If you needed to choose....

[sangtarah]

an out-sourced year for 7/8th grade that isn’t B&M school, what would you go with?

I really want to work with dd12 one-on-one, but have a high needs dd9 and a K’er and toddler to contend with.  Dd12 wants to stay in homeschool.  

We are considering ALL live online classes for dd12, but are unsure of her ability to keep up with them. She has the smarts, but she is flighty and somewhat disorganized in keeping a schedule. 

I started a thread asking for experience with Veritas for everything, but no one answered 😂 so I guess it’s not used much in these parts. 

[LJPPKGFGSC]

If you do not have time to help her everyday, you might need to prioritize. (*) Middle school kids are not famous for their time-management skills. Perhaps you can do a few live classes, and then a few more self-paced (or mom-lead classes).  In that way, if things begin to fall apart, you keep on with the outsourced courses, and then let a few things slide.  You will have vacations (and next summer) to finish up.  In my experience, the first few online (or otherwise outsourced) classes took a lot of time from me.  It was sometimes harder for me to help, since I did not have all the material at my disposal, and I did not have the benefit of watching the class.

In my home-school, English and Math are priorities.  Everything else is easier if your English and math skills are tip-top!  

(*)  Even if you do have time to help everyday, you probably still need to prioritize!

I know nothing in particular about Vertias.

[Lori D.]

I would NOT throw a middle-schooler who hasn't done online courses into an all-online situation. And Veritas Omnibus is quite stout in the workload, so doubling down on "I don't think that's the best idea", LOL.

Agree with previous poster -- I'd work on getting a schedule that allows you to work with everyone as needed, and maybe outsource just the 1 course for the 12yo that would be the most time-consuming for you to do with her -- Writing or Math, perhaps. Because you're still going to need to help the 12yo through the learning curve of scheduling time. for getting online class assignments done, and carving out a quiet space/time regularly for actually doing the online class if it's live.

Perhaps a self-paced set-up like Time 4 Learning might work for a year? It's not rigorous, and wouldn't challenge your 12yo or perhaps be her preferred method of learning, but it might be a way of moving her towards online courses in an incremental way while you are still so time-challenged with the demands of the younger 3 children. Self-paced/self-grading like Time 4 Learning would allow DD to learn how to work more independently, and require little of you, except to check in with her several times a day for short periods to answer questions, and to encourage her to keep up the good work. Perhaps also schedule some 1-on1 time with her either first thing in the morning or at the end of the day to do some special subject together for 30 minutes? (Veritas Omnibus does have a self-paced option, but I'd *only* give it a try if you *know* it's a perfect fit for your 12yo's abilities and interests, AND if you can have the option of doing a reduced amount of material if needed -- I believe you can talk to the company about that possibility so that it doesn't mess up the grading aspect by skipping some books.)

But if the different ages/needs are too big of a spread to juggle for you, then I'd consider putting the Kinder child into a morning-only kindergarten class -- maybe something very hands-on and Montessori-based. That's a great age for children to actually go to a school setting -- they get loads of fun hands-on activities that you likely don't have at home, start some very basic/short seat work, learn some basic self-control and beginning classroom skills, get to learn/play group games, and get to interact with other children.

That would give you a few hours of intensive 1-on-1 with your high needs 9yo. Meanwhile, your 12yo could do her self-paced program, or if not going that route, she could do her independent reading, typing, instrument practice, Rainbow Science (or other solo-working Science program), and whatever else she can do solo. Meanwhile, toddler is strapped to you, or plays with toys only brought out at school time or does high chair time. Then go pick up the Kinder, everyone has lunch, everyone has a 1-hour quiet time after lunch (naps, or audio books, or quiet on-your-bed activities), and then the 9yo plays with the Kinder and toddler (sometimes you could put on educational videos or educational computer games), and you use that time to work 1-on-1 with the 12yo. If more time is needed with either the 9yo or 12yo, then dad could do it when he gets home, or it could be a short evening session with you while dad puts the Kinder and toddler to bed.

If sending Kinder to a kindergarten isn't an option, then I'd highly recommend seeing about bringing in some regular help -- a grandparent or other relative to either take the toddler and/or kinder child a few mornings or afternoons a week, or hire a "mother's helper" or a retired homeschooler or a neighbor or friend, to oversee the toddler and/or kinder child for several hours on several days a week.

Finally, you might research to see if your special needs 9yo is eligible for any special helps or tutoring or an outsourced program several times a week, which would free up a few chunks of time to oversee the other children.

BEST of luck in finding what works for your family in the coming year! Warmest regards, Lori D.

Edited April 16, 2019 by Lori D.

[2Peanuts]

I outsourced the majority of instruction for my DD13-almost-14 this year. I began the process of introducing her to online classes about 2 years ago, when she was a 6th grader. I enrolled her in one WTMA course: Expository writing 1. I wanted to test the waters to see how she'd enjoy the online environment and it turns out, she really did. The following year, I added history to her online courses because I finally admitted that I just can't do history. 🙂 If I want my kids to learn history, it's gotta be from someone who gets it, and that someone ain't me!

Some things I've learned along the way: If you choose to enroll your kiddo in a lot of online courses, you'll need to establish some kind of daily check-in system with her to help with time management & organization. We go through each class and discuss what's due for the week and what she plans to accomplish for the day. We do this at breakfast so she has an idea of what the day has in store for her and again at dinner, so we know what she's done and she can also start looking ahead to the next day. We also use Google Keep as a way to develop checklists so she can monitor her own work & figure out her "work blocks" for the week. (Please note that this system has been a 2-year trial-and-error process but I think we've finally figured out a system that works for us!)

When we talk about what work she'll do for the day, we don't just say, "I'm gonna do science." We break it down to "I'm going to read Chapters x, y, z and do problem set 1, 2, 3." Sounds logical but I learned that the hard way! 🙂 Have a definite goal post for each day --- be very concrete about your definition of "done" because I've found all too often that *my* definition and *her* definition of "done" are vastly different.

Expect lots of mistakes in time management along the way. It's par for the course. I've had to remind myself many times that often, the late night suffering toward a deadline is sometimes the best way to learn time management! I'm happy to report that DD has learned that lesson --- she often opts to work on some of her assignments each weekend because she knows she can get a lot out of the way on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon!

You'll definitely want to balance the courses so that not every single class is output-heavy. (I also learned this the hard way.) Figure out which courses you want to hit hard and then find classes where your kiddo can still learn a lot through discussion. For example, I've got my kiddo enrolled with Open Tent Academy's All About Essays for next year --- where she'll write an essay every 2 weeks. I'm balancing that with Online G3 history, which is known for being input-heavy but not output-heavy. 

Finally, you may want to consider a balance between live & asynchronous instruction. We did all live classes this year and the schedule nearly killed us. Plus DD got really sick at one point and was looking at 4 missed classes plus all the work that goes with them. It took us about 3 weeks to recover from that 1 week of being sick. All the live classes also killed our opportunities to do field trips & take random days off. Next year, we've got some asynchronous classes in the mix to give us a little more leeway with instruction time vs. free time.

As for providers (for middle schoolers), I've had good experiences with WTMA --- Mattias Caro for history, in particular. WTMA courses have a lot of required output so keep that in mind. Open Tent writing with Eva Goldstein --- she's fantastic and is very understanding if something comes up & your student needs an extension. Samantha Star at Open Tent does a lot of their science & psychology courses --- my daughter really liked her, too.

I've heard many good things about Online G3 --- we're signed up for some literature & history through them for next year. Athena's Academy is another provider that might be a good fit for a middle schooler. Unfortunately, none of the providers I've mentioned (save WTMA, I think) is a one-stop shop. DD switches between 2 or 3 different platforms to attend her various classes and she's been fine with the technology of each one.

Good luck with your decision! Hope you find something that works!

 

[Farrar]

I would do a mix of things.

I'd make sure math was a solid option online. But this would depend on the kid. I don't think it has to be live to work. Depends on the kid.

I'd also make sure that you're covering writing somehow, but either you do that or you choose an online class that will do it.

I'd focus on making the fun enrichment stuff I did at home work for both the 9 and 12 yo. The vast majority of kids those ages could do history and science together. Possibly even literature.

I'd enroll in a couple of online classes in addition to the math. I think there are a lot of options out there now. Groovy Kids, G3, WTMA, Brave Writer, Open Tent... I've been teaching a middle school class online 🙂. But really - I'd browse options and have her pick a couple of things. Middle school classes don't fill up like high school courses do so there's plenty of time. You'll have options. I wouldn't focus on getting the "right" subjects in. Find something sciencey and something humanities leaning if you can, but I would focus on letting her pick. Middle school is great for that. There's no rules.

[ByGrace3]

I agree to a mix. 

For math pick a solid online option-- Mr. D, Derek Owens, etc. 

Language Arts: an online writing class like WTMA, Schole, or any of the many solid options... for grammar maybe a time for learning or Analytical Grammar with DVD's

Science/history: some self paced options we have had success with-- Education Exploration (physical science) and for history Veritas Press (we have only done the elementary but wouldn't hesitate to use the latter 2 years of the self paced history for a 7th grader for sure if they were not ready for Omnibus. 

FWIW my 8th grader this year is almost completely independent, and I am planning a mostly independent year for my rising 7th grader. 

8th:

Bible (together)

Science: Education Exploration

LA: AG Season 3, literature and writing tied to history (I teach an every other week group class for lit and writing and then they do assignments in between)

History: Geography -- mostly independent except for review and read alouds

Spanish -- with me 

for rising 7th:

Bible/history/lit Omnibus 1

Science: still undecided 

Grammar: AG Season 2, Megawords 7-8, probably an  online writing class (EW 1 with WTMA maybe)

HTH!

[2_girls_mommy]

I would do a math online like Mr. D's or Teaching Textbooks, something that self grades and scores. I have never done an all in one program like Monarch, but doesn't that do all subjects and the kid does it all online? I don't know anything about it honestly. But something like that could get you through one busy year. I don't think it will hurt if it isn't your ideal "classical" curriculum one year if you plan on going back to what you usually like to do. I don't know. Something to look into, maybe?

My dd in 7th grade self guided herself through science pretty easily. She did Science in the Age of Reason and its older notebooking prompts and did the experiments herself. Then she did a Thinking Tree journal that we agreed on sources for each day. These were self guided content studies. I did have to still teach English, spelling (her nemesis with dyslexia) and history and Latin. But those (TT journals) are nice for a little self guided study for artistic kiddos.  She also did EasyPeasy 7th grade Spanish completely on her own. I did not expect a lot of retention, but wanted some exposure before high school Spanish. 

[teachermom2834]

I'm a pretty big fan of Memoria Press Online Academy (MPOA). My older child jumped into two there in 9th and five in 10th even though he did not have any Memoria Press before that. The classes, while part of the big picture of the MP curriculum, do for the most part stand alone and it is possible to jump in even if you haven't used MP before (even though on first glance that might not appear to be the case). My current 5th grader took two classes this year and is going up to 5 next year with MPOA. For my students, MPOA has been a nice balance of rigor with a manageable workload. Neither of mine have been stressed or had trouble with the volume of work yet they have learned so much. YMMV, of course.  The syllabus is clear and independent work is scheduled out daily to keep the student on track. I am sure there are both more and less rigorous options out there.

We have also used several WTMA classes and feel they are pretty equivalent. I do look for teacher and course reviews but I have a fair amount of trust in those two providers that I would jump in and take a chance even without specific reviews. (We did have one this year we were unhappy with but our overall experience is still strong).

My kids really respond well to online live classes. The "live" component is important for us. Some asynchronous classes here that others have raved about were not big hits for my kids.

I will still monitor my sixth grader next year to make sure she is staying on track. She's a good student but still not ready for that kind of independence. 

I do think part of it will depend on your activities and schedule outside the home. My dc can handle a large online load but we do not have co-ops, clubs, etc meeting during the schoolday cutting into our time. Really look at your weekly schedule and make sure you have the time to devote in such a structured way.