how I think of learning. My husband is deployed right now - so I thought i was taking an easy way this year with school by enrolling in the charter... but it has been very very frustrating. We all feel like we are marking things off just to get them marked off - not really enjoying the process or even getting into the good parts of learning. That said... I have 4 kids enrolled... and my 2 oldest still need quite a bit of one on one. If they were more comfortable with doing things on their own, then it might be easier.

 

We're most likely going back to WTM approach with all of us doing science and history together - just having the older two delve deeper.

[LisaKinVA]

We're in our 2nd full year of K12. We began with my oldest using:

 

LA4

Math 4

History 3

Art 3

Science 3 (he completed Science 3 & 4 in one year... we hadn't done much in the way of science the year before, and he really enjoyed it).

 

Language Arts -- The Grammar portion is pretty dry, and isn't always easy to teach. I like that they do Sentence Analysis and Diagramming, but It would really be helpful to have a step-by-step explanation in the STUDENT guide vs. the teacher's guide (which isn't a step by step). I found a good step-by-step for basic diagramming at drb.lifestreamcetner.net/Lessons/TS/diagram.htm (my bigger complaint there is they don't get into compound subjects and verbs, etc. there... maybe I'll write my own!) I do supplement with Abeka.

 

The spelling -- we've found the spelling work interesting and effective. They teach roots, related words, and by word families (earlier versions are phonics based). The number of words they use is pretty much the same for say, Abeka Spelling -- not too many imo. Dictation is here too.

 

Vocabulary -- This is where I feel it is overkill. You get vocabulary EVERYWHERE in K12, Literature, Science, History -- even Math! Plus spelling. By the 5th grade, I'd rather incorporate vocab with spelling than make them separate -- but that's me. The vocab is pretty easy to accomplish. Dictation is here too. My son breezes through it -- but he has a gift with words...

 

Literature -- This is one of my FAVORITE courses. Lots of exposure to literature. The questions force critical thinking development, there is writing (and you can do some orally), as well as opportunities for enrichment. You also study 4-5 novels/books from a pretty long list of books from which you may choose.

 

Composition -- this seems to be more challenging than the other parts (maybe it's just my son). But, it's a good program.

 

Math -- I've used the 3rd-5th math books (Sadlier-Oxford). They have been wonderful for both my daughter and my son. I haven't needed the TM for anything (really, I haven't), but then, that's probably just me. I find the examples and explanations pretty great compared to other texts we've used. It's easy for me to follow and implement, easy for me to accelerate or slow down -- depending upon what my children need at that point. I do add Singapore Math Challenging Word Problems, Speed Maths and the Math Games -- but those are because they are really helping my son beef up other areas, not necessarilly shortcomings of Sadlier-Oxford.

 

Science and History -- are really, really rich. You don't have to do everything, and even if you don't do a single experiment your children will learn quite a bit. Narrations are included here as well. The opportunities for enrichment here abound!

 

I love the art that tracks along with the history -- my son has learned a lot, and it's enjoyable for everyone.

 

Next year, I'll have two full time in K12. A 5th grader and a 2nd grader. My rising 1st grader will do History, Science, Art and Music with his older sister. I'm a bit nervous, but my oldest is starting to do more and more on his own. I go over the assignment and he completes it.

 

The assessment portion (on the computer) can be a real PAIN.

 

How is this classical? The history approach runs in a cycle -- in chronological order. It incorporates narration, dictation, literature study, etc. No, it's not TWTM -- because it's all structured for you (which my children and I need). We add Latin in 3rd grade as well, and also take advantage of the music offerings.

 

We all really, really love this program. I love that I can adjust levels by subject area, go at my children's pace, and have a plan of their work all laid out for me.

 

And, I can't argue with results.

 

We take standardized tests every year. My son's overall score after one year in K12 went up 20 percentile points. He was in the 76th percentile and jumped to the 96th percentile. He's retaining the information and making correlations to other things we watch or read about. We went to Williamsburg and remembered everything he had learned about the Slave Trade and was able to ask intelligent questions of persons there...

 

My daughter is thriving as well. My Ker wants to join in every history/science, art and music lesson the older two do -- and he's just like a sponge -- grabbing every piece of knowledge he can get.

 

K12 isn't for everyone, but it's working for us, very well.

 

Oh, and FWIW, I didn't do the LA for K-2 because my children were already reading fluently by K --I don't know about the math before 3rd, because my children did Abeka workbooks in K/1st and then skipped into the 3rd grade math with Sadlier Oxford. I also wanted to use FLL for grammar, and a lot less "busy work." We're starting with the 3rd grade LA, because that's where the composition work begins.

 

I'm only sad because I can only really use K12 through the 6th grade, at which point we're changing gears completely -- because we are going to need a lot more flexibility with courses, and the high school courses are just too expensive.

 

It definitely provides a very solid foundation, though.

[TracyR]

Well I have experience with both Calvert and K12 and I would pick K12 any day of the week. Calvert isn't any more classical then K12.

We use K12 and Calvert through cyberschools in PA.

Calvert is more textbooky and extremely choppy and boring. It could work better if you were using it on your own and had the time to supplement it heavily. Calvert is very dry and I just know that I will never use it again after this year.

I have used Calvert for grades PreK, 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 and just every year I don't care for it more and more.

 

Now right now we are only in K with K12 and both my daughter have enjoyed it alot more. It uses a lot of different approaches, such as using workbooks , computer games for certain topics , it includes different ways to teach a concept. Some families get caught up in trying to teach everything that a lesson gives they don't realize that the lessons are geared to different types of learners and you can pick and chose what you want to use. My daughter likes the fact she has a teacher.

I wish I could use K12 independently because honestly I've used alot of different curriculum and its one of the best I've ever used. So far my 3rd is able to keep up with the pace and when she doesn't quite grasp a concept I continue to bring it up before starting into another until she does get it. So that hasn't been an issue. I'm sure it can be a bit more tricker for upper grades though.

As for being 'fed' information. Well that's what we do no matter what method of education we use. We are feeding their little minds with information. I don't feel though that I am "feeding" her with useless info though. My daughter has really thrived with K12 and I'm happy with the things she's learning.

I'm not sure how their private school is run if it is as stressful as being in a public cyberschool or not. I've heard that it is ran very well because the person who runs K12 Academy was in charge of another cyberschool in PA as well.

Either way I'm just putting in a good plug for K12. If college is in their future K12 is one of the best and it will prepare them well.

It just all depends on what you want.

[clane]

Dawnofmotherhood,

Hi Mama....nice to run into you here...

 

We are in our second year of K12 with our states virtual academy. DS is in 4th grade and we are drowning here. I love the program, but I feel there is too much to cram into a school year schedule. Especially when you add in all the meetings, elluminate classes, study island, other testing, etc... If we stay on track with the program, it leaves us no time for homeschool gatherings, classes and co-ops in our area. I hate that we seem to be promoting the unsocialized homeschooler myth.

 

I think it is time to break away from the safety net and leave the VA behind. Unfortunately, I think the cost of K12 Independent will be prohibitive and we will use a mix of programs.